Clear Lake | Elder SUP

The day before we planned to head off on a 3-day camping trip – a trip with rain predicted at 90% the entire time (and 50 degrees) – I took a yoga class. This was not just any yoga class. It was the noon “Rejuv” taught by the brilliant, cool and gifted Cynthia LaRoche (GrooveYogaBend). As she does so well, Cynthia led us through our restorative poses with wisdom and humor. Somewhere in the midst of it all she said something to the effect, “let what you don’t like be the teacher.” That was not the theme of the class, or even a large part of the message – but that is what resonated for me.

I was going in to three days of camping in the rain with an attitude as bleak as the weather report. For the most part, i do not like rain. Give me those blue sky days any time. I was the prime example of what Sorine Cerin (Wisdom Collection: The Book of Wisdom) said, “Rain drops are not the ones who bring the clouds.”

It was time for me to switch gears, be grateful for the opportunity of three days with friends, in the outdoors and in an incredibly beautiful part of the world. It was time for me to be open, to learn from what I basically did not believe that I liked.

Dana Arcuri says it so well, “The more you are grateful for what you have the more you can live fully in the present.” That is my life journey, so practicing gratefulness and celebrating the present moment whatever it might be became my roadmap for the weekend.

What a gift! In a 43 degree drizzle I dropped my husband and two buddies off to play golf and headed to Clear Lake, OR for a morning of paddling. The experience was beyond expectation (what a truth) and a powerful lesson.

As Louise Erdich said, “I was in love with the whole world and all that lived in its rainy arms.” From the light mist that welcomed my first paddle stroke, to the chilly downpour mid-paddle. Solitude and stillness, lush greens and every imaginable blue created magic.

And guess what. The sun eventually came out!

Photo by Tyler Roemer http://tylerroemer.blogspot.com/2013/05/mens-journal-notebook.html

All over the world people are enjoying the SUP Perspective on lakes, rivers, bays, streams and the open ocean. We take our boards and paddles exploring, surfing and racing. For those of us with a history of back country skiing, hiking and backpacking there is another sort of SUP adventure that calls us. We have all found those hidden or remote places that are not accessible by car and are too demanding for trekking in with our standup boards.

All that changed for my husband, Ed and me when we got our Naish ONE inflatable 12’6″ board. Sure, we will be using it for race training and racing the N1SCO way, but it’s going to be for much more than that. The Naish ONE comes tucked into its own backpack that fits comfortably on most anyone. It’s got room for the pump, fin and even your snacks and extra jacket. Take a look at out first exploration to an amazingly clear lake nestled in the volcanic wonderland that is Central Oregon. Three thousand years ago lava flows from the High Cascades dammed the McKenzie River, creating a lake so clear, cold, and calm that ghostly tree snags are still visible under its 100-foot-deep waters. The stroll around Clear Lake offers lots of variety: huge springs, lava crossings, old-growth forests. The paddle from the standing perspective is even more exquisite.