High water on the susquehanna

We set off around 8:30 a.m. 
The clouds were coming in from the west over Brunner Island. 
The kayaks, smooth.
The water, muddy. 
The sun couldn't make it out of the east, 
let alone onto our shoulders. 

"You're gonna have wet asses"
Steve's uncle politely mentioned as we pushed off. 
"Eh," we shrugged. We've been getting advice from his uncles for years
and they're usually right and we usually ignore them. 
Just a few weeks ago, they had to tow Steve's boat back upstream
after the engine died,
after they carved a wooden plug so we wouldn't sink. 
Luckily, we were able to paddle hard enough to run into some trees
leaning out into the river and tie off so we didn't get washed downstream. 

Just a few minutes later and a about a hundred yards downstream, just past the first bend, 
it started to rain. 
There was a break in the clouds down past Shocks Mill Bridge
so we paddled. Didn't fish much. 
Past the Conoy
Past the White Cliffs,
Through the Haldeman Riffles 
skirting Ely and Pole Islands aiming for a big slow eddy where we pulled ashore. 

There, under a thick grove of river birch and maple, 
we had a morning snack and shot the shit for an hour
until the rain passed through.
We watched the water.

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