Having published weeks in advance a trip on the Cape Fear, as the date arrived I was about ready to cancel. On the 15th it was running around 4.5', but by the 18th it was running at just barely over 2' which, while higher than the 1.6" I'll never run again, isn't off by much. I'd received a few inquiries, but said that if it was below 2' I'd cancel. But still, I felt committed.
Most everyone was clinic-bound for the weekend, so I didn't know who I'd have the chance to paddle with. John McDonald was providing safety for a clinic on Friday, but was to join me on Saturday, and I figured I'd play it by ear on Sunday. My wife Marnie had also come along in "shuttle bunny" capacity.
Back in the depths of winter when I posted a novice trip to the CCC calendar, who knew what might be running on April 13, 2013? It rained a little on the day before the trip, so we were lucky to have the Haw at a couple of inches above zero on the paddler's gauge. There were some last minute emails the night before the trip, and it was decided that since the trip was posted as a novice trip, the 14 of us would meet at the Hwy. 64 access on Saturday morning.
We had a small group show up for our trip from Barnard to Hot Springs on March 30th. Most people were at the CCC Easter camp, but 3 (Marty Vaughan, Wes Dodson, and Jim Behr) came to help Merridee and I celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary in style. We had a playful, uneventful run with only one swim and a few combat rolls.
USNWC Shamrock Smackdown 2013
This Smackdown had a different vibe. Sort of a See and be Seen thing. Just you and me and 10,000 of our closest friends.
Reminded me of the Oscars. Yep, that's it. I am already a notorious name dropper (Paddled with Dennis Huntley) so maybe this is the format.
I had posted a trip for the first weekend in March hoping we would have a combination of warm weather and good water on the Tellico. Looking at the river level the Monday before looked promising but the weather forecast was calling for highs in the upper 30s and lows in the mid-20s with snow for the weekend. I kept checking the forecast but by Wednesday it actually looked less promising. I decided to postpone the trip, hoping for more favorable weather.
We postponed the trip from its scheduled date because of cold weather. The following week was forecast to be warmer and sunny, so, why not?
During the week, the predicted temperature kept declining, and heavy rains on Wednesday sent the level of the Chattooga near 4 feet. By saturday the level was 2.44, and the forecast was low 40s in the morning dropping into the 30s by afternoon, with 30% chance of rain then snow later in the afternoon.
Wilson Creek laps 01/20/13
Participants: There was a green boat, two yellow boats, two red boats and one orange boat.
The water was almost too cold for swimming. Almost.
The End.
JMB
