Last trip of the year

Well gosh, summer went so fast, or at least it seems that way now that it is over with.  I made my last whitewater trip of the year two weekends ago on the Dead River, me and two friends in an Aire Super Puma.  We had a blast but it was over far too soon.  We got away from the put-in at Spencer Stream as soon as we could -- well ahead of the commercial trips -- and in consequence more or less had the river to ourselves.  The banks of the river were in peak colours but on the Dead that means almost entirely yellow and gold because the deciduous trees there are mostly all birches and poplars with very few maples to add their brilliant reds to the autumn painter's pallet.  There wasn't much pink either because there wasn't much nakedness involved in this trip -- altogether too cool for that.  However, but once we got below Poplar Hill Falls (the BIG one) we had a token period of getting nekkid for a bit before coming into sight of the highway and puerile civilization.  We got to Crusher Pool and found it deserted -- a few vehicles but no people yet -- pulled out, packed up and headed out.

It was very anticlimactic and quite sad in a way.  After a summer of several trips on whitewater rivers, a few more float trips on rather calmer rivers and quite a bit offshore kayaking it was time to dry everything out and put it away for the season.  Now I must get back to school work and plan for next summer.

I Raft Naked!

Well gosh, I mean, who doesn't?  Or at least who wouldn't if they had the chance and thought that they could get away with it.

Me, I'm a paddler.  I love watersports.

I canoe -- and if you are canoeing nude you are canuding.  Been there, done that.

I raft -- and if you raft naked you probably aren't on a commercial trip and you're likely dowenstream of any real whitewater.  Anyone who paddles whitewater without a PFD securely buckled on is just plain dumb.  Anyone who is wearing a PFD is not technically naked.  Oh sure, you can be airing out all the lower bits but if you've got a PFD on you're not naked.  Find yourself an uninhabited stretch of river below the rapids and get naked, chill out and enjoy the float trip.  Be at one with nature, the way God made you.

I kayak -- both sea touring and whitewater, and here's a news flash for you.  You cannot kayak naked --  can't be done.  Even if you aren't wearing a PFD or a sprayskirt you're still wearing your boat.  Sure, I've been naked within my kayak but that is a different matter innit?

I haven't tried a SUP -- a stand-up paddle board -- not yet anyway.  Now there is something that could be done naked.

Didja get the Hawthorne outta your paw dawg?

Last weekend I was up on the Kennebec River at Harris Station where put-in was in progress for both private boaters and several commercial trips.  Also in progress was the shooting of some video.  A film crew was there from Animal Planet, or so we were told, shooting content for a show or shows about the DIFW fish cops to be called something like North Woods Law, so we were told.  Now I've been to put-in more than a few times and the standard drill is to have a bunch of private boaters wandering around trying to figure out how to get their boats in the water (hint, it is at the bottom of that long set of steps), and commercial raft guides prepping their boats, instructing their crews and herding both towards the top of the stairs.  On most weekends there is a fish cop (DIFW ranger) present to ensure the commercial trips give way to the private boaters, launch according to schedule and don't exceed their allocation.  They are not there to be helpful and spend most of their time scowling officiously at all and sundry.

Enter Animal Planet, the chance for fifteen minutes of fame and, as a result, the Hawthorne Effect.  For those of you who may be unfamiliar with it the Hawthorne Effect is (in a nutshell) an effect on participant behaviour caused by the very fact of observation.  In other words, the mere fact of observation alters the behaviour being observed.  Last weekend was a good example of that.  The fish cops (more than usual were present) were drawn to the site by the presence of the cameras, just like some big ol' Hockmeyer bass drawn out of the depths of Indian Pond by a shiny lure.  Then, once in the presence of cameras, they began to behave entirely out of character.  They lost their scowly aspect and actually pitched in with the work at hand, grabbing hold of rafts to very kindly assist with the launch -- and to confuse things in the process.

The raft guides were as puzzled by this as they might have been had Mount Katahdin suddenly appeared where the Bigelows should be standing.  It was unprecedented.  It was was confusing.  It was annoying beyond belief.  Sotto voce comments were heard off camera "What the f--k are they up to." & "Let go of my frickin' boat."

The rangers, oblivious to all but the cameras, persisted.

This change in behaviour can only be explained by the Hawthorne Effect.  The fish cops, wishing to appear on camera as personable, helpful and public spirited, were behaving in a manner entirely out of character and without known precedent.

It won't last of course.  As soon as those cameras are gone they will pull that Hawthorne out of their paws and revert to type.