Windy Weather

     I know the wind is good for something, now if I can just remember what…  It was so windy yesterday and it just didn’t want to let up.  There was steady 10-20 mile per hour winds with gusts up to 40 mph throughout most of the day.  I don’t like to paddle in the wind and waves but it seems like anytime there is a windy day the campers flock out of the woods like geese in a snowstorm.

     I’m not sure why people choose to paddle when the wind is blowing so hard.  I know some people need to get home or end their trip and it just happens to be a windy day but there are others who aren’t scheduled to depart for days and they feel the need to get off of the lake.  It’s a strange phenomenon that urges these people to pack up camp and head out onto the water in windy weather.

     The best place to be when the wind is blowing and the waves have whitecaps is sitting tight at a campsite.  Trying to paddle in this type of windy weather only puts these people, and anyone who is forced to rescue them, at risk.  The water temperature is still very cold and hypothermia can occur very quickly if a canoe or boat is capsized.  The smartest thing to do is to wait until the wind dies down and then make your way safely across the water.

     Now I remember a couple of things the wind is good for.  One is that it keeps the mosquitoes and no see ums away and another is that it spreads seeds, hopefully to some of the newly burned areas.  What else is wind good for?  Why not write and tell me?