You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Well actually it was the best of times, ever, because I was gunnel pumping. I'm sure that the term "gunnel pumping" triggers a crinkled brow and the thought "What's that?" to all the avid readers of the Clearwater blog. Gunnel pumping is a very obscure method of locomotion in the canoeing world. It consists of standing on the gunnels of a canoe and rocking up and down to move it forward. And seeing as how I think that anything strange, out of the ordinary, or just plain odd is awesome, I needed to gunnel pump as soon as I heard about it. As far as the staff was concerned I was just blowing steam. They thought I would never do it. Things changed on my lunch break today.

Why all this fuss about gunnel pumping you say? Well, at 6:00 on Wednesday night, July 16th on Gunflint Lake there will be the annual Gunflint Canoe races and the last race of the night is gunnel pumping. And yours truly intends to race.

As I found out today, it takes balance and coordination to be a top tier pumper. Fortunately, we Lundeens are blessed with these gifts. I was like a snow leopard chasing a moutain goat in the Himalayas on that canoe today. As each wave beat upon my canoe I braced myself and managed to get the better of it. It was tricky at first, especially getting on the gunnels, but as soon as I stepped into my stride I found out that it would be possible to pump myself into the annals of history by winning the mens gunnel pumping race of the 2008 Gunflint Canoe races. I know my competition will be very stiff, and most likely a lot like myself, so basically idiots. After all, who in their right mind would want to gunnel pump? But in a race full of idiots, I'll be the biggest one out there.

Kevin