Ice Kayaking In Pungo

"What the hell kinda drugs you been smoking?" asked the guy at the marina when I asked if I could put my kayak in at West Neck. There was nothing but ice as far as I could see. But I had tried two other places and I was determined to put in this time. So I paid my three bucks and booked it on down to the ramp. Marina Guy went along to witness what he felt sure was going to be a self-inflicted disaster. I put on my cold gear, threw the machete into the kayak, and slide on into the ice.

Any hope I had that this ice was actually slush disappeared immediately. This was 2-inch-thick ice. But the bow of a kayak makes a serviceable ice cutter (as does a machete) and you get far more purchase with a paddle in ice than in water, as it turns out. Soon I had a rhythm going: chop, pull, rock, ram, pull, and so on. On the shore I could see my brother and Marina Guy snapping pics. Marina Guy also apparently called one of his friends to tell them of the crazy man who insisted on kayaking in frozen water.

On the way back, the trail I blazed funneled me right back to shore. The dilemma with addictive kayaking is finding new places and experiences after the old ones wear out. This was one of the best. I was feeling a bit blah before, but after I felt like a new man. Make that two jaunts in freezing water without falling in.