Kayaking on thin ice
Growing up on one of the lower Grand River bayous, the day the ice went out in the spring was always an exciting event, with a riot of circling gulls fighting to scavenge pickings released from the ice. A sudden change in the wind direction at the wrong time could send an ice flow into our dock, splintering it like matchsticks.
As I watch the ice on area waters start to recede this spring, I’m reminded of a very different experience with the ice shared by my wife Karen and stepson Eric earlier this winter. Eric was visiting from Hawaii over the Christmas holidays, and wanted to experience some Michigan outdoor adventure.
Ever game for a challenge, Karen and Eric took our kayaks to nearby Lloyd’s Bayou in Spring Lake, which was covered with a thin sheet of ice. Undaunted, they broke through the ice out to the Grand River and back, with video captured by Eric.
I don’t think ice kayaking is likely to catch on as a sport, but it was a unique experience, and something for Eric to show his friends in Hawaii.