They really play on your mind because you know what can go wrong. What can go wrong is almost anything. The lake is known for its treacherous, violent nature. Or the wind can blow with such force that kayaks become difficult to control. Progress can be reduced to fractions of a mile per hour.
Fatigue can set in.
Progress can slow further. The exposed crossings, Swift said, were a necessary evil. She had to be back at the university to teach in the fall. We were wondering how much bigger they could get, but fortunately we found a bay to pull into. The wind was blowing 40 miles per hour.