So this year, I got the opportunity to ride with my parents up to PA. I talked to my boss to get the time off and once it was okayed by him, the plan was set in stone. I got my backpack packed up Wednesday evening and Thursday after work I started the drive to Darlington. I met up with Mom and Dad at their house and had dinner. Around 8pm the decision was made to make the drive that night so that we could avoid the traffic on Friday. So we packed up the rental car and headed north at 8:45pm.
The ride was nice. Mom and Dad rented a new Buick LaCrosse. The car is very nice. We stopped a few times for the parents to stretch and Dad to take a short nap. Dad ended up driving the entire trip. I was rested nicely from sleeping in the car and so I spent the day catching up with my brother and his family. The day was nice and that evening I went to help my Mom and Grandmother with the cleaning business. It did not take too long and we went shopping afterwards. I bought the kids Christmas gifts and we headed back to the house.
Saturday, I slept in. I got up and had breakfast. We all spent the morning socializing. Around lunch time, I went to Clarion with Jeff, Kyra, and Dad to shop for Mom. Dad needed to pick up a few things for her. I went just to get out for a few. I ordered Melissa's Christmas present before we left the house. so I was good with my shopping list. I had a nice time out with them and we stopped for a snack at Arby's.
Sunday morning we did Christmas here at my Grandparents. After breakfast we headed for Kendra's and did Christmas again there after having a huge lunch. I over-ate and was sick the rest of the afternoon. I made plans with Beau to take Jonathan four wheeler riding on Tuesday. Dad decided to let Kendra shoot his .380 auto and so the whole group went outside to fire off a few rounds. It was pretty cool. Very funny!!
Monday morning Dad and I drove to Ridgeway to pick up Michaela and Jonathan. Lisa and Amy drove them down to us and were nice. Last time I saw them, they barely spoke to me. They were much better this time. We sat in the parking lot with them for about a half hour and talked with them about their new technology they got for Christmas. they were so excited about their new phones.
Monday night I decided to take Michaela out for us to have some time together. I took her to a movie and out for dessert. We went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks in Clarion and then went across the street to the AppleBee's. We sat at the bar and talked to new people. I showed her that not everyone is a stranger. We had a good time.
Today, I took Jonothan to Kendra's and we woke Beau up. After discussing bikes and 4-wheelers for a while we headed out into the rain and got riding. We didn't go far but the weather was bad. We went up on the shale hill and rode for an hour. Jonothan had a blast and said he was looking forward to doing it again! I am glad that I took the time to spend with each one of the kids alone. They need it and I have not done enough of it. I made plans to take them back to meet Erin tomorrow at 3pm.
We have not devised a plan for tomorrow yet, but I will post a part 2 to this blog when I get home! It has been well worth the trip and time off! I am very happy I came up!!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Twelve Mile River
I need to preface this with the fact that I never ran any part of this before they removed the dams! I have heard for years how this was going to be a great run and how the gradient should allow for some nice rapids. I have driven past the up-river section of theis run and never really gave a lot of thought to it. Well I have news for ya. We are in luck! This is a gem!! As near as I can tell this is a Big Laurel style run right here in our back yards!!
So a group of six of us decided it would be fun to go at low water, 76cfs, and check out the new run that has just been created since the removal of two dams. We met at the Waffle house in Easley, which is at the intersection of Hwy 123 and Hwy 135 for those who need to know that kind of thing. We had a nice brunch and got all reaquianted. It seems like forever since I have seen all the guys!! Once we ate we got a plan together for getting to the river. We still ended up stopping once and verifying the plan! LoL
We went straight to the put in on Hwy 137. The put in is a bridge with moderate parking on the upstream side of the river before you cross the bridge. There is a gate that leads to the northern dam, please do not block this when parking here. If you hike about an eighth of a mile up the gravel road you can put in below the dam. This requires walking around the back of the dam control house and shuffling down a small rock wall but you get to paddle and extra rapid. For the faint of heart, it is a nice seal launch right down in to the water at the bridge from the parking lot!
Once you put in there are some nice small shoals around the corner and then the river begins to go into a gorge. The gorge is small and could also be related to as a valley. You go through some nice shoals and shortly after you will come the location of the old dam at Catachee. Here is your first major rapid and there is some really nice gradient here. There is excellent scenery to river left where the mill was constructed and there is a really cool old log cabin still in really good condition. Once you get throught this rapid there is a nice 2-3 foot ledge that at higher water could present a ledge hole thatI could see being pretty significant.
After passing the Catachee Mill rapid, it really gorges up and constricts down. The river picks up speed through the next half mile or so and there are some really good boulder gardens through this section. One of the significant things about this area is the sediment deposits and makes on the gorge walls from where the lake level was. There are no trees and the sand is layered. You can still see where the water flashed up and receded quite quickly. Just before you come to the location of the last dam demolition site you will encounter a very neat rapid. This rapid is very narrow and the rocks are quite sharp. Here you just follow the river down through the main channel, but it is very similar to Stair Step on Big Laurel. Very fun!
The last rapid is a boulder garden and long set of shoals where the last dam was located. This will have a lot of holes in it as the water level goes up. Very fun. There is a visual gauge painted on the old dam control building and is listed in feet and inches. It is painted in blue and the low water area is almost all gone. However, at 76cfs we could make out that we were right at 0" and I suspect that the run should be very fun around 1' or more. I am planning to watch the gauge and try to catch it between 150-200cfs. I will post this info on this site along with on the comments section on AW.
Go check this run out and report your runs to AW and BoaterTalk. This is a jewel that just got bestowed on us here in the upstate!!
Sunday, November 20, 2011
My thoughts on Occupy
This morning I have spent a good deal of time trying to get a better understanding of the Occupy movement. I agree with all of the media, that I could find, that there is not a concise plan or idea for this movement. I watched them argue with bankers and lobbiest. I watched them debate with interviewers from all kinds of organizations. I have also watched them be made fun of by several commedians. All of it was pretty amusing. None of it was very informative.
Several weeks ago, I was sitting around a campfire with several people. One of the guys, brought up this subject and began to argue for the movement and what he felt was their purpose. He got very arguementative when I took up for, what he considered, the 1%. I would like to use the term 'wage earners' here, but the people this group are upset with do not earn a wage. He was agruing several points at once, and I wish we could have just stuck to one at a time. What did come out was a regurgitation of what I saw this morning. He told me his salary per year. However, he did not tell me what he spent on his college education. Therefore, I could not do an analysis on his return on investment. He told me that I was ignorant, not having gone to college, so I could not debate with him because I did not understand as well as he did. What I did learn from this exchange, was that he was actually only upset with the .05% of the people of this country. We were talking about the 'have and have-nots' and his feelings on the subject.
I have seen all kinds of ideas represented byt his movement. "Jews are the new Nazi's" was on one sign. This is appaling!! The anti-semitism was being tollerated by this group, shocked the hell out of me. This person should have been asked to leave. Period. This would not be a tollerated statement of any other religion. "Good Jobs" seems to be another big one with them. No one person can define a good job. There is no correct definition. There can not be. A "good job" to me and a good job to you are not the same. Here is what I know. I make less than the national average, per the Buruea of Labor Statics. However I have clothes, food to eat, major medical insurance, and a little money for hobbies. I have a "good job".
... More to come later!!
Several weeks ago, I was sitting around a campfire with several people. One of the guys, brought up this subject and began to argue for the movement and what he felt was their purpose. He got very arguementative when I took up for, what he considered, the 1%. I would like to use the term 'wage earners' here, but the people this group are upset with do not earn a wage. He was agruing several points at once, and I wish we could have just stuck to one at a time. What did come out was a regurgitation of what I saw this morning. He told me his salary per year. However, he did not tell me what he spent on his college education. Therefore, I could not do an analysis on his return on investment. He told me that I was ignorant, not having gone to college, so I could not debate with him because I did not understand as well as he did. What I did learn from this exchange, was that he was actually only upset with the .05% of the people of this country. We were talking about the 'have and have-nots' and his feelings on the subject.
I have seen all kinds of ideas represented byt his movement. "Jews are the new Nazi's" was on one sign. This is appaling!! The anti-semitism was being tollerated by this group, shocked the hell out of me. This person should have been asked to leave. Period. This would not be a tollerated statement of any other religion. "Good Jobs" seems to be another big one with them. No one person can define a good job. There is no correct definition. There can not be. A "good job" to me and a good job to you are not the same. Here is what I know. I make less than the national average, per the Buruea of Labor Statics. However I have clothes, food to eat, major medical insurance, and a little money for hobbies. I have a "good job".
... More to come later!!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wow. Almost a year since I have written anything on here. I have been all over the place and doing all kinds of boating. Probably should just hit the high points with this post. This year has been a roller-coaster at best. I have moved a couple of times. Cell phone number is the same. Snail-Mail goes to the PO Box.
Boating has been good. I am dying to get a new boat. This is the worst part of being broke. I really want to paddle more often and bigger stuff. The worst part is I sold the canoe and the creek boat. I still have the Godzilla, but not a good creeker or flat-water boat. I really want another canoe, WaveSport Fuse, and LL Stomper. I have my fingers crossed for early spring. Hopefully I will have the money together for a creek boat before creeking season. Paddle lots of class IV stuff this year. Did good on all of it. Had a lot of first descents. Next year should have just aas many.
Melissa and I went on a hitch-hiking trip back in April. It was great. We way over packed. I plan to do it again next year. Packing better and way lighter this time! We hiked a section of the AT and I fell in love with it! We have discussed taking a few months in 2013 and seeing how far we can make it! I will have to work my ass of till then, so I can have the savings for child support and storage for my stuff. Hope to be out on trail at least for three months. It was crazy how relaxing it was to be out on trail. Ther is no real outside pressure. Its just you and the trail. Really looking forward to April, when Melissa and I do another section of the AT. We are going to take 7 days and hike from north of the Nolichucky to Damascus. Got a piece of property in Elizabethton, TN we want to look at and check out Damascus, VA.
I have not made any plans for the upcoming holidays yet. I am just waiting to see how money looks and how everything will work out. I have enough to eat and keep a roof over my head, but there is nothing else for the time being! I am looking for a second job. Well, for now, I will talk to you guys later!
~RF
Boating has been good. I am dying to get a new boat. This is the worst part of being broke. I really want to paddle more often and bigger stuff. The worst part is I sold the canoe and the creek boat. I still have the Godzilla, but not a good creeker or flat-water boat. I really want another canoe, WaveSport Fuse, and LL Stomper. I have my fingers crossed for early spring. Hopefully I will have the money together for a creek boat before creeking season. Paddle lots of class IV stuff this year. Did good on all of it. Had a lot of first descents. Next year should have just aas many.
Melissa and I went on a hitch-hiking trip back in April. It was great. We way over packed. I plan to do it again next year. Packing better and way lighter this time! We hiked a section of the AT and I fell in love with it! We have discussed taking a few months in 2013 and seeing how far we can make it! I will have to work my ass of till then, so I can have the savings for child support and storage for my stuff. Hope to be out on trail at least for three months. It was crazy how relaxing it was to be out on trail. Ther is no real outside pressure. Its just you and the trail. Really looking forward to April, when Melissa and I do another section of the AT. We are going to take 7 days and hike from north of the Nolichucky to Damascus. Got a piece of property in Elizabethton, TN we want to look at and check out Damascus, VA.
I have not made any plans for the upcoming holidays yet. I am just waiting to see how money looks and how everything will work out. I have enough to eat and keep a roof over my head, but there is nothing else for the time being! I am looking for a second job. Well, for now, I will talk to you guys later!
~RF
Friday, March 4, 2011
Kentucky Weekend
So this past weekend Melissa and I took off for the National Paddling Film Festival in Frankfort, KY. We had been planning to go since early fall. It was well worth it! I would highly recommend it to anyone with a paddling interest! Great people and location. Lots of history.
We took off Friday around 1pm and headed north for Frankfort. We drove 100 mph the whole way there because I was misinformed that the RavenFork film was supposed to start at 6pm. I was looking forward to this film more than anything! I had been trying to catch it since July. We got to Buffalo Trace Distillery at 6:30pm and went in to find out we still had an hour to spare! I was very happy. We watched a couple short films then RavenFork came on and was awesome. So much local scenery and people I really enjoyed it. Melissa went down stairs to get a snack while it was on, and they had a waiting list to buy a copy when it is released next month. She signed up to get a copy of it for me. I did not find this out till the next day when talking to Thomas Oliver, the director, and he told me about the sign-up sheet. I told Melissa she was very sweet for thinking of me!! After, the films ended for the evening we discussed going downtown with some of the people and partying, but we were pretty tired and still needed to check in to the hotel. We got checked in to room #813 at the Crown Plaza after a half hour of bickering with them on why Rick was not able to make it. We got unpacked and settled in for the evening.
Saturday we were going to get up and go paddling but we laid around a talked till after 11am. It was nice. We decided to go to a little cafe in downtown for brunch and had healthy food. It was a neat little place. I had a ham & swiss panini. Melissa had a blackbean vegan tortilla thing. She said it was good, I was not brave enough to try it. We then headed back over to the distillery to find out what the plan for the afternoon would be. Melissa wanted to do a distillery tour, I was hesitant due to her not liking the smell of sourmash. At 2pm we got on the last tour of the day and did the hour tour with a tasting following the tour. The tasting allowed us to try their vodka, that was good and they make a rootbeer that was really good! The films resumed at 5pm and we stayed and watched them till after 11pm. It was a lot of sitting but the beer was cold and free and the films were exceptional. After the films ended we went downtown to a bar called the Brick. They had a DJ and played dance music all night. It was not bad. the beer was cheap and the bartenders screwed up so our tab was $15 and our friends only got billed $10!! Melissa, had a few shots and they went straight to her head. As we walked back to the hotel she was all sweet at first, then by the time we were back at the hotel she was off in some other world. We went straight to sleep with out much talking.
Sunday I got us up at 7:30am, because we had plans to meet our new friends at Shoney's for breakfast at 9am and then go to the Elkhorn and paddle. Our friends were late and we were starving so we started without them. Breakfast was good, but the campanionship of us boaters was best. I love boaters!! We talk rivers, camping, and hiking. Never a dull moment with all the stories going back and forth across a table or campfire. They live down in Alabama and gave us an open invite to come down for a weekend and paddle the Little River Canyon. That really made me happy. I would love to take them up on that this fall. After we finished breakfast we headed for the river. We got there figured out parking and hooked up with some other people who were like minded about the weather and river. They offered to show us down in case we ran into anything sticky, so we took them up on the offer and I ran shuttle for the group. they were awesome and we got on the water about noon. The level on the Elkhorn Creek was 3030cfs and I would not do it at 3100cfs!! The dam that you have to portage on the left, would not be safe to get near at the point. You have to paddle right up to the pourover adn there is a concrete ledge that you use to get out on and walk around it. There was 2" of concrete showing. Any more water in there and there would have been no way to get out. I also don't think that run would be any fun at all below 2000cfs, but I could be wrong. The locals run it down to about 800cfs, but that is all they have. That makes a difference. We got off the water at 2pm and started our trek home.
The trek home was far more interesting than the ride there. We got back into Frankfort and decided to get lunch at Arby's for the ride home. As we pulled in the oil light came on in the car. I pulled the dipstick and it was dry. So there was an Advanced Auto next door so I walked over bought two quarts and dumped them in the car. After we ate, we went to leave and it started to rain. Turned on the wipers and the driver side one peeled off and was hanging a 12" piece of black wiper loosely flopping around. Great! Back over to Advanced I go. Install the new wiper, I only bought the driver's side since that's the only way the sold them. We pull out and get on the road at 3:30pm. We drove down to the Jellico exit in TN and stopped for gas. As we were getting off the exit, Rick called and informed us his mother had passed away Sunday morning. I talked to him for a while and he said he would be up there for a few weeks getting things taken care of. Upon stopping I thought I would check the oil situation again to make sure we were good. I lifted the dipstick out and it was wet but not really registering anything. So I ran in and got a 3rd quart of oil and dumped it in. Then I checked it again and we were finally in the full position on all fluids. Once back on the road we made it successfully back to Hendersonville where stopped for fries and frosty. the snack was nice and we got home at 9:50pm. Tired and ready for bed, we turned in without unloading a thing!! Another great paddling weekend came to a close!
~RF
We took off Friday around 1pm and headed north for Frankfort. We drove 100 mph the whole way there because I was misinformed that the RavenFork film was supposed to start at 6pm. I was looking forward to this film more than anything! I had been trying to catch it since July. We got to Buffalo Trace Distillery at 6:30pm and went in to find out we still had an hour to spare! I was very happy. We watched a couple short films then RavenFork came on and was awesome. So much local scenery and people I really enjoyed it. Melissa went down stairs to get a snack while it was on, and they had a waiting list to buy a copy when it is released next month. She signed up to get a copy of it for me. I did not find this out till the next day when talking to Thomas Oliver, the director, and he told me about the sign-up sheet. I told Melissa she was very sweet for thinking of me!! After, the films ended for the evening we discussed going downtown with some of the people and partying, but we were pretty tired and still needed to check in to the hotel. We got checked in to room #813 at the Crown Plaza after a half hour of bickering with them on why Rick was not able to make it. We got unpacked and settled in for the evening.
Saturday we were going to get up and go paddling but we laid around a talked till after 11am. It was nice. We decided to go to a little cafe in downtown for brunch and had healthy food. It was a neat little place. I had a ham & swiss panini. Melissa had a blackbean vegan tortilla thing. She said it was good, I was not brave enough to try it. We then headed back over to the distillery to find out what the plan for the afternoon would be. Melissa wanted to do a distillery tour, I was hesitant due to her not liking the smell of sourmash. At 2pm we got on the last tour of the day and did the hour tour with a tasting following the tour. The tasting allowed us to try their vodka, that was good and they make a rootbeer that was really good! The films resumed at 5pm and we stayed and watched them till after 11pm. It was a lot of sitting but the beer was cold and free and the films were exceptional. After the films ended we went downtown to a bar called the Brick. They had a DJ and played dance music all night. It was not bad. the beer was cheap and the bartenders screwed up so our tab was $15 and our friends only got billed $10!! Melissa, had a few shots and they went straight to her head. As we walked back to the hotel she was all sweet at first, then by the time we were back at the hotel she was off in some other world. We went straight to sleep with out much talking.
Sunday I got us up at 7:30am, because we had plans to meet our new friends at Shoney's for breakfast at 9am and then go to the Elkhorn and paddle. Our friends were late and we were starving so we started without them. Breakfast was good, but the campanionship of us boaters was best. I love boaters!! We talk rivers, camping, and hiking. Never a dull moment with all the stories going back and forth across a table or campfire. They live down in Alabama and gave us an open invite to come down for a weekend and paddle the Little River Canyon. That really made me happy. I would love to take them up on that this fall. After we finished breakfast we headed for the river. We got there figured out parking and hooked up with some other people who were like minded about the weather and river. They offered to show us down in case we ran into anything sticky, so we took them up on the offer and I ran shuttle for the group. they were awesome and we got on the water about noon. The level on the Elkhorn Creek was 3030cfs and I would not do it at 3100cfs!! The dam that you have to portage on the left, would not be safe to get near at the point. You have to paddle right up to the pourover adn there is a concrete ledge that you use to get out on and walk around it. There was 2" of concrete showing. Any more water in there and there would have been no way to get out. I also don't think that run would be any fun at all below 2000cfs, but I could be wrong. The locals run it down to about 800cfs, but that is all they have. That makes a difference. We got off the water at 2pm and started our trek home.
The trek home was far more interesting than the ride there. We got back into Frankfort and decided to get lunch at Arby's for the ride home. As we pulled in the oil light came on in the car. I pulled the dipstick and it was dry. So there was an Advanced Auto next door so I walked over bought two quarts and dumped them in the car. After we ate, we went to leave and it started to rain. Turned on the wipers and the driver side one peeled off and was hanging a 12" piece of black wiper loosely flopping around. Great! Back over to Advanced I go. Install the new wiper, I only bought the driver's side since that's the only way the sold them. We pull out and get on the road at 3:30pm. We drove down to the Jellico exit in TN and stopped for gas. As we were getting off the exit, Rick called and informed us his mother had passed away Sunday morning. I talked to him for a while and he said he would be up there for a few weeks getting things taken care of. Upon stopping I thought I would check the oil situation again to make sure we were good. I lifted the dipstick out and it was wet but not really registering anything. So I ran in and got a 3rd quart of oil and dumped it in. Then I checked it again and we were finally in the full position on all fluids. Once back on the road we made it successfully back to Hendersonville where stopped for fries and frosty. the snack was nice and we got home at 9:50pm. Tired and ready for bed, we turned in without unloading a thing!! Another great paddling weekend came to a close!
~RF
Friday, February 18, 2011
Weekends
So the last few weekends have been really crazy! I have a lot more crazy ones coming up as well. Looking at my calendar, I do not have a free weekend until May now! I have a lot more time during the week than I used to but my weekends have gotten planned! I have been able to paddle a few times and I am looking at a new boat! Supposed to go and pick it up Monday and play with it for a week. Hopefully get some mid-week seat time! This weekend I am off to Boone, NC to do some relaxing. I have no plans other than hiking on Saturday. No destination or maps. Just going to walk somewhere. I am really looking forward to this one.
Next weekend is NPFF in Frankfort, KY. I have not booked a room yet and I am not sure that I want to! I wanted to camp. So far there are three of us going. I have no idea what I want to do on this one. I have never been there and I am not sure what to expect. I know it will be a good time the people going are great! I just don't want to spend the money on a room! I can camp for next to nothing! I am really looking forward to seeing the Raven Fork movie. That is the main reason I want to go! I am very excited. I think I am going to take that playboat with me and try it out up there in some of the shoals!
Two other updates, I am looking at a house next Monday out in Piedmont. I am really hoping that it works out. I know it is kinda far from here, but I could use some peace for a while! I am also going to see Tim Barry down in Columbia on Wednesday!! I am really stoked about his one! It has been a while since I have seen him and should be another great show! So, till next time!!
~RF
Next weekend is NPFF in Frankfort, KY. I have not booked a room yet and I am not sure that I want to! I wanted to camp. So far there are three of us going. I have no idea what I want to do on this one. I have never been there and I am not sure what to expect. I know it will be a good time the people going are great! I just don't want to spend the money on a room! I can camp for next to nothing! I am really looking forward to seeing the Raven Fork movie. That is the main reason I want to go! I am very excited. I think I am going to take that playboat with me and try it out up there in some of the shoals!
Two other updates, I am looking at a house next Monday out in Piedmont. I am really hoping that it works out. I know it is kinda far from here, but I could use some peace for a while! I am also going to see Tim Barry down in Columbia on Wednesday!! I am really stoked about his one! It has been a while since I have seen him and should be another great show! So, till next time!!
~RF
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