After the only short uphill we tested this new device.
Post ride refueling was supplied by the Owl's house: buffalo wings and beer. It was yummy as always.
I need to note we were down a man for the paddle from the core group this year. GUDG was overwhelmed with work and family responsibilities that prevented him from taking part in the Friday paddle. It was as if a critical ingredient in the mix was absent... We pressed on anyhow with the addition of Sleepy G for the paddle portion.
The next day we started on the float part of the event. This year we skipped the traditional Friday breakfast at the 'ballet', and opted for more sleep. We also chose a slightly shorter route. I didn't snap any pix at the put in (I think CTLP did, hopefully he'll include one in his post....).
Here we are at the first portage.
The route we chose has three short portages in a row, as opposed to five long portages on the other river. In no time we reached the dreaded horseshoe dam. This thing freaks me out...you have to paddle ten feet or so from the lip to get to the takeout. It's not that bad, but freaky.
It was a good spot to take a lunch break. Sleepy provided the tunes from his ibucket
Here is the horseshoe dam from just downriver by the put-in.
After the horseshoe dam there's another short and scenic paddle.
The paddle betwen the horseshoe dam and the next takeout is *just* long enough to listen to the Dead's scartlet begonias->fire on the mountain from Cornell
At the next portage we took precautions for the only fast water on the trip, the Mousehole. CTLP put on his (spray) skirt:
Sleepy practiced his air guitar. Between his Air Guitar and Air Drum skills he would be a strong addition to any Air-Band:
CTLP had his fancy new camera and took some *amazing* pix and video of the trip as well, especially the trip through the 'MouseHole'. Here's a couple shots of just after the bridge, and before we get into more fast water:
CTLPs new kayak seemed just about perfect for a trip like this. Big enough to carry one persons camping stuff, food and beverages, yet capable of paddling straight during the long open sections and small enough to wiggle through tight spots. I 'tried' his boat a couple times during the trip and it was pretty cool.
After the Mousehole the battery in my cellphone/camera was running low. I'll have to let CTLP provide the pix and video(sweet!) for the portion of the trip below the mousehole. We stopped at the campsite in carolina for the rest of our sandwiches, then grabbed our camping gear and floated lazily down to the regular campsite. We got there early this year, plenty of time to set up tarps and the tents and collect firewood. Dinner was IPC and packets. It rained a little at night but nothing was ruined. We even got all the way back to the cars before it really started raining. It was yet another great trip!
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