Friday, May 31, 2013

Retired after 38 years


My yellow Perception "Chattooga" purchased new in 1975 has finally retired from river duty. It was still a viable boat but at 85 lbs I couldn't flip it up over my head like old times. Virtually indestructible, it has some nasty scars but was built to last with metal gunwales, metal thwarts (7 of them including the seats) and the thickest ABS plastic I've ever seen.


These first 6 photos are from our July 1980 paddle on the Allagash Waterway in Maine. Two college buddies, Jim and Patricia joined us. No kids to worry about yet - Amanda was born 9 months later


From my notes on this trip, we saw many moose and most barely acknowledged our presence. We also saw mink, fox, beaver, loons, ravens and the usual suspects - deer and pesky squirrels.


It is not raining in any of these photos, but my notes remind me it rained everyday and we were really wet even at night. The black flies were a nuisance. We wore head nets while on land. 


Before heading out, we decided to leave all timepieces behind and see how we managed. Nanci found this difficult and was prone to ask other paddlers what time it was. There was only one time when we ended up cooking supper after sunset.


Looks like we had a pile of gear, even a cooler. At Jim and Patricia's home we picked blueberries and brought them fresh on the trip. The first morning I made blueberry pancakes with fresh blueberries heated in maple syrup.


Now we're back the days of black and white film. If you are wondering if Nanci ever paddles, the answer is "rarely". 


Merchants Millpond State Park has a primitive canoe camping area. At night we hung one lantern at the camp and took the other in the boat for a night paddle. It would have been easy to have gotten lost but we kept the camp lantern in sight all the time so we'd find our camp.


Amanda and Nanci paddle on Deep River. When Amanda was still a baby, we paddled Deep River with her in her car seat, unstrapped of course. There are about a dozen class one riffles on that stretch too.


So here is where my canoe has retired to. It remained in this state for a couple months until I was able to collect some wood for a fence from my longtime canoe partner, John Ferree. John had taken apart an old deck and tossed the lumber in pile to rot. It was salvaged and pressure washed and the the fence was built.



I have beans, cucumbers, bee balm and mint growing in the canoe right now. You might also note I painted the house during the canoe garden construction. 



Happy Retirement

Sunday, May 26, 2013

May 18 Dan River Relay Race




FSM members Randy Young, Jim Plant and Jay Young volunteered to help with the Dan River Relay race held Saturday May 18. Conceived and organized by Dale Swanson of Nature Play Outdoors and Andrew Jones of Jessups Mill, this first relay race covered 18 miles of the Dan River from Jessups Mill to
the Dan River Company adjacent to Hanging Rock State Park's river access off Flinchum Road. Participants could paddle the entire 18 miles or paddle in teams of three with each participant paddling a 6 mile stretch, then handing the boat off to the next team member. Logistically, this meant registering participants at Jessups Mill early in the morning, then shuttling timers and team members to the two spots designated as the relay points. A couple boats followed everyone as sweepers, helping anyone who might run into difficulty. A
couple of the higher rated rapids had a couple experienced "safety boaters" to offer assistance if needed.
The threat of rain and this being the inaugural race, kept participation lower than expected. The after race festivities planned at Dan River Company also fell short due to the rain. Nevertheless,
the race went on. First place went to Bill Ailes who solo paddled the entire 18 mile course in exactly 3 hours. Other paddlers paddled to the finish over the next hour. Everyone was accounted for and tired but in great spirits despite the foul weather. Hopefully, this event will be held again next year under more
favorable conditions. If you are even just an occasional kayak or canoe paddler, you can participate too. For most, this was not about the time it took to paddle but more about just being out on the beautiful Dan River and having fun. Look for this event next May and come join in.


May 14 New River Trail Bicycle outing


It was such a nice day on the trail. We were a small group of 5 starting at State Park headquarters, Cliffview, just a couple miles from Galax. We rode at a steady pace all the way to the former Textile town of Fries. there we ate lunch in a picnic shelter overlooking the river and Fries Dam.

Fries had several early country singers with many popular recordings. Here is the text from a state historical marker in town:

 On 10 Dec. 1923, millhand Henry Whitter of Fries, Virginia, recorded nine songs in New York City for OKeh Records. Released early in 1924, the coupling of "Wreck on the Southern Old 97" and "Lonesome Road Blues" became one of the first successful country recordings. Whitter recorded more than 100 songs from 1923 to 1930. Whitter's success inspired others who had worked with him at the Fries Textile Plant to travel to New York and audition. Ernest V. "Pop" Stoneman made his first recordings in Sept. 1924, eventually exceeding Whitter's output. Likewise, Kelly Harrell traveled north in 1925 and continued to record throughout the 1920s.


Chestnut Creek Falls above, is easy to miss when traveling downriver but you can't miss in this direction.

May 12 American Tobacco Trail bicycle outing


I led this small PHOC outing on the ATT for a nice 27 mile round trip from New Hill. Weather was delightful. The big news about the ATT is the new bridge over I-40. The structure was brought on-site in 6 pieces. Traffic was re-routed one evening in April so the structure could be placed over the road. There is still a bit of work to be done. Triangle Trails is planning an August grand opening. We'll be watching for this. The route over the highway will connect the lower 13.5 miles with the 7 mile paved section to downtown Durham. Right at the I-40 bridge is South Pointe Mall, a large shopping attraction.


During our ride, we met this couple. He bikes, she bicycles. When she is finished, he picks her up on this Motorcycle trailer with a bicycle rack. For refreshments, they have the cooler attachment as well.


May 10 Pizza


This is my standard pizza for now. Dough is a combination of half white flour and half hard red flour. Topping is mainly ground beef and chanterelles with just a bit of cheese. First I smeared a cup of puttanesca suace on the dough. 

April 2013 Trail Cam Photos


Just deer this month. I still have the camera set beside a noticeable deer trail. I'll give one more month and then move it if all I see are deer.




Mar 26 Check Dam on Taylor Creek

  Another dam in the Caraway Creek drainage is one that many people have seen as it is visible from Lassiter Mill Rd. The owners on creek ri...