{"id":35054,"date":"2025-01-22T08:00:38","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T16:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/?p=35054"},"modified":"2025-06-30T12:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T19:07:09","slug":"discovering-new-york-city-by-boathouse-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2025\/01\/22\/discovering-new-york-city-by-boathouse-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovering New York City by Boathouse: Part One"},"content":{"rendered":"

The tall steel buildings blocked out the sunshine as I walked in the shadows of human ingenuity on a warm June evening. I had just moved back to the East Coast after a season working at a Utah ski resort and was resigned to letting my mountain self lay fallow as I enjoyed the culture and energy of NYC.<\/span><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t remember where the invite came from. But one evening that summer, I found myself headed to a pier on the Hudson River to join a group kayaking tour after work. At first, I admit, I was resistant to the idea. <\/span><\/p>\n

Growing up, I\u2019d always heard that the Hudson River was polluted. Definitely not a body of water you wanted to get close to. The internet, however, told a different story. It turned out that despite the historic decimation of oysters and the years of industrial dumping into the river, a small army of advocates had slowly worked to create a cleaner and safer river. <\/span>Before heading to the pier, I checked one of the local non-profit\u2019s water quality monitoring maps. I was relieved to see that today, the Hudson River was designated \u201csafe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I passed bars packed with happy hour crowds as I walked into the Manhattan Kayak Company<\/a>\u2019s boathouse, perched on the western edge of the city. After swapping our button-downs for bathing suits, we slid into our kayaks. The waves of the inlet lapped against the dock and threatened to capsize us before our adventure even began.<\/span><\/p>\n