It seemed like spring was on the way. Warmer days, sunshine, birds chirping. Then we remembered that spring in Happy Valley means lots of overcast, rainy, dreary days.
And I love it!
When the rains come down the creeks come up. That translates to days ripe for kayaking some of the creeks in central PA. A significant portion of them only run for a few weeks every year as the spring rains fall and the snow melts away, so timing is crucial.
This past weekend I got to sneak off with a few friends to run a new one–Shade Creek near Johnstown, PA. It was a quick (75 minutes) run marked with lots of pour-overs, ledges, little holes, and some fabulous wave-trains. There was hardly any calm water at all on the 7 mile run. There were 4 of us on the trip: My buddy Andy, a former youth group student, and a friend who used to guide rafts down big water in Idaho.
I spent most of the day bombing down the creek with a huge grin on my face. The water level and speed was just about perfect for me/us on our first run of the spring. I knew that I had to stay focused if I wanted to stay above the freezing cold water that was trying to turn me upside down! It was a great day, and definitely stoked the fire to get out more often.
But do you know what my favorite part of the day was? Getting to talk to the former youth group guy about how his faith has become real, how he has grown as a follower of Jesus over the past 4 years. That was the best…
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