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I had gone to Kansas to visit Mom when I saw Carol and her canoe. She had
come down from Michigan to see her mom. She and her friends pick a river and
run a section each weekend until they have run the whole river. We decided
to canoe Eagle creek. It had been raining and it was flooded. In talking
with her I had just assumed that this trip would be no challenge for her.
There was a strong current running through the trees. We decided to
postpone the trip for a day so the current would be a little safer. I
would like to share Carol's trip report with you
For those of you who don't know, we have something called a "Bob trip"
here
in Michigan/Indiana that is full of unexpected (wonderful) obstacles
(usually downed trees) that impede your progress down stream. I never
thought in my life that I would exceed a "Bob trip", but..... I DID
IT!
WITHOUT BOB!
I had the most awesome canoe trip last week!!! The trip
was with a friend from Texas, Paul, both of us paddling solo canoes.
Ah, yes, where were we? KANSAS, flatland! Let me mention that it had
been raining daily for quite some time, and also that we had 3 inches of
rain the morning before that kept us off the creek and caused me to get my
Mother out of bed to see the river going through her yard! We instead
paddled some of the flood waters and found what was probably Main
Street of the old town that had been moved prior to the creation of the reservoir.
Pretty neat, since I had heard so much about that old town. I believe
that
when water levels are down you used to be able to see sidewalks going
off
into the water. It was a grand tree lined avenue.
Went out the next day and were able to get on the creek. It started
off
with rapids for the first mile. They were more than I had ever done!!!
And, yes, we WERE still in Kansas! The first stretch, I was in
the lead and when I saw them, my heart really started pumping. OK, I was
scared! I shot for the middle and when I was in them, I realized that
I COULD NOT move my canoe (much) even if my life depended on it! I
figured that I was going to get REALLY wet and only hoped that Paul was
a better paddler than I. When my canoe caught a LOT of water from the
first wave, I knew I was a goner! I thought I was sunk, but continued
straight
down the middle and when we got to a quiet place after the rapids, we
BOTH
stopped to empty the water from the canoes before continuing!
We hit a several more rough spots in that first mile, but none like the
first! Paul was in the lead after that first spot and it REALLY made
me
nervous when he hesitated or paddled quickly to one side or the other.
I
was just trying to read what was coming from his reactions. The
rushing water sound did not help my nervousness! It was an awesome mile.
We continued a few miles on rather slow current, GREAT time for talking
and getting to know each other. You DO meet some of the best people on the
water!
Stopped for lunch beside a wonderful little waterfall emptying out of a
small pond into a creek that fed into the one we were on. What's life
without detours a mile up that interesting feeder stream just to see
what's there!? Actually, we only went a mile up the feeder, because there
were rapids that were just impossible to "easily" get up so we stopped for
lunch instead.
Back on the original creek, I jumped every time I ran over a fish (gar)
that did not see me coming, and made a big splash in an attempt to get
away
from the canoe. I had forgotten how many gar there are in Kansas.
It got pretty hot in the afternoon, so I tried to get the shade
whenever I could. At one point, maneuvering through some branches I put the
paddle
down into the water and hit something hard. I thought it was a tree
branch, but when it started swimming, I realized that it was a LARGE
turtle! Water much to muddy from flooding to see below surface.
There were a lot of sycamore trees along the way (that's another story,
I
have an on going love affair with trees and water, and a stiff neck as
a
result!), Paul took some pics of a HUGH rookery of egret nests in a
large
sycamore tree. We picked up some of their floating feathers along the
banks. What an awesome place to call home, I was envious!
The map showed that we had to keep going north until the creek made an
abrupt turn to the south. We paddled FOREVER north, seeing lots of
places
that were just flood waters, so continued north. When we got to the
northernmost point, there was a HUGH eddy of "green stuff" that made us
feel
like we were entering the twilight zone. Very strange! I forget the
name
of that tiny green floating plant, pretty common stuff, but never in
that
formation!
Not long after passing the "green stuff" eddy, we came upon a log jam!
I
had been telling Paul that I would like to see at least one tree down
across the river to provide some entertainment. I KNOW what to do when
there is a tree down, but I did not ask for hundreds, just ONE! We
were
able to paddle through with minor difficulty. The logs WERE floating,
so
if you paddled hard enough, you could get OVER them. I did notice just
before getting through that there was stuff growing on top of the jam,
it
had been there for quite a while. I laughed with Paul about being
careful
what you wish for, you might get it!
THEN... we came up on the second log jam!!!! I could not even see
clear water on the other side and NO way through it! I took the lead
and
headed for the flood waters and the brush to one side. It was one of
those
times when you paddle a stroke and then just grab the trees and brush
and
pull your way through. The only thing I was thinking at the time was,
I am
NOT turning around and going back!!!!! We made it through! Paul's
canoe
is 16', compared to my tiny 12' toy. Well, that toy canoe can make
sharp
turns and get me into and out of places that no one would believe.
When I
finally hit clear water, I waited quite some time for Paul to show up.
I
had called out to him several times, but got no answer, but it really
sounded like Indiana-Bob crashing through, so I knew that he was still
with
me and coming through.
The rest of the creek was somewhat uneventful. When we got close
enough
to where the creek joins the river, we could see trees/logs/trash/etc
in
the river's current on their journey down to join the log jam that in
the
morning had been about 50' from clogging the boat ramp where we had
parked
for take out. It was like watching a parade down Main Street. Paul
guessed that the log jam would be within 10' of the ramp since we had
seen
it that morning. (I pulled a life jacket out of the river that was
floating alongside a hugh tree). This major log jam ran from the
landing
down 3 miles to the reservoir. The vultures were having a heyday, not
sure
EXACTLY :-) why, but it was an awesome sight. Yes, we have pictures,
which
I will post if and when I get a copy!
When we got near the LARGE log jam, there was NO WAY to even get to the
ramp, it was near being closed off! We knew that this would be no
problem
since the flood water would allow our canoes to get near the vehicle
with
no problem.
A Kansas trip I will NEVER forget, THANK YOU, PAUL, may you always one
with
the water.
Carol
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