River Kayaking At Night

My sons and I started kayaking at night purely one a whim on night when the moon was full and bright. My oldest son said as we were sitting around the fire that he felt like going down the river because it was so bright and easy to see. Moments later the three of us were on the water. Since I live right on the river we put in right at the house. The trip to where we take out from there is in the next town about 5 miles away.

We were all immediately hooked on this new found sport. We didn't use any artificial lighting, although we did take a couple flashlights with us in case we needed them. Life jackets are something we never forget either. Since that first night we have made dozens of trips and it is surprising how many of our friends have come to love this also.

On darker nights we will float the river during the day to be sure we don't encounter any surprises like downed trees or logs that have moved. To some these trips may seem unsafe but we do make every necessary precaution to make it a safe trip every time. The river has many curves and some small rapids occasionally which always keeps it interesting.

This is really fun when we have a group of 5 or 6 kayaks. I think any more than that would make it a less safe trip because it would be harder to keep track of everyone. On the dark nights we have learned to do a roll call abut every 5 minutes just to be sure we are still all together.

I don't know how many other people have done this but if you are into paddling either a canoe or a kayak, I would highly recommend this to anyone with any experience. It will be something I am sure you will want to do more than just once.