Why do bad things happen to good people in a kayak?

Flaming Gorge Reservoir; alias 40 MPH Winds Lake.

It all started out so perfect. Beautiful blue sun filled skies. No winds. Mid 60's. Who could possible ask for more. It was so calm that you could almost see a perfect reflection in the water. We paddled across this pristine reservoir savoring every moment, every sight, every sound.

Flaming Gorge holds many secrets, one of them we would find out about later in the day. As we entered the narrow section that is actually "Flaming Gorge", we noticed a bald eagle high on the wall to our left.

To see this magnificent bird in its natural environment is amazing.

We slowly paddled by the eagle as to not disturb it and also to just appreciate the opportunity.

We paddled on through the gorge and decided that at about 3 miles out, we would stop on a beach and have lunch. We sat on a beach and enjoyed chicken, fruit and a bottle of wine. Just relaxing in the sunshine and appreciating the surroundings.

It is important at this point to let you know that we did check the weather forecast before we left. Winds in the afternoon 8-10 mph in a eastern direction. Even if the wind got harder then that we would have been fine since that direction would simply push us towards the dock 3 miles away.

But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. The wind this afternoon was out of the NW and coming up fast. We decided to start paddling back before the wind picked up worse. In a matter of 5 minutes the wind went from 0 mph to 15 mph i. We ended up pulling into a beach area and putting on our spray skirt because the water was already starting to come in over the sides. As we approached the gorge narrows the wind actually decreased and we had a brief break before entering the open main lake area. As we approached the open water, the wind continued to build. By the time we exited the gorge the wind was at 30-40 mph and blowing northwest. Not towards to the dock, but towards the rock walls.

We paddled to the first area that we could beach the kayak. A small rocky area a good 2 miles from the dock. Once we got onto shore we tried several approaches; trying to walk kayak on the shoreline, nope waves too big. Carrying kayak over land, nope to heavy. Finally I looked at John and went,"Let's just hide the kayak behind one of the big rocks and hike out. We can always come and get the boat tomorrow.

So a 2 1/5 mile hike out to the car ensued. By the time we got to the dock the waves were coming over the top of the dock. This picture does not even begin to show the whitecaps on the lake, but compare this to the first picture. Same Lake!

Anyway the next day we hiked back out, got into the kayak and paddled out on crystal smooth waters.

Again I wonder why bad things happen to good people in kayaks