I spent this weekend at Detroit Lake State Park with a group of friends from work. We have a small department, just nine of us at this point, and we’ve been doing a number of things together. We’ve gone bowling, we’re walking in the “Race for the Cure” next weekend, but this weekend it was camping — and wave runners.

And noise.

We did not plan on there being so much noise, but we did not realize that the state park was right on the highway from Salem to Bend. The day traffic was non-stop, cars and big trucks roaring by at 60 mph; the night traffic was more intermittent but seemingly louder. Not exactly what any of us pictured as camping in the woods, but it was good to be out, so we just took it in stride.
And then there was the noise of motorized boats and jet skis, or wave runners depending on the brand you prefer. Detroit Lake is pretty much given over to motorized vehicles, so there was no point getting upset about the din. People appear to go there for two reasons: it’s an easy place to camp with the family (which means bring everything under the sun so it differs from home in as few ways as possible) and it’s a big lake for getting out on your motor boat or wave runner.

We had four of the latter beasts, and here’s the thing about them: I hate them. Along with snowmobiles and ATVs, they are among the most evil of “recreation” inventions. They could have a useful quality in the way snowmobiles do in the Antarctic or ATVs on a farm, but as a toy for weekend playtime: sweet jesus. Noise, pollution, waste. The carbon footprint of those suckers has to be immense.

Now the people at work know I hate these things, but I don’t say much about it. It’s just one of those givens; I don’t scold or chastise. So when I finally went out on one Saturday afternoon, there was only the smallest amount of teasing for my “change of heart” and when I spent a bunch of time on them on Sunday, no one said anything. When I go to work today, I’m sure I’ll hear a bit more, but here’s the thing: Now that I’ve actually ridden on one (three, actually, including an over-powered 1100cc model), I can at least say I have some personal knowledge of what I’m talking about.

And what I’m talking about is noise, and no matter how fun those things are — and damn, they are a lot of fun — they just are not worth the price in noise, smoke and waste. Everything that can be done on a wave runner for fun, from bashing through the wake of other boats to zooming along at high speed, can be done without the aid of a motor. As far as I’m concerned, doing those things in cooperation with wind and gravity, rather than in the thrall of a pollution-generating motor, is far more fun.

I have become convinced, after years on city streets driving, walking, riding the bus and bikes, that of all the urban ills we endure, none is worse than the noise. Visual clutter is bad, too, but at least in Portland, you can generally look up and see Mount Hood, a line of trees, or something else of natural, or even human-created, beauty. Noise is inescapable. Even if you live, as I do, in a quiet neighborhood, all it takes is one car, one lawn mower, one dog left in the backyard against its will.

So to spend the weekend in the Willamette National Forest and be surrounded by more noise than I would have been at home was kind of frustrating. The camaraderie of being with friends from work and their families, not to mention one of my sons, made it worthwhile. Blasting around on the wave runners for what is likely to be the only time in my life was fun, too, noise issues aside. But to lose the chance to enjoy the quiet of woods and mountains was very sad.

On the flip side, of course: two day away from all the political noise.