Caney Fork River - Another Dam Paddle

Caney Fork River                                                            9 miles
2:27 minutes paddling time, 3:45 minute total,
With Bowling Green Paddling Group - about 35 people (Patsy, Jerry,……)
11:00 until 3:00

There was a large group on this meet-up, and the Caney Fork River was absolutely packed.   It's unbelievable how many people are dropped off by the outfitters and they just keep getting dropped off. I have to say, I don't like it much when it is this crowded.

The only thing that I really enjoy about this river is that it's more unusual than most rivers here in Tennessee.  It's a windy river, although you don't notice that as you're paddling (until later when you see the map).  Also, the water is 52 degrees so it's fun paddling on a chilly river on a hot, hot day.  And lots of time, you'll see fog over this river.  Today we didn't see any fog.  It was a bit overcast all day until the end of the paddle when it started to rain really big drops for about 15 minutes, then stopped.

It was an enjoyable paddle as there were many people from the group to talk with.  This group likes to bring their water guns and thankfully I escaped any water blasts - that water is just too cold!

Kayaking - Caney Fork River, TN -Just Another Dam Paddle

Caney Fork River                                                            9 miles       860.3 total
2:27 minutes paddling time, 3:45 minute total,
With Bowling Green Paddling Group - about 35 people (Patsy, Jerry,……)
11:00 until 3:00

There was a large group on this meet-up, and the Caney Fork River was absolutely packed.   It's unbelievable how many people are dropped off by the outfitters and they just keep getting dropped off. I have to say, I don't like it much when it is this crowded.

The only thing that I really enjoy about this river is that it's more unusual than most rivers here in Tennessee.  It's a winding river, although you don't notice that as you're paddling (until later when you see the map).  Also, the water is 52 degrees so it's fun paddling on a chilly river on a hot, hot day.  And lots of times, you'll see fog over this river.  Today we didn't see any fog.  It was a bit overcast all day until the end of the paddle when it started to rain really big drops for about 15 minutes, then stopped.

It was an enjoyable paddle as there were many people from the group to talk with.  This group likes to bring their water guns and thankfully I escaped any water blasts - that water is just too cold!

Kayaking - Crow Creek, AL -Solo Paddle

Crow Creek                                                              3 miles .      851.3 total


I had originally planned to paddle at Stevenson Municipal Park.  On the map it looked like a rather large bay and I thought I could safely paddle alone along the shore there.  As I drove into the park, I noticed a police officer following me into the park.  I got to the marina, parked and looked with disappointment at the weed infested bay.  It was completely covered with weeds and not very inviting for a paddle.  As I was standing there, the police officer pulled up and asked about my kayaks.  It turns out he is a kayaker also and told me of a nearby creek that he paddles with his wife and son, and if I wanted to he'd drive me to it.  We got to Crow Creek and he told me that I'd be safe there.  He said it was somewhat shallow and I'd most likely pass fishermen and other paddlers.  (I did pass a family several times on the creek.)

I unloaded the 10 foot kayak by myself, feeling very independent and adventurous.  I went to the left and paddled under a road bridge where several tractors passed over.  The next bridge was a train trestle and sure enough, a train passed overhead.  That was a first for me.  I was rewarded with a wave from the engineer.  The train went on and on and on!!  I turned around, passed by the put in spot and paddled up the creek.  It was a shallow creek, but I never dragged bottom.  There were shady spots - thank goodness. It was really, really hot this day!  I went up into some of the branches off of the creek, but they turned out to be too shallow to paddle or covered with branches.  At one point, I needed to turn around and after stepping into the muddy bottom, I didn't think I'd get my shoe out of the mud!

Anyways, it was a short paddle.  But, I felt very accomplished to have done it on my own.  I loaded everything back into the truck and headed towards Amanda's apartment.

Kayaking - Flint River, AL - Mudslide

Flint River, Alabama
9.5 miles
90degrees

We left Ethan's car at Hayes Nature Preserve by highway 431, then drove up to put in at
It was SO hot this day - a perfect day for a paddle.  There were a lot of people kayaking in this river.  It really is a pretty river and I enjoyed paddling it with Ethan!  :)

For the first half of the river, we passed many kayaks and canoes.  Most of these boaters were going at a very leisurely pace - many not even paddling!  And many were pulled off on the shore, wading into the water, swinging on rope swings, etc.  If you wanted to picture an American river with Americans just hanging out - this would be it.  The second half of the river after the half-way take out point was empty.  No longer were we passing other people.  The water also seemed to flow a bit slower on this half.  At one point, there was a huge tree across the river.  We noticed that the river continued around the island, but it meant walking over a small stretch of land.  We portaged our kayaks a short distance and I would have gone down a small embankment to get into my kayak.  But, Ethan suggested putting our kayaks on the banks and sliding down into the river.  So I got into my kayak on the hill and he pushed me down.  The front of my kayak went down into the river and a wall of water came up and over into my kayak.  Fun!  Fun!  Fun!  Not sure when I laughed so hard.

We got to the end and locked up our kayaks, drove up to get the truck, came back and loaded up.  Later that evening, we went to Yellowhammer's in Huntsville and had pizza and beer.  A great day with my son!

Kayaking 7/3 - Caney River, TN

 Caney Fork River                                                                                       8.2 miles,     838.8 total

2.8mph Avg Speed, 7.0mph Max Speed, 2:55 time

Me, Scotty, Ethan, Richie, Jim, Cameron