How many canoeists do we have here?

[jackknife]

Some time back I had to force myself to quit reading the Boundry Waters Journal. Some dreams are far better kept as dreams unfulfilled.

Codger, you just hit on the eternal truth.

With me it was George Sears and his canoe trips. But that was then, this is now, and it's a different life for a most of us.

Oh, to paddle off in the Sairy Gamp!

Carl.

 

[Codger_64]

Mewolf's Wee Lassie has to come close. But for me it would be pretty much the same as my Dagger Tupelo which, on it's maiden voyage down the Arkansas Spring River, I dubbed the "green submarine". I never turned it over but repeatedly swamped it. And then going down Saddler Falls was a trip. I made the stepped falls just fine, but at the bottom continued down under water.

 

[adam0321]

I lived on the coastal water of North Carolina for years and never touched a boat. I moved to FL and kayak all the time. I can't wait to get back to NC and start kayaking there. I am dying to do a canoe/kayak trip into a milti day hike/camp

 

[Codger_64]

Adam, there are a few outfitters for river trips within easy driving distance of you. I don't recall the name of the rivers there, but I made several local trips when I lived in Gulf Breeze. Getting out on the Bay and Intercoastal in my own canoe just didn't do it for me.

 

[eisman]

I grew up canoeing California; the Colorado, the American, the Delta. I've done every inch from Las Vegas to Yuma, some many times. You used to be able to find mustangs, petroglyphs, quiet coves, and ruins of old forts from the 1800's. Personal watercraft and skiers have made the trip almost undoable nowdays. Topoc Gorge (for example) used to allow sleeping on the banks and made for a nice weekend trip. Now you can't overnight, and you have to go most of the way across Lake Havasu on getting out, usually into a pretty stiff wind and fighting all the powerboats.

If you haven't been to MO and tried some of those rivers I highly recommend doing so. I really liked the Big and Little Piney with great cliffs and fairly smooth water. Local guides were always willing to toss my boat on, often without cost. It helps to have a spare 6 pack at times.

Another good west coast float is the Nisqually Refuge between Tacoma and Olympia. Good steelhead there too.

 

[jds1]

My wife and I paddle a Wenonah Spirit II, but most of my water time is spent solo on my Surftech Laird 12' SUP.

Jeff

 

[Bigfattyt]

I really want a canoe. I have been trying to convince my wife it is necessary. I have a 6 year old, and a 2 year old. I have been looking at a larger 3 man canoe. Possibly a square stern for using on our local lake for fishing. Much easier to put around and get to the holes you want, especially in the wind.

I grew up going on scouting canoe trips, including several 70 mile trips. I have seen near drownings, lost canoe's (never found one three man canoe, or all the gear.......lesson that big scary rivers at flood stage are no place for young scouts).

One trip, the leaders took us on the wrong part of the wrong river (small wasteway) that gets nasty and has some deadly parts! The leaders told us the "waterfalls" were safe, and as long as you kept to the right, you could stand up and dump your canoe.

Well, we were on the lower part of the Winchester Wasteway (in central WA). I was out front, and decided to get out and look at the "2 foot waterfall" before going over it blindly.

I was sure we were on the wrong waterway (it was supposed to be a fun tube ride, but instead had been a twisting, bank undercutting, thorny overhanging tree nightmare.

There was a "Danger Waterfall Portage" sign strung over the waterway with barb wire above out heads.

The waterfall was a gnarly 40 food drop (give or take) that kills hunters and canoe/kayakers every year.

We saved the other kids in the canoe after ours from going over just in time. After a few hours hike, we saw a very tall light and went toward it. It was a ranch, and the owner says every time he gets a knock on his door he is expecting to find at least one person dead from that water fall (the season prior, a hunter dragged his buddy for hours to find his place, and the other guy was dead from the same waterfall).



We ended up lost in the Pot Holes, had to ditch the canoe's and hike out. One of the canoe's got sheared (all the aluminum supports were sheared in half), but luckily it was still floatable. They had to send a search plane out to find the canoe's. Though I have no idea how they got them back out!

This was a particularly tricky stretch (trick for this little waterway, but nothing scary on this whole trip, especially compared to a canoe on a class III in bad weather at flood stage). The waterway took a funny dogleg, but most of the water pushed through the trees, where a canoe could not get through. The boys had to make a 120 degree turn, with the water pushing them sideways into trees, and move against the current and trough a gap no wider than the canoe (dead tree just below the surface).

My self, and one of the boys dads sat and watched the group go through shouting directions. (I am an assistant scout leader with the 12 year olds). Some of the kids were stuck and had to work at it for 15+ minutes.

For some reason, he and I threadded the needle with no issues (might have had something to do with sitting watching all the boys go through and coming up with a strategy.

Or it might have been the fact that there were two grown men paddling hard!

little Gap to the right with the trees in the water is where we had to go. The bulk of the water just pushed straight through the stand of trees on the left.

Here is a little calm stretch where we camped. I fished off that little hump (looked like it was covered in beaver tracks, and I kept seeing a beaver swim by).

This little spot is about 30 miles up from where we canoed.

The 2 day trip was quite fun, though, I was a bit sore from paddling for two days, and more so from my wide but in the narrow back seat.

I weigh about 330, and the guy in the front is at least 200 lbs. With all our gear, that canoe sure wallowed!

 

[Codger_64]

Man! This is where talking beforehand to Rangers, river guides, canoe clubs and liveries comes in handy. Years ago, we would just head to a river and launch. But we did know to beach the canoes and scout strainers and falls before trying to run them. And if there was any doubt, either portage or line around them. Now days with the web, there is no reason not to get good river reports and guage info from the Corps Of Engineers for most rivers. And buddy up with a canoist who knows a river you have never been to. Strainers can appear overnight on a lot of rivers and rivers can have drasticly different moods depending on the water level. A class I-II can turn quickly into a III-IV due to a sudden rise. Glad you all made it out safely.

 

[fmajor007]

WOW!!! Thanks Bigfattyt for that report. I've decided when/if i relocate back home to the States, i'll get involved with Scouts/Scouting in one capacity or another. I'm not meaning to be inciteful toward you Bigfattyt - i'm sure you're not in error..... but I've read more than a few stories of Scout trips where the Leader got in over their head resulting in an epic. That's the height of irresponsibility.

I also want to get a canoe for my family and take some long trips. Would be a blast!

 

[Bigfattyt]

Man! This is where talking beforehand to Rangers, river guides, canoe clubs and liveries comes in handy. Years ago, we would just head to a river and launch. But we did know to beach the canoes and scout strainers and falls before trying to run them. And if there was any doubt, either portage or line around them. Now days with the web, there is no reason not to get good river reports and guage info from the Corps Of Engineers for most rivers. And buddy up with a canoist who knows a river you have never been to. Strainers can appear overnight on a lot of rivers and rivers can have drasticly different moods depending on the water level. A class I-II can turn quickly into a III-IV due to a sudden rise. Glad you all made it out safely.

I forgot to mention these bad canoe trips were 20 or so years ago. I'm getting old!

Strainer........I would have called it the "impailer" river blocking snag was so big, it look like a logging company lost their load! It was about 30 feet wide, and 2x as long. Lots of gnarly, scary branches, and jagged roots! It was big enough and solid enough to walk across to the island!

I wish I had pics. It was supposed to be a class III tops, but we were told it got up to a class 4 that year (I don't know if that was just talking volume, or what, because it was a long time ago, and I was a kid). We saw several "kiddie" rafts and one nice 12 man white water raft impaled on the snag!!! We were told the river was closed to white water rafts then. That should have been the clue to the leaders it was time to cut our losses. I need to have a chat with the leader from back then, and figure out exactly where we started and ended normally on those trips. In good weather, it sure was fun!

WOW!!! Thanks Bigfattyt for that report. I've decided when/if i relocate back home to the States, i'll get involved with Scouts/Scouting in one capacity or another. I'm not meaning to be inciteful toward you Bigfattyt - i'm sure you're not in error..... but I've read more than a few stories of Scout trips where the Leader got in over their head resulting in an epic. That's the height of irresponsibility.

I also want to get a canoe for my family and take some long trips. Would be a blast!

None of my "scary" stories are as a leader!!!!!!! I learned the hard way as a scout! I have never had a scout trip go bad as a leader!

The worst thing I have ever had happen as a leader was one boy cut his fingers, and we had no bandaids! Fortunately, we had plenty of paper towels and Gorilla Duct Tape! (we were only 7 miles from town, and the owner of the land we were using on that over night was only about 1/2 mile away in his house if the no bandaids had been a real problem!).

I did have a boy show up for an over night Snow Campout in Spokane with basic leather/mesh summer hiking boots!!!!!! (we had many feet of snow that year, up on MT Spokane). We got 91 inches that year in town, so up on the mountain there was plenty. Luckily, I brought a spare pair of Sorrels in a close enough size, and an extra 4 pair of heavy wool socks, and extra gloves and Hats, just in case any kids showed up unprepared!)
The little lost episode, the waterway is not big, just a bit technical in spots. The above photo's are of the same little stream, but on the correct section (You are supposed to pull out where we put in on that bad trip). I believe I was 13 or so on that trip where we got lost. Those photo's are from this summer, and the section we did was a blast. Needless to say, the "lost" trip only happened once, because our parents were so ticked at the leaders! Other scout groups have been lost out there as well, with some requiring "rescue" after spending the night.



The trip where we lost the three man canoe was on the same river we used to do every year as as kids in scouts (Wenatchee river, starting above it in a tributary). The section of the river we did as scouts was usually a fine and pleasant trip, with some fun sections. The second time we went, it has rained for about a week, the level was already high, and got much worse on the 2nd day. As a 13 or 14 year old, you don't think much about the danger, until you watch one of the grown ups disappear, and you have to paddle in and rescue him! He was one of the leaders, and I was just a kid. He was 75 or so years old if I remember correctly. He was a retired FBI agent, and this story was mentioned at his funeral by one of his daughters. We managed to save that two man canoe that was swamped, right before it, and the leader went under the nastiest longest biggest log snag/jam I have ever seen. It crossed from bank to bank (at a split). The right side, which we were going to take was open. We went left to rescue the leaders!. we got the old guy into the canoe and to shore. The other leader (younger in his late 40's would not let go of the canoe, even when it was dragging him to the log jam. It was his personal canoe. We got a a rope tied on the canoe, and after it dragged us for a little ways we got the canoe to shore and out.

Unfortunately the 3 man canoe, all the tents, and personal gear in that canoe were never recovered (that happened later in the day). We found one bucket, as it's handle had been torn off, and the river was strong enough to pop the lid, and eat the sleeping bag that had been in it.

Wenatchee river and Yakima river are both fun stuff.


All my "in over their heads" stories come from when I was a scout, not as a leader!!!!!! All the lost, or scary moments are all with some one else in charge, and me just a kid!

I have been in scouts my whole life (I am an Eagle Scout). I have been a Scout Leader for about 7 years (never worked with my schedule between school and work full time). So far, knock on wood, I have not had any scary situations.

The canoe trips have all been to well known areas, with plenty of leaders and scouts who have done them before (that last trip, there were 7 or 8 adults), and about 6 of the older scouts had done the trip 5 or so times. (the older leader 20+)

 

[fmajor007]

Sorry, i wasn't meaning to throw you under the bus.... was thinking of other Leaders... Since you've paddled most of your life, i'm confident you'd be just fine

 

[Scott Free]

Now, Karen and I want the light weight stuff in our white dwarf stage of life, so that's how we ended up with the kevlar Wenonah kingfisher. At 38 pounds, it's easy to lift up to the car roof, let alone carry around the back of the house.

You probably already know this, but just in case... Don't store Kevlar or Royalex boats out where the sun can get to them. Extended UV exposure will damage both materials. Some people even put covers on their Kevlar boats while tied to the roof racks (although that's probably overkill.)

 

[Bigfattyt]

Here is a fun little day trip on a lake with my older son. He is 6 now.

I am doing a "water Wheelie" in these photo's . 330 lbs in the back. About 35 or less in the front!!!!!

 

[Codger_64]

That is why I hate those factory molded seats. Since I replaced mine with ash and cane, I can sit in the bow seat facing the stern to be more near the middle of the canoe. I am also known to put flat rocks in the bow for ballast when I don't have a matching partner onboard.

 

[jackknife]

You probably already know this, but just in case... Don't store Kevlar or Royalex boats out where the sun can get to them. Extended UV exposure will damage both materials. Some people even put covers on their Kevlar boats while tied to the roof racks (although that's probably overkill.)

Are you kidding?

My better half has it stored down in our basement family room, and waxes it after every outing. She takes care of that canoe like some car nuts care for their cars!

Carl.

 

[August West]

Yeah, I hear you, my wenonah stays in the garage and my car stays outside, and it gets a fresh coat of 303 after every few trips. Chris

 

[mewolf1]

Mewolf's Wee Lassie has to come close. But for me it would be pretty much the same as my Dagger Tupelo which, on it's maiden voyage down the Arkansas Spring River, I dubbed the "green submarine". I never turned it over but repeatedly swamped it. And then going down Saddler Falls was a trip. I made the stepped falls just fine, but at the bottom continued down under water.

The Wee Lassie taught me how to paddle white water too!! Bagged the boat with inner tubes and had at. Green submarine indeed:thumbup:

Never is time wasted messing about in a small boat

 

[jackknife]

Never is time wasted messing about in a small boat

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Carl.

 

[Codger_64]

Sure, sure. I prefer my small boats on top of the water though.

 

[Bufford]

That is why I hate those factory molded seats. Since I replaced mine with ash and cane, I can sit in the bow seat facing the stern to be more near the middle of the canoe. I am also known to put flat rocks in the bow for ballast when I don't have a matching partner onboard.

I remember back in 1990 looking at the Old Towne canoes at Burger Bros in Minneapolis and saw those molded seats. I told the salesman that those are useless when paddling solo because they cannot be turned around for the single person to face the other way to be properly balanced. No problem said the salesman and he replaced the seats with standard wood/cane ones in less than a half hour and did a good job lashing the canoe down on topper of my truck.

Since I like to drink beer while canoing and fishing I christened the canoe by spraying beer all over it before leaving the launch on a 3 day canoe trip for good luck. Never dumped her yet