LAKE WINONA, Ark.– White water caps are like a welcome mat for kayakers looking for adventure.
“When it rains you go,” Chase McGraw said.
Kayakers know they can quickly lead to white knuckle moments and they go anyway.
“If I had friends here I’m sure peer pressure would make a different outcome,” McGraw said.
“Just whatever pushes you, you know, makes you feel alive I guess,” McGraw said.
On Sunday one kayaker’s fix turned deadly after the Lake Winona spillway rose to dangerous levels.
“It was just a shock to me,” McGraw said.
McGraw had to see it for himself, the area where a member of his kayaking community lost his life doing what he loved.
“Your main thing are strainers here basically just downed trees,” McGraw said.
Authorities say the kayaker’s two friends tried to free him from the tangled trees but got swept away.
The water was so high rescue crews had to wait until early Monday morning to recover his body.
“I thought nope, I’m not getting in it,” Katlyn Simpson said.
Simpson and her brother watched the whipping water moments before the kayakers took off, later learning the trio washed up into trouble.
“It needs to be respected that’s the basic principle of it,” Simpson said.
“Yeah, it was way too high,” McGraw said.
For McGraw the decision to dive in or not is one that should be weighed carefully with the thrill of the chase.
“It dampens our spirits but it’s just something that’s part of the risk,” McGraw said.
