Saturday’s rain more daunting than inspiring

Any time you can spend on the water is quality time in my book. But some times are better than others.

Last weekend’s paddling weather, with its 50-50 mix of rain and sun, provided opposites in weather that inspire songwriters – “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “Sunshine on My Shoulders” come to mind – and challenge those who spend time outdoors.

Saturday’s rain was daunting to some who shied away from early morning festivities at the second annual Orland River Days festivities. But a gaggle (that’d be about a dozen) of paddlers turned out at 8:30 a.m. at the Craig Brook Fish Hatchery on Alamoosook Lake in Orland for a paddle across to the Narramissic River and downstream to downtown Orland. It was the beginning event for the daylong celebration of life on the river.

Cheryl Domina, an outdoor recreation planner for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the hatchery, was our docent for the trip, while Karen Francoeur of Castine Kayak Adventures and I charitably went along to help fish anyone out of the drink in the event they capsized. An off-and-on light rain kept us company as we paddled. And we were treated to aerial displays by at last half a dozen osprey that were stalking young alewives on their out-migration journey to sea, as Domina described it. A few songbirds, a kingfisher, a muskrat, and a discarded plastic ball kept us entertained until we landed in town.

Not long afterward, Francoeur and I, with the help of a local Boy Scout, demonstrated several rescue techniques using a couple of different kayaks equipped with some or no flotation. It proved entertaining to the dozen or so folks who braved the rain. We were serenaded by a trio playing on a nearby porch.

And speaking about rain and music …

What are the odds of this? Tuesday morning as I watched the “windshield wipers beatin’ out a rhythm” (remember Eddie Rabbit?) on my way to work, I was sampling the only three country stations I can receive and two of them were broadcasting the same tune. Not only that, they were in perfect synchronization! George Strait was crooning on about his “beat up leather bag” in two-station stereo!

Since my commute is about two songs long, the rest of the ride in I spent changing between the two channels just for kicks and to see if the next tunes would be the same, too. They were not, and my anxiety over whether we were going to be stuck with only two country music stations was assuaged. You’d think three would be plenty for most of us country listeners, but good ol’ kick-butt country is getting harder and harder to find what with all this schmaltzy, middle-of-the-road stuff being passed off as country these days. I sometimes find myself switching to the oldies out of frustration. Dion can still get my foot tapping and Jan and Dean will often evoke an off-pitch sing-along when nobody’s looking.

A sunny Sunday was the reward for having to play in the rain Saturday. You couldn’t have ordered a better morning for paddling. It was calm up until about 1:30 p.m., at least it was in Castine, when I got off the water. Not too long after that the harbor was roiled up and whitecapped by southwesterly winds and an incoming tide.

Looking for something a little different to do in the coming weeks? Domina has put together a few activities guaranteed to appeal to your outdoor spirit. From a recent e-mail Domina sent, here’s what’s on tap at the hatchery, so get your calendar and mark a few dates.

. Have you had a desire to learn about GPS (Global Positioning System)? Maybe you’re looking to buy one or have one and are not sure how to make it work for you. Here’s your chance. From 10 a.m. to noon on July 10 there’ll be a short course and demonstration on geocaching, a high-tech version of a scavenger hunt. “Craig Snapp will introduce us to GPS and the geocaching Web site and discuss locating, placing and posting a cache, a little waterproof box with a log book and other treasures. Then we’ll have fun finding a new cache in Craig Brook’s 135-acre forest. This course is for beginners, so having a GPS unit is not required; but if you’ve got one, bring it along. Preregister now at 469-7300 [ext.] 206 or e-mail CherylDomina @fws.gov.”

. Domina is going to lead a night hike beginning at 8:30 p.m., July 22, at the hatchery. She says: “We’ll practice our night vision, listen to night sounds, and take a short hike to search for owls, bats, fireflies, and other creatures of the night. Bring a flashlight, bug repellent and sense of adventure.”

. How about attuning yourself to nature? You know, those moments of deep connection with Mother Nature while fishing, hiking, or paddling. Want to foster more and better connections? Tune in from 9 a.m. to noon on Aug. 14 for a workshop “devoted to seeing and connecting with nature through activities of the body, mind, and spirit. Expand your abilities to tune in beyond ordinary awareness through fun activities such as Discovery Walks, Melting into the Landscape, Deep Listening, Discovering Nature Temples and more.”

The workshop will be held mainly outdoors. Bring a snack and water, and dress for hiking and swimming. Ages 10 and up are welcome with adult supervision. The workshop leader is Rev. Dr. Joy Beth, who lives locally and is an international author and workshop leader, gardener, and avid nature communicator. Preregistration is required, space is limited. Register by calling 469-7300 ext. 206 or e-mail CherylDomina@fws.gov.

This may not seem like the best time to be thinking about hypothermia, but it’s something that can kill you even in the summer. Hypothermia occurs when your body loses more heat than it can produce. Ocean temperatures around these parts aren’t ever warm and are running in the low 50s now. At that temperature if you are not properly dressed your survival time is limited. Hypothermia survival time varies with body mass and the rate individuals lose body heat, according to www.hypothermia.org. And while the chart on this Web site shows you may survive after a few hours in this water temperature, it is dependent on someone else rescuing you.

After as few as five minutes, you could be in trouble because you start to lose the coordination and muscle control you would draw on to save yourself. If, for example you capsized your boat or kayak and could not get back into it within 10 minutes, you might not make it.

For a great read on hypothermia, check out the current issue of Sea Kayaker (August 2004). Editor Christopher Cunningham’s “foredeck” essay tells of two close encounters he had with core chilling – one while wandering around Boston on Christmas Eve in 1975 and another while paddling on the Mississippi River in December near Nashville.

In the paddling situation cold spray had coated Cunningham’s spray jacket, his arms and legs were numb. When he was able to get to shore, set up a tent, and attempt to get a fire going, the cold had hit his core, he said. “I grunted like a weightlifter as I fumbled with my stiffened hands to light a match. I warmed my hands around the fire, and when they could function again, I got my stove going and boiled water for a hot drink.”

He closes his commentary thusly: “Cold, whether it gradually gets to you while you’re paddling or wraps around you quickly when you’re in the water, has significant effects even in the early stages of hypothermia. It can cloud your judgment. It’s better not to think of hypothermia in terms of how long you can survive. The real question is how long you have before you make your first bad decision.”

And if you’re in the mood to get some more first-hand accounting from another hypothermia victim, read “Swimming against the odds: An account of hypothermia” that begins on page 44. You just may decide to dress appropriately the next time you head out on the chilly waters off our coast.

Symptoms of acute hypothermia include uncontrollable shivering, loss of manual dexterity, and general numbness. When it progresses to chronic hypothermia, shivering stops, you have difficulty speaking, you are confused, have loss of balance, you get sleepy, and eventually unconsciousness overtakes you.

If someone you’re with exhibits the first signs, protect them from the elements (remove them from the water) and give them shelter, remove wet clothing and replace with dry clothing, give them something warm and sweet (not alcohol or caffeine), and make sure they move about to help their body produce heat. When they are re-warmed, feed them carbohydrates and sugar – a cereal bar, dehydrated fruit, honey.

In more severe cases of hypothermia, you must handle the victim carefully, get them out of water and into dry clothes and a sleeping bag, and take steps to get them evacuated and seek medical help.

If you find yourself in a capsize situation, remember that even if you are a good swimmer and you have flotation, swimming will increase your heat loss by 35-50 percent.

And one last nugget for you puffin fans.

Audubon sent me an e-mail the other day saying that “researchers, students, and bird lovers all over the planet will have the chance to get an intimate look at Maine’s puffins. On July 4, the Project Puffin seabird camera will beam live-streaming video of Eastern Egg Rock’s nesting puffin colonies. The tiny island is home to the world’s first restored puffin and tern colonies and it is the largest colony of endangered Roseate Terns in Maine. This is the fifth year that the camera has beamed real time video to the web: To watch, click on http://www.projectpuffin.org.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net