On our drive up to Warren this brisk morning we stopped at a gas station just outside of Clarion, PA for one last taste of basic comfort type foods (Mmmmmm... cinnabon!) before the trip and the last flush toilet we would see as well. All of us were individually warned by Seth not to dally. We were then individually scolded upon return for, you guessed it: Dallying. So needless to say schedule and time were important to Seth.
We get back out in the river and notice that Greg and Mark were just coming into view on the horizon. Seth and I easily paddle upriver to them. We try to tell them we are going to pull over at a good spot and make some decisions, but I don't think they understood us or could even hear us over Mark's barrage of cursing. Seth and I then nose it down river and what must have seemed like a puff of smoke to the Brew Canoe, we vanish (again due to our unfathomable speed.)
We run down Mike and Rob in short work as well. I remember thinking at the time that I would have figured them to be faster moving than what they seemed. I mean, both were able bodied, Mike was probably the most experienced canoeist of us, Rob possessed the strength of ten mortal men and their canoe seemed to be tracking nicely. Thought they would have been faster... Anyway, we tell them we have to have a meeting and figure this situation out.
We find a decent spot. We even wait for Greg and Mark to get there before discussing our situation. While we waited, Mike had been bragging about his blowtorch coffee that he makes with a ... well a blowtorch. So I invite him to give me a sample of his wares. Blowtorch+coffee pot+Sanka=Best Coffee Ever. Actually just holding the warm cup was awesome, I don't know if I even drank the coffee. Still frightfully cold. We were all trembling so bad we decided that Muhammad Ali would have been alarmed and advised us to "have that checked out!"
The coffee helped. No that's not a strong enough phrase. The coffee might have saved our lives!
After a summit meeting of all three canoes we decide a camp fire and a little R&R and an early start tomorrow will be the best plan. We will go until a minimum of 4:00pm (no matter what) then start looking for a spot to camp. It was 2:00pm at this time. Mark did stop swearing long enough to say he wanted to repack the Brew Canoe, burn the cooler and track down whoever invented inflatable coolers and throw a rock at them.
So with the end of the water portion of our day at least in sight, we all had a little bit of zip and more gas in the tank. Of course no one had a chance of keeping up with Seth and I. As long as the water was deep enough for us to stay afloat the Bottom Dragger was a force to be reckoned with. At exactly 3:20pm. We see the greatest camp sight. Ever. It was lush and green and had easy access. There was one serious problem. For those of you following along at home: We had said we were going until 4:00pm NO MATTER WHAT! Damn. This spot was perfect. Being so far behind was a real problem though. So, after hmm-hawing around, back paddling waiting for Mike and Rob, then they don't wanna make the call either... Sigh. At this point we just move on.
Looking back on the trip I honestly don't have many regrets. This was one of them. Lesson to any who would follow us. Trade 40 minutes of being "behind schedule" for a nice camping spot. Every time.
Seth and I forge ahead, both cursing our inability to make a decision and frequently looking at our watches hoping for 4pm. "I'm sure that we will see A LOT of good sites a little down river" we say, "No one wants to set up camp that early in the day anyway" we scoff. Camp Perfect. Damn.
We start zig zagging bank to bank checking out potential spots. Nothing is measuring up to what we passed but honestly I don't know how much further we could go. Morale was low. Finally we see and island that has decent access and a fairly flat looking large area to set up tents and get the boats on dry land. The water level can and will raise over night when they let higher volumes of water out of Kinzu dam... so long canoes if you left them in the river.
We all move in a silent efficiency. Boats out of the water. start surveying to pick best spot for tents yadda yadda yadda. Then one of us (I think it was me, but it really is a little blurry at this point) notice a trail of sorts. It leads off, under a fallen tree that is approximately the perfect height to smash you square in the forehead, to a possible good bathroom spot maybe?
LEFT TO RIGHT: Me, Seth, Rob, Mike and Greg. Notice the Concussion Tree in the background.
Nope. It lead to a sweet campground! Fire ring and everything! So after lugging gear a little bit further inland and about 56 forehead smashes later. We do a rather impressive job of getting a campsite up and running. Fire lit and blazing (road flares are AWESOME) tents up, wet gear hung out and (kind of) drying. Not too bad at all!
Earlier when I started to document this whole process I had determined that the safe money was going to be on Mark. He would be in his element out here. Well, I was right. As we were dragging logs and setting up tents and getting the fire going, Mark was making dinner. I was not expecting much. I was prepared for soggy cold PB&J type deals but not Mark, no no. Ol' Cookie Carlson was gonna eat well and we all benefited from that.
"Yinz better get over here and eat! I'm not waiting for you dumb shits! $%##@*&!"
LEFT TO RIGHT: Greg, Mike, Me, Seth and Rob
No comments:
Post a Comment