This morning we woke up around six. It was really cold and the ground was covered with dew. It was the first morning we all were up before the sun! Packing up this morning was really hectic and rushed because of the 26 miles we had ahead of us! In fact most of us ate our oatmeal while packing up all the gear into the boats. Once packed we faced our first challenge of the day which was putting boats in below the dam. Because of how close the steps were below the dam we had to slide the boats in and drag them down river by a rope to a calm eddy to load everyone in safely. We were a little nervous of how this would go but fortunately with good teamwork everything went well. Cameron and I were the last to load and accidentally got our selves wedged on a rock; but with lots of hip trusting and hard paddling we managed to free ourselves. The first couple miles of the day were pretty uneventful except for a few wildlife spottings and Tucker's wonderful singing. The weather turned out to be perfect with enough cloud cover to keep us from frying in the sun all day. Not long after starting we came to our first bridge where we stopped on a really muddy bank for what was suppose to be a quick bathroom break. Everyone who got out had a really hard time trying to keep their balance in the ankle deep mud which became great entertainment for the rest of the group. Once done we continued down river and paddled to interstate 40 where we ate lunch and finally had our first real set of linked lessons during the trip. After finishing our veggie pitas we discussed the different risk and treats affecting the Yadkin river. We also talked some about analysing the different types of information we have received about the river. After paddling all morning the long lunch break was well appreciated by everyone. At this point everyone was feeling the past five days of paddling and were all really sore and hurting - but fortunately we have Marshall with us who loves giving massages and stretching people. We all took advantage of this and once he was done we all felt like a million dollars. Finally we began paddling again and in a rush to get back on the river. Tucker forgot his nalgenes which I found and hid in my boat in hopes for a good practical joke. Sadly he never got thirsty until we actually got to camp so it didn't turn out as funny as I wanted. After lunch we paddled with our work groups and discussed more about the different forms of information we have received. This was lots of fun and gave us a chance to work on group skills as well as focus on our info in more detail. Soon we approached a dam that we were forced to portage but not before passing a dead floating cow! Yuck! As we started getting boats out it began to rain some but quickly quit once we were past the dam and back in our boats. Of course Cameron and I were convinced we could have run the dam but for our safety and Jenny's nerves we didn't. (Just kidding. No one should ever run a dam.) Finally after several more brutal miles we made it to camp which was on old mill farm which is a crazy sweet horse farm. Once again we faced another challenging exit from the water. We ended up setting up an assembly line to get our gear up the steep eroded bank. The owners of the farm were amazing and even grilled out for us! We all thought we couldn't top yesterday's camp experience with the tubers and watermelon. But once again things just got better and better. We ate well, played with horses, dogs, kids, and best all extremely fat pot belly pigs that stole our food. One of the farm clients took us on an atv tour of the whole property. We also got to listen to music for the first time since we left which was a wonderful break from Tucker's singing. Overall it has been one amazing event after another and even though we are super tired and sore none of us have given up or complained. I am also extremely pleased to see that we are still getting along pretty well with very minimal storming. Although it's only been six days, I believe we will continue to get along and develop friendships as we journey to the coast.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Day 6 at Old Mill Farm
The VOR 2010 Team with Dana Meads and our new extended family by the river in Lexington, NC: Melissa, Marty and Will Going; Scott, Janie, and Will Doby, and Sarah-Beth Fishback. Special thanks for all the wonderful food and hospitality.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Day 5 Blog post: Dan Modahl
This morning we all woke up to a beautiful sunny day, and Marcus screaming "Real talk: there's a 10 foot black widow on my shirt!!!" After we all settled down, we had great breakfast of granola and fresh fruit, that gave us enough energy to deal with the insane put-in. We had to carry things one by one down the steep embankment to the floating boats. Needless to say, it took a while... but we did better time-wise than we expected... wich seems like it is starting to be a reaccuring theme. Today we had only 12 miles to paddle, and the sun was finally shining, so we had a great time. Paddling could not be more fun than than in was today... we even had our own jukebox (Tucker) it definitely keeps morale up... for some reason every paddle stroke seems easier when you are singing along. At then end of the 12 miles there was another crazy take-out... there was a low head dam that we have to portage around and the take out is only 20 yards in front of it... so to avoid any injuries we had to one by one come up to some hidden stairs and carry the boats up. Where were staying is right at the top of those stairs on a beautiful plot of farmland overlooking corn fields and farmhouses. Before we started preparing dinner, we were met by some crazy drunk kids who were convinced they could jump off the dam... thankfully Marcus and Austin talked them out of that death jump and they stumbled on their merry way. While preparing dinner we realised we needed oil, so we spent 30 minutes looking for it... only to find out that we really needed fuel. :) Anyways we had a delicious dinnerof gado gado nevertheless. After dinner, we needed to go find water... so Tucker, Austin, Marcus, Theresa, Chelsea and I went to go knock on doors... so we walked down the gravel road. Walking past numerous no trespassing signs and with the sound of a barking dogs and a chainsaw ringing in our ears we knocked on the door of a little white farmhouse and received permission to use their well water... we filled up and left as quickly as possible. After cutting off the circulation to our hands carrying 70 liters of water... we got back to a nice treat. Montie had brought a watermelon and cantelope! He had also brought Bill Brewer, the superintendent of all water treatment to Winston-Salem. He talked a little about the dam, how it was built, what it does, and what kind of fish you can catch. All in all it was a pretty eventful day... but no more so than any other day. We are a very run-loving group... not a minute goes by without laughter. It seems like all we do is have fun, and i am loving it... I look forward to every remaining minute (including the classwork).
Day 5 - camping @ Winston Salem water out-take
Our tents are pitched about 40 feet from this low-head dam. More pics from this site to follow, as well as the blog post for today!
Day 4 Blog post: Jana Eilermann
A sigh of relief was felt throughout the group as we awoke to rays of sunshine shining through the tree tops. After a late night of digging out stairs to the put in, I was not expecting to wake as early as I did. The camp site was peaceful at 6:30am. When the rest of the group awoke around 8, we had a hearty breakfast of grits and were again joined by our lovely friends, Henry and Mary Lou. They were kind and brought us gifts of sweet lous, an original recipe of chocolate and butterscotchy goodness created by sweet Mary Lou herself. As we began loading boats, I found a new friend, whom we named Princess Frog. Mary Lou told me how rare it was to find a frog this year as they were having a hard time surviving in the environment. We pulled boats down the freshly unearthed stair case at the Yadkin Shore around 10:13am and began our 17 mile journey for the day. After departing from our friends we paddled down a wide calm river with tree lined shores. Around 11:30 am we were surprised to see a heard of six cows wading in the right side of the river, which demonstrated both pollution from erosion and agriculture. As we continued paddling, we followed a blue heron and witnessed some beavers splashing around on the shores before us. We stopped for lunch on a beautiful forested beach where we met a gator-looking snapping turtle who was around 1.5 feet long and 11 inches wide with a scary, spiny tail. We stayed on the other side of the beach and feasted on peanut butter and jelly bagels and discussed the key differences between Jiff and Peter Pan. We also learned all about river features including eddies, strainers, scholls, tongues, pillow rocks, and more. Ironically enough, shortly after our lesson, we were paddling through some small rapids and a pillow rock jumped out of nowhere at me and flipped my boat. Being that I am a stubborn girl, I refused to give in and tried desperately to roll my boat back up, but after about a minute of pushing with all my strength, my boat was nearly full of water and I was forced to tuck forward and pull my skirt thus becoming the fourth member of the Yadkin swim team. It was a refreshing swim, thankfully, and I dried out quickly in the sun. I found it difficult to paddle fast as I wanted to stay exactly where I was, taking in all that the river had to offer me. As we neared the end of our 17 mile journey for the day, we entered the somewhat notorious scholls where we scouted and searched for the clearest, safest lines to the bottom. We got a little stuck in the middle but were all able to make it safely to the take out at Pilot Mountain State Park. Pilot Mountain is absolutely breath taking from the water. It looks.like someone took a giant ice cream scoop and scooped a chunk out of the left side and placed it just to the right, on top of the peak. However we learned that what it actually is, is an outcrop of erosion resistant metamorphosic rock called quartzite. The take out was interesting to say the least. We unloaded the boats in the water and passed our gear up a steep, muddy, possibly poison ivy-covered hill to our campsite. It was quite a production. This camp site is much more rugged than any we have yet experienced as a group. The amenities include window maker trees, which required many of us to relocate our tents, and an abundance of bugs of all different sorts. For the first time on this expedition, I actually feel like I am in the wilderness. There is no porta-potty and I am surrounded by wildlife. I was nearly just eaten by a centepede and there are spiders and beetles like I have never seen before all around me. I am loving it, but from the screams I hear from across camp as others are getting settled, not everyone feels the same. We were surprised to see Max this evening and excited that he brought us more food including hot chocolate and fresh berries for our granola in the morning. From my Crazy Creek the aroma of tomato, basil and garlic fills my nose as Aislinn and Rick prepare the sauce for our pita pizza dinner. I am relaxed by the sound of crickets and frogs coming alive as the sun sets and hopeful for another beautiful day. I am looking forward to a good nights sleep--that is, after the girls kick butt at Yadkin River Jeopardy tonight.