September 2007 - Alamo City Rivermen

The Alamo City Rivermen
Babbler
20th Anniversary Year
Issue MMCCLXVIII
September 2007
The monthly newsletter of the Alamo City Rivermen
Paddling the fine line between geek and Bubba.
2007 Carolina Canoe Club’s
“Week of Rivers” Trip Report
Next Meeting
September 12, 2007, Hungry
Horse Rest., 12333 West Avenue,
near the intersection with
Rhapsody. 6:30 to 9:00.
-o0o-
Club Officers
Temporary President
Gig Hafernick
gibguy76 at yahoo dot com
Vice President
Kathy Cusick
kmcusick at juno dot com
Sec./Treas.
Marie Searight
mariejs at satx dot rr dot com
830-625-0604
By Kathy Cusick and Kevin Longin
We arrived in our white water assault vehicle at Smokey Mountain
Meadows Campground in NC, near Bryson City, where the Carolina
Canoe Club sponsors the “Week of Rivers” on the evening of Friday,
June 29th (for great information on the campground go to:
http://smmcamp.tripod.com/ and www.carolinacanoeclub.com for
the Carolina Canoe Club). The Carolina Canoe Club has a membership
of greater than 700 and I would estimate at least 200 of them were at
the Week of Rivers event for the first weekend. Folks tend to come
and go all week long. There were a number of paddlers who came
from Texas, mostly Houston, but less than in years past. I assume that
since all the rivers have been running at fairly high levels in Texas,
there was less incentive to drive 20 hours to find good water levels.
This was a dry year back east, unlike here at home, so we ran dam
release rivers for the most part.
Newsletter Mailings
Marie Searight
mariejs at satx dot rr dot com
830-625-0604
Editor
Kenneth Bennight
klbennight at yahoo dot com
210-826-7071
The Texas Whitewater Assault Vehicle arrives in camp.
(Continued next page)
Page 1 of 11 Pages
Upcoming Events
September 12, 2007
Monthly Meet & Greet, Kayak
Forward Stroke DVD-continuation
Hungry Horse Rest., 12333 West Avenue,
near Rhapsody. 6:30 to 9:00
September 15, 16,
2007
Austin Canoe & Kayak Demo Days,
Hyde Park
Joe Salvador, jsalv_65 at yahoo dot com,
http://www.austinkayak.com/
September 22-23,
2007
Austin Canoe & Kayak Demo Days,
San Marcos
Joe Salvador, jsalv_65 at yahoo dot com,
http://www.austinkayak.com/
September 29, 2007
Braunig Lake Cleanup (monthly
paddle)
Gib Hafernick, gibguy76 at yahoo dot com
Monthly Meet & Greet
Hungry Horse Rest., 12333 West Avenue,
near Rhapsody. 6:30 to 9:00
October 12-14, 2007
Coastal Trip, Seadrift
Gib Hafernick, gibguy76 at yahoo dot com
November 3, 2007
Goliad Canoe Trail, 5th Annual
Flotilla
I.L. Holdridge, majorh at satx dot rr dot com
November 14, 2007
Monthly Meet & Greet
Hungry Horse Rest., 12333 West Avenue,
near Rhapsody. 6:30 to 9:00
November 23-25,
2007
Turkey Trot
Randy Hohlaus, hohlaus at prodigy dot net
December ?? 2007
Christmas Party
??????
October 10, 2007
(Week of Rivers, continued)
Once at camp, the Week of Rivers quickly becomes a way of life that revolves around talking about river levels,
weather reports, paddling, and spending time with old friends and new acquaintances. We had a site right near
the entrance, and folks were stopping to talk to us all evening, everyone excited about the week ahead.
Since, most of the rivers back east run with a combination of dam release, and natural water flow that can’t be
completely determined until that particular day, there are morning meetings each day in the large group tent
where this information was posted and discussed. Then, local club members volunteer to lead trips to rivers of
their choice that day based on the information at the meeting. Each group splits off in the area around the tent,
and plans are made to round up a shuttle and head out for the day. There are usually trips for all paddling levels
from beginner to expert. There are often clinics for the members put on by expert or professional boaters, and in
the evenings, presentations made by paddling operations from the area.
Not only is the paddling some of the best in the country, there are also many side activities available. The
Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC), has a large center with a great store, areas to picnic by the water, restaurants,
Page 2 of 11 Pages
and a great viewing area to watch folks in all sorts
of water craft run Nantahala Falls. There are lots of
sightseeing opportunities, steam trains, gem mines,
and tons of general scenic drives.
6-30-07 (Saturday)
We (Kathy, Colby(our daughter’s boyfriend), and
Kevin) paddled the Chattooga section IV on Sat the
30th with about 7 other kayakers and a C1er. The
level was a little low (1.29 on the USGS gauge),
but perfect for our first time on this section of the
Chattooga ( the main rapids are: Surfing Rapid:
Class III, Screaming Left Turn: Class IV, Rock
Jumble: Class III, Woodall Shoals: Class VI,
Seven Foot Falls: Class IV, Stekoa Creek: Class III,
Deliverance Rock: Class III(IV), Raven Chute:
Class IV; FIVE FALLS: Entrance: Class IV,
Corkscrew: Class IV+, Crack-In-The-Rock: Class
V, Jaw Bone: Class IV+, Sockem Dog: Class V,
Shoulder Bone: Class III).
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/
detail/id/476/
Kathy Running Seven Foot Falls
7-1-07 (Sunday) Nantahala, Near Bryson City,
NC; 8 miles Class II-III
Kevin Longin & Kathy Cusick (OC-1), Our daughter Heather and her boyfriend Colby. It was a nice rest after
the tough start on Saturday. ( Dam release = On 9am-5pm)
http://www.photoreflect.com/s
cripts/prsm.dll?eventthumbs?e
vent=03TF00U9 click on
NOC photos 5, Kathy is 1-3
and Kevin 7-9
The 7 mile run from above
Patton’s Run is one of constant
waves and swift currents that
create Class II rapids, with a
whole lot of opportunity to
practice eddy turns, ferries and
surfing, with Class III
Nantahala Falls waiting at the
end. With our new lightweight
canoes, we hiked back up
above the falls and ran them
The Indian word Nantahala means "land of the noonday sun," and aptly describes the steep-sided
multiple times.
Nantahala Gorge as the sun doesn’t get a chance to burn off the fairly consistent fog created by the
warm moist air condensing over the almost icy water until later in the day.
Page 3 of 11 Pages
The Nantahala has the advantage of being really close to camp (no long shuttle and late return to camp), the
presence of the NOC store, restaurants, and lots of opportunities to watch the carnage at Nantahala Falls and
meet with other paddlers. http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/1101/.
7-2-07 (Monday) Ocoee River (Middle Section), TN (Middle section;
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/1780/ ) After the Ocoee Draw Down last October
(7 straight days on the Ocoee) this river has begun to feel like home for us. This trip we ran the top section for
the first time (we had been putting in at the old put-in below Grumpies in the past). The pictures below are
taken by a professional photographer at a Double Trouble Rapid, which has two huge waves.
Kevin running Double Trouble on the Ocoee.
7-3-07 (Tuesday) Pigeon River - Upper Section and Lower, Hartford, TN
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/1782/Level: (~1300cfs
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nc/nwis/uv?site_no=03460795 ) Class III-IV Total group of about 16 paddlers,
mostly canoes. Since we had so many paddlers we broke up into two groups of 8 each.
The Pigeon is a good river to practice on before going to run the Ocoee. Most people consider that if you are
comfortable on the Pigeon, then you may be ready for the Ocoee. The Pigeon is made up of the Upper and
Lower sections, and we ran the both the upper and lower stretches. The Upper, which is five miles long,
running from the Waterville Dam to Hartford Tennessee, is the more challenging of the two sections, with
several Class III rapids and a couple of Class IV drop, most notably, Lost Guide and Accelerator (a 25 yard
stretch which loses 12-15 feet of elevation). Other rapids include: Powerhouse, Double Reactionary, and
Vegamatic. The lower section is fairly mild with a lot of little ledges and surfing waves. The river was very
manageable at this level. There were still lots of features, with more rocks to avoid, and pretty pushy water.
7-4-07 (Wednesday) We ran the French Broad Section 9, NC Barnard to Stackhouse
(http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/1074/ ) at about 900cfs, this was a low level, but
made for a nice, technical run (over 700cfs is recommended by AW). It was a perfect day with almost no one
else on the river, which was amazing for a Fourth of July on the river.
7-5-07 (Thursday) Ocoee River (Middle Section), TN As always we had a great day on the Ocoee river,
with the special bonus of meeting and paddling with Randy, A.K.A. “Danger Ranger”, who when we
mentioned being interested in going on the Cheoah, he said that he would loan us his 2 man raft for the
Saturday release.
Page 4 of 11 Pages
7-6-07 (Friday) Nantahala.
We intended this run to be
another “rest” day, but this time
I spent all my time trying to
make tough moves;
Kathy running Double Trouble on the Ocoee.
attainments, catching microeddies, and surfing everything.
Kevin going for the surf at Nantahala Falls. This picture is taken from the boardwalk above the falls, which is a great place
to watch the carnage whether you are a boater or just a spectator. It also allows you the opportunity to carry your boat back
up above the falls easily to run them again
7-7-07 (Saturday)) Cheoah, which is a Class IV (V), non-stop run of about 9 miles, and one of the toughest
rivers to paddle back East. The Cheoh run was the pièce de résistance of our trip, even though we ran it in a
raft. The guy who loaned us his boat (Aire Puma, 2 man raft) was guiding for an outfitter, and we just followed
him. (he was returning good river karma after receiving some in CO the prior week) That run was wild.
We don’t feel that we are quite up to running the Cheoah in our open boats, as they probably would have been
trashed, not to mention us. We only saw about 4 canoes out of the over 400 estimated kayaks on the river this
day. The release was supposed to be about 1000cfs, but they haven’t quite dialed in the releases yet and it was
probably closer to 1200-1400cfs according to the raft guides. Most of the kayakers seemed to be wearing
Page 5 of 11 Pages
elbow and face guards, many of those who weren’t, were coming off the river beat up and bloody, along with at
least one dislocated shoulder, and probably a broken coccyx that we heard about. Not a fun river to swim!
Cheoah River drops as much as 146 feet per mile, creating exciting drops, huge waves, and constant action. The
9 mile Class IV-V run is broken into three distinct sections: the top section has narrow passages through the
trees and shrubs (Some of the
paths through the vegetation were
cleared leaving the saplings
chopped off at a sharp angle at
~18”, thus the nickname Vietnam
rapid); the middle Class IV section
opens up with long, continuous
whitewater; and the bottom Class
V section, which is nearly three
miles long, featuring the steepest
gradient and largest, most technical
drops on the river, including:
Craik's Ledge (Class III),
Wilma's Ledge (Class IV+), HalfCocked (Class IV+), Submarine
(Class IV), MOI (Class IV+), Chaos
Theory (Class IV+), Bear Creek
Falls (Big Uns) (Class V), Python
(Class IV+), (These five rapids
Bear Creek Falls – AKA Big Uns – taken from our raft on river left after together comprise one and a half
running the shoot on river rignt, in the top left of this picture.
miles of continuous Class IV+
whitewater that drop 225 feet: Bear Creek Falls (Big Uns) is the largest vertical drop on the Cheoah at 12 feet
and is a feature unique to the Southeast with breaking holes and boulders everywhere. Because of the highly
continuous nature of this section along with the risk to anyone swimming here, this 1.5 mile section is
considered Class V as a group). Tapoco Lodge (Class IV), The Gorge (Class IV+).
Page 6 of 11 Pages
This is Topoco Lodge Rapid (above), and as you can see, this is so pushy that there are rocks
that you can get run right up on and holes big enough to hold a 16’ raft with 6 people. Kathy
Cusick and Kevin Longin are in the purple, 2-man Aire Puma (11’6” long and narrow) in the top
right of the picture.
-o0o-
EVENT: National Public Lands Day
LOCATION: Braunig Lake Park
DATE: Saturday, EVENT: National Public September 29, 2007
START TIME: 9:00 AM
MEET AT: Meet at the main boat ramp parking lot on Braunig Lake Park. Drive up to the park headquarters
window and inform the staff that you are participating in the National Public Lands Day Shoreline Clean-Up with
the Alamo City Rivermen. The staff of the San Antonio River Authority will allow you free admission to the park
and provide directions to the boat ramp parking lot immediately adjacent to the park headquarters building.
Page 7 of 11 Pages
INSTRUCTIONS & DETAILS: Park staff person (TBD) will be on the front porch of the park headquarters
building. There will be a sign-in table and participants will sign waivers at that time. Litter collection bag will be
dispensed as well as National Public Lands Day commemorative event posters and other SARA giveaways.
LAKE CLEANUP SECTIONS. The two main areas that will be the actual boat ramp itself and the designated
kayak and canoe launch area at Dead Tree Point. There will be designated drop spots for the litter that the
volunteers collect and park staff will drive around to collect it.
FESTIVITIES AFTERWARDS: Members of the Alamo City Rivermen are encouraged to stay after the clean-up
and enjoy our facilities for the afternoon. There will be a Bar-b-que grill available free of charge at a shaded picnic
area on the lake. Bring your choice of meat and a side dish to pass around along with a few cold cervezas.
OTHER THINGS TO SEE: There is a new ½ mile nature trail we may wish to explore along with the option of
additional fishing or paddling. The free admission is good for the whole day.
LONG RANGE ALTERIOR MOTIVE: I would like to check out this venue to look at the feasibility of placing
a (4) lane 2000 meter rowing course/ (8) lane 1000 meter Olympic Sprint Kayak Course.
Note: When we last checked all the necessary equipment was to install such a venue was in the basement at the
Nadatorium of Palo Alto College left over from the 1993 San Antonio Olympic Festival that the Alamo City
Rivermen actively participated in. Now that Texas A&M is planning on opening a south campus I think it is time
start doing some brainstorming.
Some Helpful links: http://wildtexas.com/parks/braunig.php, http://www.sara-tx.org/site/parks/braunig.html
Hope to see you there.
Gib Hafernick
210-492-7517 or Gibguy76 at Yahoo dot com
-o0o-
October 12 – 14: Seadrift
(Gib Hafernick)
This is a different kind of Alamo City Rivermen trip in that I am planning on staying at the Seadrifter Inn (361785-2031) in Seadrift, plus my main purpose will be fishing.
The Seadrifter Inn is situated almost directly on the bay. Immediately adjacent to it is a neat café that serves an
excellent breakfast and draws a good number of the locals. I am planning on arriving in Seadrift Thursday
evening for dinner at Barketts Restaurant at 9:00 PM, which is one of the best Gulf Coast Restaurants in Texas,
and then going fishing in the various bays and estuaries in the area.
Page 8 of 11 Pages
You are welcomed to come along and do your own trip and hang out with me in the evening. There are
opportunities for you to kayak or canoe in immediate area to include the following:
1.
The immediate area of Seadrift
2.
The Guadalupe River Bayou Delta
3.
Visiting Aranssas National Refuge (but you cannot launch canoes or kayaks there)
4.
The San Antonio Bay
5.
Matagorda Bay
6.
St. Charles Bay
7.
You can also just do some fishing at the seawall in Seadrift.
My schedule will more or less be like this for the weekend:
October 11, Thursday - Leave San Antonio by 6:00 PM with the intentions of eating at Barkett's Seafood
Restaurant by 9:00 pm.
October 12, Friday – Launch from Charlies Bait Camp and do some fishing around Steamboat Island in Shoal
Water Bay dinning at Barkett's Seafood Restaurant by 8:00 PM.
October 13, Saturday – Return to Shoal Water Bay.
October 14, Sunday - Hang out in Seadrift and fish by the seawall till about mid afternoon returning to San
Antonio.
You are on your on for making reservations. The Seadrifter fills up fast. See this list of all hotels in that area.
Seadrifter Inn, 361-785-2031
Bay Motel,
361-785-2226
Captain’s Quarters, 361-785-4982
Gib Hafernick, 210-492-7517, home. 210-355-1726, cell or Gibguy76 at Yahoo dot com
Page 9 of 11 Pages
Alamo City Rivermen Mileage Log Sheet
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Put in:
Take Out:
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Alamo City Rivermen Membership Application
Name:__________________________________________________________________________________
Address:________________________________________________________________________________
Email:__________________________________________________________________________________
Home Telephone:_________________________________________________________________________
Business Telephone:_______________________________________________________________________
The Alamo City Rivermen try to keep their activities safe, but risk is inherent in water sports. We cannot and do not
guarantee safety. The Alamo City Rivermen disclaim liability for accidental injury or death in any sponsored event. As a
condition of membership and participation in club sponsored events, I release, acquit, and forever discharge the Alamo
City Rivermen and its officers, agents, and members from all liability arising out of or relating to a sponsored event, even
if negligence of the club or its officers, agents, or members is a cause, and even if I die or am injured This release includes
not only actual paddle trips but also all other club events and driving or riding to and from club events.
Date:_____________________
Signature:_______________________________________________________________________________
Signature:_______________________________________________________________________________
Membership dues are the same for an individual or a family. As a member of the Alamo City Rivermen, you are
automatically entitled to our monthly newsletter and subscription to our email list. Details on these benefits are available
in our newsletter.
I prefer to receive the newsletter: (Please circle the one you choose)
Dues if newsletter sent by email
$15.00
Dues if newsletter sent USPS
$20.00
(Note: Newsletter copying and mailing has been our biggest expense; using email frees up money for other activities,
including our website.)
Mail this completed form, together with a check, to:
Alamo City Rivermen Canoe Club
P.O. Box 171194
San Antonio, Texas 78217
Page 11 of 11 Pages