Rally On The RIver

When the flyer announcing the event showed up in my in-box all of those weeks ago I was all in.  An 8.5 mile kayak trip down the upper Shenango River in early June sounded like an adventure to me.  At the time I was whiling away the hours in the warmth of the Florida sun and the thought that the weather could be anything but perfect never crossed my mind.  However upon awakening on Sunday morning and discovering that the high for the day was expected to "maybe" touch the 64 degree mark and that the chance of rain was 70%, I was quite tempted to pull the covers over my head and let the day begin without me.  But the little in voice in my head was on continuous replay informing me that this was not an option.

Our neighbors and friends here in the north country are of sturdy stock.  They are kayakers, bikers, hikers and snow skiers.  Unlike myself they have not spent the last fifteen years softening up like a stick of butter forgotten in the Florida sun.   I knew that I would never hear the end of it if I permitted a little cool weather and a few raindrops to keep me off of the river.  It was with that thought in mind that I crawled out of bed, bundled myself in layers of warm fleece and donned my borrowed rain gear.  I kissed The Kid good-bye and headed out the door to keep my date with destiny.  (Notice that he is NOT in the photo.  Where has his sense of adventure gone?)



On this morning their were five.  Five hearty adventurers ready to take on the river.  We didn't waste any time and soon the kayaks were loaded into the back of the truck and we were off.



Apparently I was gravely mistaken in my belief that we five would be the only ones crazy enough to venture out on this day.



When we arrived, the launch site at the base of Pymatuning dam was littered with all manner of floating vessels.



Brightly colored kayaks and canoes were accompanied by paddlers with happy faces.  The mood was light, the air filled with a sense of excitement.






Rally on the River was sponsored by the Shenango River Watchers, a not for profit organization formed to clean up the river making it navigable for class 1 vessels with the hope of promoting tourism to the area.  Their efforts were rewarded on Sunday as many of the participants were from out of town.






I had hoped to take my camera along for the ride in order to document the day.  But the threat of rain and the fear that it wouldn't survive another water disaster forced me to send it home with The Kid.



He had ideas of his own and much to our surprise we found him perched high on the Jamestown bridge snapping away in true paparazzi fashion as rounded the bend in the river.



The 8.5 mile course was easily navigated.  I got sideways once or twice and grounded in shallow water but fortunately never had to leave the safety of my kayak.  Others were not quite as fortunate.  One older couple capsized their inflatable canoe after getting hung up on some rocks as did a couple of other canoers.

The log jam of paddlers seemed to invite trouble so we five attempted to separate ourselves from the crowd and for the most part enjoyed a peaceful float down the river.   Intermittent light showers were all the rain we encountered and the temperature remained quite pleasant.



We even had a personal historical commentator along on the trip.  Tom grew up in this area and as a young boy spent many hours fishing and exploring the Jamestown portion of the river.  He pointed out various "historical" sites on the route and always had an interesting tale or two to share from his youth.

The only fly in the ointment for me was the surprise of pulling out my bottle of water to quench my thirst only to find I had grabbed a bottle of white vinegar instead.



All in all it was a great day on the river.  One I'm ready to repeat any time.
Rain or shine.