Hiking - Aldridge Creek Greenway

 Hiking  - Aldridge Creek Greenway            4.4 miles

Scotty Ethan and I headed over to the Greenway as the temperature was a nice 76° outside. We drove over as it’s only half a mile from the house and then started our walk along the creek. It’s a nice flat walk with trees on either side. We passed houses, an elementary school, and a dog park. The creek itself is not very impressive as the water is very shallow and filled with rocks in the foliage along the creek today was starting to turn brown.  It was a popular activity today as we passed a lot of people walking and biking and skating. The cutest of all was a young girl that rode by on her bicycle with a cute little Yorkie dog in a backpack. That’s all I’m writing today because I’m going over to Amazon to look for a Yorkie dog that will fit into a backpack.

Kayaking - Flint River, AL

 Flint River                                    15miles

Me, Scotty & Ethan, Put in - Near Brown Bear Canoe Rental, Take our at the bridge at a Little Cove Road, Temps- high 70s and a bit overcast, Paddling Time 5 hours, 3.4 mph avg speed, river 7.3 ft.

We dropped Ethan‘s car off at little Cove Road and then headed over to Riverton Rd. which is near Brown Bear Canoe rental. We parked the truck on the side of the road and then carried our kayaks down a steep dirt path to the water. It’s not an easy entry, but it’s doable. Once you’re in the water you’re in Briar Fork Creek which is very shallow and the bottom is covered with rocks and most are mossy. There’s no way we could paddle here because our boats kept getting stuck on the rocks. Scotty and Ethan managed to paddle most of the way, and I chose to walk my kayak over to the supposed river. We got to the bigger waterway and it was still shallow and rocky. For a good half mile it was very tough paddling because of the shallowness and the rocks. The three of us were constantly getting hung up on a rock and either scooting forward or getting out to bring a kayak forward. I was definitely the most frustrated of the three of us and I’m sure they got tired of hearing me yell. The water finally got a little deeper and paddling got easier, but the depth was never very much. After 4 to 5 miles we got to the dam. The dam served as a road over to fields of cotton. That was an unexpected pleasure as it made us realize we truly were kayaking in Alabama. After the dam the river did seem to get a little bit deeper. The river actually got to be fun because there were many little challenges. We’d have to kayak around down logs or trees, make judgment calls as to the best path with the deepest water, or go over short little jumps. A couple of times we had to make decisions on whether to go river left or river right as there was an island in the middle. At one point there was a sign directing paddlers to go right. During this paddle, we paddled under Ryland Pike bridge, a train trestle, Brownsboro Road and Highway 72. The last 5 miles or so of this paddle were the prettiest. We didn’t have to make as many decisions looking for the deep water and also the scenery around us was very pretty. Some of the trees are just starting to turn and their yellow leaves were floating down to the water. We passed Some rocky bluffs and one bluff was extremely tall. In front of us we could see a small mountain. At the very end of the paddle, we saw a sign that said NACK (North Alabama Canoe and Kayak) to the right, although the river also went to the left. Ethan was in the lead and we hung back to watch as there were a lot of downed trees and branches. I had had enough challenges for the day so I decided to go back and see what was to the right. Ethan made it through the trees although he said it was difficult at the very start. Scotty followed me out to the right and it wasn’t bad - just shallow. Both river paths came out at little Cove Road and that was the end of a fun and challenging day. (Note- the first half mile to full mile was NOT fun and I’m sure it led to some new scratches on the bottom of our kayaks.)

The creek to the river.

Very shallow and very rock and very mossy.

We stopped here to look at the dam.

Portaging the kayaks.

We found a cotton field!

No social distancing, no masks, no manners! 
We paddled on for another lunch stop.

Signs of fall.

We stopped at this gravel bar for lunch.

Highway 72.

Love seeing the small hill up ahead!

Turned around and stuck on a sandbar.
Just one of MANY times!

Looking up at a huge bluff into the sunlight!

We came around to the right and saw Ethan.
He had taken the river to the left.

Take out at Little Cove Road.

Kayaking- Burgess Falls, TN - Chasing Waterfalls

Kayaking- Burgess Falls, TN - Chasing Waterfalls                4.4 miles

Started at 3:25, 2:14 elapsed time, 2.9 avg mph, 9.4 max mph

 It was a 30 minute drive over and when we got to the Cane Hollow put in, we were pleasantly surprised to see a large parking area. This is new since the last time we were here. The water seemed very calm today and they were beautiful reflections in the water. Once again we paddled through trees on the way to the falls.  We could also see that the water had been higher at one time, as we could see the water levels on the trees. There’s a few turns before you get to the waterfall. This time as we got close to the waterfall, there were many rocks sticking out of the water and the water got shallow. We finally had to give up and put our kayaks on shore and walk the rest of the way. It’s a bit of a challenge to walk as there are lots of rocks along the bank and at some points the water got deep.The waterfall is beautiful, but we did notice there was not as much water coming over the rocks like the last time we came. Today we had an added bonus as there were rainbows appearring in the mist. The water wasn’t too cold so we got in and swam for a brief time. We started our walk back and this time I followed Scotty‘s trail when I should have known better. He led me across a fallen tree, but I lived to tell the story. We got to our kayaks and I managed to kayak through the one rocky spot that gave us trouble on the way up. On the way back we paddled through trees again and noticed a large beaver dam along with some chewed off trees. It was about 5 o’clock when we paddled back into the sun.  The sun was just starting to sit below some of the hillside which made for a pretty paddle. We loaded up the kayaks and headed over to Baxter and ate at the Whistle Stop Café. We have eaten here before, and it wasn't crowded at all with only 2 other tables occupied and the manager was consistently wiping down surfaces.  This was only the second time that we had eaten out since March.  Scotty had a Philly cheesesteak and I had a chef salad. After our day of chasing waterfalls, we were hungry and everything tasted great.  It's a good day when you can say that you walked to a waterfall, paddled to a waterfall and swam to a waterfall!

The lake was still here also, but again beautiful reflections!

We had to park our kayaks and walk the rest of the way to the falls.

The last time we paddled here, we were able to paddle up to the falls.
Today we had to walk along the rocks to get there.

We thought we were chasing waterfalls today,
but we had an extra bonus of finding a rainbow in the mist!

This shot was taken about 5:00.
The sun was starting to set behind some of the hills lining the  stream.

Signs of fall are coming.

A beaver has been here.

And here's the beaver dam.

Cool area!

Back to the launch.  If you look up to the left, you 
can see the new graveled parking lot.