This morning, I reluctantly said "goodbye" to my dad after a great visit. We were up early and I showed him the way to "The Fort" Diner in Lebanon, where we had a good breakfast (finished at 0745). I went to Mass at 0800 and, after it was over, drove south on I-89. On the way, I stopped for gas at Irving in Grantham (0905) and then used Google Maps to find the trailhead for the Stevens Rail Trail in Hopkinton (arrived at 0930). There were some ladies setting up a drink station for a Hospital fundraiser and, when I talked to them, they mentioned the name of the only person I knew from the area (a doctor I'd met at a Notre Dame Club event) - what a small world! I ended up walking the full length (4ish miles) of the rail trail (finished by 1045) before the bike riders in the fundraiser started coming through the area. It was definitely another great day for another walk in NH and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Before departing, I talked to some spectators nearby and asked them about places to kayak nearby. They directed me to a boat launch near the Contoocook (pronounced, according to them, as "Can-too-cook") Railroad Covered Bridge (NH-103). So I drove over there and arrived just after 1100. An aside: when I drive around, exploring, sometimes good things just fall in my lap! Just as I arrived at the boat launch, I saw that there were some kayakers putting their boats in the water. I had planned to walk over to check the water conditions anyway but wasn't prepared for what happened next. My exclamation of surprise when I saw that there were 15+ kayaks attracted the attention of three older ladies nearby. One of them (Robin) asked if I was going with the NH AMC Paddlers on their excursion downriver. At first, I answered “no” but, after some additional prodding, I decided to “Carpe Diem” and agreed to join the group. The real selling point was when they told me they’d help me get back to my car in the end - otherwise, I would probably have passed on the opportunity. By the time I agreed, though, the other kayakers had departed - there was a strong current so they weren’t even visible. Robin’s advice: “you need to catch up to them!” Without knowing where they were going, how long the paddle was and what the weather conditions were, I raced to get my kayak off the roof of my car, pack up rudimentary supplies and launch. As I pushed off the shore, I wondered whether this whole gamble was going to pay off. First goal: catch the AMC Paddlers! It took me about two miles but I did “reel-in” the tail-end stragglers. I then dropped some names and the group leader (Sandy) welcomed me into the fold. It was only at that point that I learned the paddle was nine miles and that there was a barbecue at the end. That was a double bonus - I’d have settled for only a ride back to the car… For the next few hours, I enjoyed the trip downriver, paddling with different folks in the group and learning more about the Club. I also heard about other kayaking events, AMC Huts worth visiting and the kind of paddling (flatwater, whitewater and seawater) everyone liked. Each person had a different kind of boat and skill level but all were extremely nice - I felt very welcome. Most of the time, we were the only people on the River - towards the end, though, we arrived at a busy place (Daisy Beach) where people had paddled upriver to swim. There were also several pontoon boats but nothing deflated my mood. We got out of the water at the landing for the Contoocook River Canoe Company (in the Riverhill area of Concord) about three hours after I’d first decided to take the metaphorical plunge. One of the ladies I’d met earlier gave four of us a ride to our cars and then convoyed us back to the picnic. After that, I socialized until they wrapped things up at 1615 (I found out later that my photo was taken for the group's Facebook page). Not ready for the day to end, I reluctantly, backtracked towards I-89 (used back roads to NH-127 and then took NH-103 to the Interstate). On the way, I talked to Dad and Mollie. I arrived home just after 1700, still pinching myself to see if the good fortune I'd had was real. Overall, the entire experience proved (once again) how lucky I am to live year-round in the Granite State - I haven’t gotten bored yet! People are soooo nice and always encourage me to venture even further out into the Wild. Life is GOOD!
