And, as with any other lady, you can get yourself into a heap of trouble for not payin' attention to her. Some folks are really good at this sort of thing. But those folks are in a definite minority. And the fella who can tell the weather's changin' just by sniffin' the breeze is an increasingly rare oddity. Most of us can't tell it's gonna rain 'til the tent starts leakin'.
Bodies of water have their own, special set of signs.
And the seasoned paddler knows how to correctly interpret them. But just 'cause we can do it, doesn't mean we will. Ugly truth is, we often get so involved with the pleasures of paddling that we ignore the obvious. This is especially true of those of us who paddle whitewater. We'll get so intent on surfin' a wave or playin' a hole that a sign'd hafta whack us over the head to get us to notice.