My friends and I live where it's blisteringly hot in the summer, so we got into kayaking and paddleboarding.

It's a natural remedy for the most brutal summer days.

Over the years, we've come to prefer certain lakes, rivers, and even annual events.

The water community itself is super cool and tight knit.

They plan all kinds of dope activities throughout the season.

One pretty cool thing that they do in our neck of the woods is the night paddles,

and the vibe of these events can vary.

Some are planned as late night excursions downstream,

where a team travels with minimal light at a nice slow pace, leaning

on their skills and each other for support to navigate the terrain.

This is considered a pretty dangerous pastime, but the folks that organize it are top-notch.

Many are search and rescue operators, and they use these events for training. The other type of night paddle

is more like a rave on the water. Everybody decks out their board or kayak with all kinds

of lights and glow sticks, even glow in the dark paint. They bring inflatable rings and rafts

full of coolers, speakers, all the stuff you need to throw a party. The Rave Night

Paddles were more my style. I made sure to attend at least one or two every year.

Where we live, even at night, temperatures can sometimes exceed 100 degrees. Well, as usual,

my friends and I got invited to one of these. We all agreed to go. I got my

paddleboard all decked out and crafted some glowstick props for the night and prepped all my gear.

However, by the time of the event, every single one of my friends had cancelled, some leading

up to the day, and the rest just failed to show. They all had good reasons. I didn't take it personally,

but I was still fully committed to going solo. I drove out to the parking lot, secured a space,

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