What a great summer it’s been! I hope you’ve all have had time to paddle. There have been several memorable outings for me—the Red Creek trip in July was relaxing and very enjoyable. We had 5 “youngsters”. It was almost like the “kids” trip that Scott and I had planned a couple of years ago except no kids showed up then—thank goodness. On this one, we had 4 teenagers, Amelia (my daughter), Alex (my niece), River (Scott’s son), Alex (my nephew’s girlfriend) and my 20 year old nephew, Andre. The rest of the group included, Karleene Smith, Scott & Robin Peterson, Gary Smith (no relation to Karleene), Dale Blessing, Walter Dupeire and me.

The party at the Dumas house was a lot of fun - A Big Thanks to Tom and Mona for having it. Everyone had a great time!!

Mimi’s Big Lagoon trip was great. Martina, Mimi and I had quite an adventure in that beautiful area. As Mimi always says, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger!” Well, Martina and I are a lot stronger now.

The Black Creek outing on Labor Day weekend was the perfect ending to a wonderful summer. A great group, consisting of Hoyt (leader), Gary, Woody, Darryl, Larry, Dale, Martina, Mimi and I, paddled about 32 miles over the 3 day weekend. We had incredibly nice weather and just an all around great time. (See Gary’s article inside for more).

Please notice that Hulin has re-scheduled his Red Creek Wine and Cheese for October 9-10. That is always a fun trip!

And don’t forget PADDLEFEST Oct. 15 -17! Read more about it on page 2 and the Tickfaw River Cleanup on September 25!

-Pat

ROAD TRIP: HIWASSEE RIVER – Reliance, Tennessee by Ann Hager
Date: July 24 – 25, 2004
What: 3 OC1, 1K1, 1 sit on top, 1 1-man inflatable canoe, 1 2-man inflatable canoe

Click photos for bigger images.

3 Shutes

Ann

Edward

Gloria and Freddie

Mary

Walter

Bright and early Thursday morning (6:30 AM) Bill and I left and met Walter & Betty Tabary at the Mississippi Rest Stop on I-59. Four hours later we gassed up and had lunch in Tuscaloosa. We pulled in Gee Creek Campground at 5:00 PM and had the pick of any campsite in A Loup. Our campsite was ship-shape in no time allowing us to have a great dinner at the Savannah Grill near the campground. You’ve got to try the Burgundy mushrooms!

Friday was spent shopping some unique stores in Etowah, visiting our friends Greg & Joan Bush, setting up a paddle time on Saturday, and taking a ride up to the Outfitter and to the put-in to show Shuttle Bunny, Betty, the routine for Saturday. Back to camp for a little liquid refreshment, and then we all met at Memories Restaurant in Etowah for another great dinner. You’ve got to try the key lime pie!

On Saturday we made it to the put in for 10:00 AM and watched the first generator come on. We unloaded and ran shuttles; Greg showed up; met up with Mary, Edward & Gloria White and Freddie Wilcox who rented the inflatables from Hiwassee Outfitters and the Web Brothers; and were ready to go by the time the 2nd generator came on and brought up the right water level. We were slow to start while everyone got used to their boats. The first rapid, Big Bend, was kind to us. Bill took a little swim afterward, and Walter came to his aid with a boat-over-boat rescue. Note: Have your sling out where you can easily reach it to help the person in the water get back in the boat. Trying to make the “cool move” at Bigney’s Rock is always fun. Next came the ledges at Lunch Stop which are always challenging. We practiced our surfing and stopped to have lunch on a little island. On to Double Drop – we renamed it “Hop-back-in-your-boat” in honor of Mary. At The Needles we tried to eddy-up behind the big rocks after the drop. This is also a great place to practice “S” turns. We went on down to those huge Haystacks at Devil Shoals for a roller coaster ride. What a perfect day on the river! A smorgasbord, a hike along the river, and a campfire ended the day.

The weather forecast on Sunday told of some rain. Walter, Bill & I met Mary & Edward at the put in for 11:00 AM. Bill McKay & his grandson, members of TSRA, joined us for the short run. Bill McKay has been teaching paddling for many, many years, and we all learned from him. We picked up the pace, dodged some rain drops, and had a blast catching eddies, surfing, doing “S” turns, picking the right way by reading those downstream “V’s”, slight wave trains, and depressions in the horizon line. Walter & I made the slide at Bigney’s Rock the 1st time. The rain started to hit at the Needles, but it did not stop us from surfing. Walter & Edward pushed the envelope hard and had a few turnovers with some self-rescue practice. There where lots of Canadian geese, a hawk buzzed us, and fishermen were out in strength trying to catch those rainbow and smallmouth. We hurried along cause of the rain and lightning and blasted through the haystacks full speed ahead. What a hoot! Hager’s famous Gee Creek Chicken was oh-so-good that night as well as more of the liquid refreshment. Good food, good friends, good paddling – what more can you ask for! See you on the river!