Paddle of a Lifetime

We even had t-shirts.  Obi & the yaks.

For months Ryan and I have been preparing to kayak across Lake Winnebago from Oshkosh to High Cliff over Memorial weekend.  We did our best to calculate how long it would take us to yak the 10 ½ miles, but knew it would largely depend on the weather we would be battling against.  Knowing that the Winnebago is notorious for sudden, unexpected changes in weather which can turn hazardous even for boats, I was a little leery of the idea and knew we would need a perfect day for this adventure. 



Waking up- ready to take on
the Winnebago!



Keeping a close eye on the continuously changing weather reports we chose Memorial Day for the event, being the most likely for sun and warm weather.  The night before we carb loaded and ate a spaghetti dinner, hoping it would give us that extra boost the next day.  We woke up as the sun rose the next morning and started paddling at 6:45 a.m.  As we made our way out of the channel and looked across the lake, fog covered the shoreline, making it impossible to see the route we would be taking.  The gps helped guide our direction and give us an idea on how far we had gone throughout the paddle.  We could not have asked for a more perfect day.  Remarkably, the water continued to get calmer as the morning went on.  I was also worried about boats not being able to see us, but we only got close to a few fishermen and had no trouble at all.  The only trouble we did encountered was try to figure out how to go to the bathroom while sitting on a kayak and not wanting to get in the water.  Haha.  That was an adventure in itself. 

We arrived to High Cliff at exactly noon, taking just over 5 hours to finish.  We were paddling about 2 miles per hour at this rate under perfect conditions.  My arms were getting pretty tired the last couple miles, so I am sure if the conditions had been windier it would have taken a bit longer. 





While paddling in the early morning fog, we discussed the many life lessons that could be drawn through analogies of this adventure.  While the route to our destination was foggy and unseen to us, we continued to persevere and had our guide, the GPS, to help us find the way.  Even when we were tired and could have decided it would be easier to turn around, we persevered; knowing that this test of our endurance would only make us better.  Just as Christ is our guiding light and leads us through the foggy times in our life, He tells us in James to keep persevering so that He may continue His work in us.  “Count it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds, for you know that the testing of our faith develops perseverance. And let perseverance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything.”



Made it to High Cliff!