Finally...

 

In 2006, Mike and I made a scouting run down to Romney and the South Branch of the Potomac to lay out plans for a group trip.  The purpose was to take a bunch of people in canoes down the river and through The Trough.  The group ended up going but I had a work conflict and did not make the trip.  Ever since then I looked forward to a time that I might make the trip.

Ted's Boy Scout troop made plans to go canoeing and the boys made several training runs on Cheat Lake, around the corner from the house.  I signed up for the trip not fully aware that it was to go to The Trough.  I was pleasantly surprised when it finally got through to me that this was the destination.  I already had a ton of research done and knew how to get there, where to put in, and so on. 

I even knew that the river was low this time of year so started watching the river levels.

A call to the Trough General Store confirmed my concern - the river was low and people were "walking" in a few spots.  Recalling the tales from the trip Mike and crew had made, and the twisted ankles and other mishaps, I was not keen on making a canoe trip on a dry river.  But notwithstanding evidence suggesting we would be doing some walking, the trip plans went ahead anyway.

The air conditioning in the Jeep needs some attention but I had done some temporary repairs that seemed to be holding up.  I worked with the boys through the week to get all the camping gear sorted out and packed for the trip.  We had a busy week so picked away at it a few hours a night and by Wednesday had all the trunks and stowage on board the Jeep.

Friday we hit the road just before 5:00 PM.

(Movies)

 

First we went to the church to hand over the food we had purchased for the group for the trip.  Soon Maria came and we made that transaction.  Then at 5:40 we drove over to Burger King and grabbed something to eat.   We drove down to the Friendsville Exit and then dropped down through Deep Creek, hitting the predictable Friday evening traffic at the Lake.  Past that the road was pretty open so we had a nice ride.

Along the way I stopped to take a couple pictures of an old truck.

At 7:51 we reached the Peterkin Camp and Conference Center, where we were to camp for the weekend.  Walking down the track was Daisy who was our hostess.  She gave us directions to the campsite and soon we were parked and setting up our tents.

Far from roughing it...  The canopy that I purchased for the last trip was very useful.  It acted as our front porch, and gave us a place to enter and exit the tent out of the sun (and if it had rained, it would have been nice too...)

Ted wanted to use his backing tent (probably to get away from the snoring) so Tom and I used the big tent and Ted made himself Bear Bait...

Soon the rest of the troop arrived and got set up for the weekend.  When everyone had settled, we started a fire, had a great party for the insects, and enjoyed some S'Mores.

Saturday, 15 August 2009

In the morning we had a great breakfast and loaded out for the river.  We shuffled the canoes to one spot, drove the canoe trailer and a large vehicle down to The Trough General Store, and then drove my Jeep back to the launch location.  When we returned, we launched the canoes and headed downstream.  It was 10:25 when our canoe started making way.  We made an average speed of 2 MPH for the trip, which was 11.8 miles.

We soon ran into some shallows and there did some walking.

We settled in for what we expected would be a long day on the river.  I gambled that with the water so low, I could bring my camera and take pictures.  I was not anxious to get it wet but accepted the possibility that something unexpected could happen and the camera would be lost.  But the day proved to be a good one, with a couple moments where good luck saved the camera.  Tom was in the bow and impressed me with his command of the paddle and general concepts of being in a canoe.  Hiawatha!

When we reached the little island I consulted the GPS and gave the opinion that taking the right branch would work.  We encountered more shallows and poled our way down the short drop.

I also brought along the GPS.  I was unconcerned about the GPS because it's a Marine GPS, represented to be waterproof, and able to float.  I tethered it to the canoe but did not waste any energy worrying about the water that it caught from time to time.  What concerned me more was the great difference between what the GPS was telling me our arrival time at the end would be, and what the leader of the trip had predicted.  It was a difference of four hours!  He hoped to reach the landing at about Noon, but the GPS was telling me we'd get there between Three and Four PM.  With this in mind, I had brought my lunch and drinks in a waterproof sack.  I had to confront the possibility that the GPS would be correct (and it usually is very close) and the rest of the group would not have food.  I knew if that happened I would offer what I had so put it out of my mind.

The scenery along the way was incredible.  I didn't get much chance to take pictures at the beginning of the trip but did manage this one.

We stopped at about 12:30 and just about everybody took a swim.  Here is Mr. Butler and Ted coming over a little fall just before rejoining the rest of the group.

 

After we got wet and took a break, I offered the group some tunafish sandwiches.  There were no takers!  I didn't know what to do.  I was really hungry.  I had drunk three small bottles of flavored water but I was more or less crashing.  But I imagined everyone was really hungry and it would have been bad form and certainly demoralizing for me to stand there and eat when everyone else had nothing so I held out.  Sometimes being Courteous, Kind, takes precedent over "Be Prepared".

There was plenty more scenery to take in.

Tom was being a real trooper.  I knew he was probably getting tired but he just kept on talking and paddling.  He really kept my spirits up and gave me something to think about.

Up on the bank, the scenic tour train came through.  We could barely see it through the trees.  In the picture below there's a small spot of blue and some people just a little to the left of center in the picture.

We saw thousands of dragon flies throughout the day.  I tried several times to get pictures of them laying eggs in large groups but they were very skittish. 

After a while, off in the distance, we say the Trough.

Tom kept hanging in there.

A while later the train came back from wherever it had gone as it passed us the first time.  This time we were able to see it clearly.

Tom was getting tired so he took a little break and I paddled.  The going was slow and it was hard to imagine we'd ever get to the landing.

 

We really trailed the rest of the group.  Between paddling alone, being exhausted, and hot, it was just about the hardest thing I have done in a long time.  It was good to catch up to the others waiting for us and take a rest while we waited for some who had stopped to do some fishing.

We spotted a bald eagle flying around, taking advantage of the thermals, and seemingly following us as we moved downstream.  The bird landed in the windswept pine standing out on the side of this hill.  Unfortunately it was too small to capture with the camera.

After one of the longest days I have had in a long time, we reached the landing. 

I was so depleted I just dragged the canoe up on the landing, and took my waterproof sack up the hill into the shade and ate.  I was so drained that I had a pounding headache, my throat was dried out, and no doubt from a lack of this kind of exercise, my back was killing me.  Once the food got into my system, I started to recharge but the headache and back ache would stay with me for several hours.  Needless to say I was pretty useless to anyone, and neglected doing my fair share of loading the canoes back onto the trailer.  That was bad form on my part but at the time, I was in no shape to attempt any kind of lifting, or interacting with anyone, for that matter.

Mr. Butler drove some of us back to my Jeep, then I drove us all back to camp.

 It was a great relief to be back in camp and have a chance to relax a little before dinner.  Mr. Butler gave us a great surprise and told us that the hostess had opened up one of the dormitories and given us permission to take hot showers!  This was a life-saver!  I grabbed my bathroom bag and got freshened up.  It was just what the doctor ordered!  After that, we got busy preparing dinner.

I don't know what time I went to bed, but it was certainly early!

The next morning the troop made plans for a hike.  But when I got up I was still running deficits of energy and still had my headache.  The kids were a little whipped too and we took vote that came out in favor of leaving for home after breakfast and some helping to get camp cleaned up.  So I let Mr. Butler know that we were going to strike camp and head home, then we got busy.

Tom commented that there was a fly in the tent.  Make that huge horse fly!

Outside were some butterflies

Overall we had a great trip.  We learned some lessons on assertiveness, preparedness, and knowing our limits.  It was lots of fun and maybe next time we'll come paddle this place when the water is running a little faster and we can really make some time!