Source to Sea Wrap Up!

In 30 Days our group of 12 paddlers have experienced:
1. 427 miles paddled
2. 9 portages walked (adding a few more miles to the total)
3. 15 new friends (who helped us out along the way and signed our paddle) made
4. 26 nights in a tent/hammock slept
5. 2 Service-Learning projects completed
6. 386 beer cans from the river or camp fire rings removed
7. 1 "Air Jordan" sneaker found
8. 15 riddles answered
9. 274 jokes told
10. 221 jokes at which we laughed "BOOberry!"
11. 48 meals on an MSR Whisperlite Stove cooked
12. Countless - memories of a lifetime made!

It's difficult to summarize an expedition like this in a short list, or in a one-word answer. It's a challenge to tell others "how it went" unless they are willing to spend some time listening a few of the vignettes I've been telling. I started this expedition out by saying that the group which leaves on day 1 will not be the same group which returns to Boone; and this has become true. Somewhere and in someway this group changed, for the better. I have invited the students who joined us on the trip to share their post-trip reflections on this blog and will share them with you as I get them. The trip may be complete but the stories remain to be told.

Thanks for reading and following along, yours in adventure

Hutch

Ocean, sweet ocean, part 2

As tired as we all were from completing the final leg of our journey, a handfull of us couldn't resist the urge to unload some boats, and go play in the surf about a quarter-mile off shore. Sunset sea kayak surf sessions are always a pleasant end to epic days.

This morning, we woke up and watched the sun rise over the Atlantic with hot drinks and oatmeal: just enough to fuel our paddle to our take-out. Along the way, we we accompanied by a pod of dolphins in the Intracoastal Waterway to the boat ramp where we met up with our van, loaded up and drove into Georgetown for a delicious lunch. At our riverfront restaurant, Buzz's Roost, we had our final reflections and shared memories we had of each member of the expedition over the past 30 days. After a stop in the ice cream shop next door, we piled back into the van and are now currently headed back up the mountain. The change of daily routine that begins tomorrow will absolutely be a shock for us, but that just means that a new adventure shouldn't be too far down the road as we head our seperate ways for the rest of the summer.

Ocean, sweet ocean

The itinerary for yesterday: reach the destination that we set out a month ago from Grandfather Mountain with. The past few days saw a lot of the same foliage and geography along the river bank as we paddled through the Francis Marion Natl Forest. However, yesterday's 20 mile paddle saw such a severe change in terrain from freshwater swamp to salt marsh. We thought we were seeing as many alligators as we'd see for the entire trip, but we couldn't have been more wrong. Our final tally during yesterday's paddle was 22, mostly around the 7 to 8 foot range. There was no coincidence that the island to the south of our beach had the unmistakeable profile of a 'gator.

The feeling that yesterday was the culmination of all our hard work for the past month was apparent in our eagerness to see the crashing waves of the ocean as we made our last turn at Santee Point. The realization of where we had just arrived didn't really sink in until we had landed our boats on the beach, stripped off all our kayaking gear and sprinted into the cool salt water. We had finally done it! We were pitching our tents for the final time where the waterway that provided a highway for us this past month flows out into the ocean. The horseflies, as persistent and annoying they had been previously, actually provided some entertainment in how many could you swat in a single hand slap. There were also fresh turtle crawls at our beach and nests marked and covered by the local marine biology establishment.

Continued...

Almost there!

What a day!

Same routine as usual today, and we are 35 miles closer to the ocean. Today's paddling was a great example of how far we're able to go with an early start, well-placed breaks, and excellent weather. Having a nice overcast sky for the first half of the day was a welcome cchange from the blazing hot sun we've experienced so much of. There are now even more clear signs of the coast, yet no salty taste in the air or water. We did see an 8 or 9 foot alligator that, according to it's swim path, swam right underneath Alex and Hutch. Our total alligator count since Lake Marion is somewhere between 4 and 6 (varying reports).

Tomorrow morning, we make our final 20 mile push to the ocean and complete one of the objectives that we set out from G.Father Mountain with. We are all expecting to witness some inspired paddling tomorrow as the salt smell of the Atlantic starts to fill the air.

Ocean tomorrow!

Sunrise, sunset: we're paddling

6/4/11

Today was, without question, one of the more epic days of our paddle to the ocean. We had a little taste of everything ranging from hot temperatures, high mileage, early mornings, awesome lunch spots, challenging portages, generosity of people we run in to, and beautiful sunsets as we set up camp for the night.

A 4am wake-up time meant that we'd be able to cover a good bit of our mileage for the day as the sun was just rising. Eventually, we had to make our open-water push across Lake Marion to a beach that had plenty of cypress trees to hammock from for lunch. After our siesta, it was time for the very last portage of the trip: the Santee Dam. Carrying our boats up the steep rocky embankment was characteristic of the easy portage we were all hoping for. Fortunately, we had a very pleasant encounter that resulted in having our boats driven to our put in on the other side. After putting back onto the water, we paddled a few more miles to our campsite for the night; possibly one of the best sites of the trip.

And yes, there are alligators.

Ocean in 3 days!

That Lake Marion Hotness

We reached our final lake today. It's exciting to see signs that we are nearing the ocean. Cyprus trees dominate the water banks, white ibis fly overhead, and we saw our first terns. I would like to say that the beautiful scenery and wildlife dominated my thoughts today, but honestly it was the heat. Temperatures in the mid nineties, heat index over 100, and a sea of bathwarm water heating the boat from below and reflecting sunlight up at you from all directions. To call it 'hot' would be factually accurate, but so understates the intensity of the visceral experience of the heat that it's almost insulting to those who were there to simply call it hot. Anyway, the sun is down, dinner is ready, and the state park has gassed all the local mosquitos, so life is good...

Congaree!

We paddled the final miles that the Wateree River had to offer today and pulled up on shore at the confluence of the Congaree River to swim and relax. Before we got there, we saw some of our first signs of the more southerly region in which we are headed: palms, spanish moss, and live oaks. The banks of these rivers are some of the wildest looking rivers any of us have seen. The giant gars that would come up to the surface to snatch whatever had fallen into the water definitely add a sense of wilderness to the area.

We pulled into camp early tonight due to information that between this area and Santee State Park, where we are headed tomorrow, there aren't many campable spots. The map has the area surrounding the river labeled as "swamp," which is definitely believable. The change of pace from canoeing lakes and passing houses and cities to sea kayaking through rivers surrounded by subtropical forest is really quite amazing.

"Where are y'all headed?"

Day 2 of our 90 mile leg to Lake Marion on the Wateree River was very characteristic of sea kayak travelling: smooth and fast. We had our standard 5:30 am wake-up to try and put some miles in while the sun was just rising. As it got closer to mid-day and the temperature rose to its daily high of 90+ degrees, we breaked for a refreshing siesta on a shady beach. Some swam, some read, some slept on the sand and in hammocks. It looks like that'll be our standard operating procedure as we continue to make our way through the midlands of South Carolina. After lunch, we kept on cruising down the river, passing underneath one of our last bridges of the trip. The distance we've been able to cover in the past couple of days have been really impressive. It doesn't look like staying on schedule will be a problem for us.

It's funny how when people ask us "Where did you put in?" or "Where are y'all headed?" that they don't really know what they're getting into. When we answer, we have to start with our more recent put-in, but then go on to explain how many days from our start on Grandfather Mountain we are and that our "take-out" is the Atlantic Ocean. The reactions range from surprise and wonderment of our ambitious journey (one took place today with two local fishermen) to the belief that we're a bunch of crazy paddlers just being smart. The excitement of what we are working everyday to accomplish is apparent in our quickness to take advantage of any oppourtunity to amaze someone of our journey.

Ocean in 8 days!

Sea kayaking: day 1!

5/30/11

After our weekend stay resupplying and refreshing in Camden, SC, we put on the water with our fleet of sea kayaks. It didn't take long for the now paddling-experienced group to get the hang of another form of paddle craft. There were only a few tweaks needed before we knocked out another standard 20-mile day, late-start and long lunch included. Today absolutely was a great start to our 90 mile paddle from Camden to Lake Marion.

It's amazing how rural it is on the shores of this section of the trip. We saw a total of three houses, which is incredibly low compared to some of the resevoirs we paddled through. The Memorial Day crowd was also restrained to only a handful of beachgoers and anglers, again, most likely due to the "out there" nature of the Wateree River from here until the Congaree and on to Lake Marion. It seemed like the majority of rivergoers were deer, heron, bald eagles, ospreys, the continuous appearance of the elusive, monster fish, and other unseen natives of the area.

As difficult as it was to leave the air conditioned rooms of the Quality Inn and soft linened beds early this morning, we are all agreeing that getting back into the way of life we've developed on the river is where the true relaxing will be taking place.

Ocean in 9 days!

Brooke Ellis: Camden, Ho!

Today we woke up to what I like to call “Spider Island”. A huge amount of daddy long legged spiders crowded the covers of our tents. We packed up camp after eating a breakfast of cereal and begin the six mile stretch of paddling to our destination- a take out bridge in Camden, SC. The part of the river that we paddled was extremely rocky and often required for us to jump out of our canoes and push our boats over shoals and other various obstacles. The Wateree is a river filled with huge carp and gar fish. Upon reaching the bridge, we packed our canoes away and loaded our backs with our dry bags. It was a mile walk to our hotel alongside a road with a grassy area for walking. We began this stretch of our day’s journey only to meet the southern hospitality of a local who stopped alongside the road and offered to take our gear to the hotel for us. We loaded our bags into his car and trusted this stranger to help us. The man made two separate trips to completely carry our gear. Our group finished the rest of the walk to our hotel and upon arrival, jumped into the pool. The rest of the day was spent enjoying hot showers, a short walk to a convince store, movies on tv, a meal at a Mexican restaurant for dinner, and most importantly, a comfortable bed with tons of pillows!

Brooke Ellis, 20. From Cary, NC is an Interdisciplinary Studies major with a self designed concentration in Cultural and Political International Studies.

Kayleigh Loucks

Source to Sea Cookbook

Breakfasts
* Chocolate chip and banana pancakes- pancake mix, bananas, chocolate chunks, and maple syrup
* Parfaits- vanilla yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and granola
* French Toast- bread, eggs, milk, and maple syrup

Snacks
* Salty Snack- cheez its, pretzels
* Sweet Snack- chocolate chips, graham crackers, and marshmallows

Lunch
* Lunch pizza- pitas, pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni
* Tabouli- tabouli mix, tuna, mayo and wheat thins
* Veggie day- Italian bread, cream cheese, cucumbers, carrots, and pepperoni
* Power Bombs- wraps, chunky peanut butter, honey, banana, and raisins

Dinner
*Spaghetti and Garlic Bread- noodles, spaghetti sauce with veggies, ground beef, parmesan, Italian bread, and garlic
* Burritos- wraps, beans, rice, ground beef, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, hot sauce
* Salmon Sandwiches- bread, salmon, mayo, and relish
* Mac and Cheese- macaroni, blocks of cheese, cream cheese, and parmesan
*Falafels- falafels mix, wraps, lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, and Caesar dressing

Desserts
* Pudding
*S’mores

Before coming on this trip I’m sure many of us wondered about what kind of meals we would be having while on the trip. I know I worried we would be eating meals of beans and rice every other night but as you can see that’s not been the case. We’ve all brought some of our favourite meals to the table for the group to try and many of us have adopted new favourites. They say that the table brings families together and I definitely find this true within our group. We all take turns making the shopping lists, packing the food, cooking and cleaning. It’s a way for us to share some of our unique backgrounds with the group. It’s also a chance for us to come together as a group and sit down and talk and have fun as a group.

Kayleigh Loucks is a rising junior from Cornwall, Ontario, working towards a major in English with a concentration in reative writing, and a minor in French

Kelli Straka

As the final week approaches, it’s hard not to begin summarizing the trip into favorite moments. One of my first memorable recollections took place during the second week when our group arrived to Jungle Island—a small bamboo-infested island accentuated with an array of mystery creatures making their debut during late night hours. Our group finally arrived to this plot of land after a long day of canoeing and decided to reside here after desperately searching for any suitable camping ground. I am going to be perfectly honest, the thought of cramming four tents onto this island did not excite me in the least, especially while the open plot of field across the island teased me for the entire stay. The island was completely too small and had hardly any open space for tents; and even if the area was slightly open, it was full of bamboo and/or ants. But as the day continued, Jungle Island began to grow on me—that is, until it turned dark. As Meredith, Kayleigh, and I crawled into our tent and began to fall asleep, a whippoorwill decided to start whistling… loudly. Despite attempts to shush this incessant bird with barking, mooing, and a variety of other animal noises, the whippoorwill did not stop. Yet the noises did not finish with the obnoxious bird, they proceeded with a mysterious scratching noise at the corner of our tent. By this point, Kayleigh had already fallen asleep—which is also another mystery of that night—but Meredith and I had to resolve the scratching noise issue. Attempting to bring the noise to an end, I smacked the area from which the noise was originating, but this only worked for a short time before the noise continued. Fed up and ready for an end to this nuisance, I busted out of the tent and began smacking the tent hoping to scare off the monster. Feeling accomplished and filled with pride for having the courage to crawl out of the tent to face who-knows-what, I went back into the tent and snuggled myself back into my sleeping bag and started to close my eyes. But the scratching did not leave. Attempting once more to bring this war to an end, I reeled back my arm and began karate chopping the noisy area. Victory was mine. The noise ceased and Meredith and I were able to finally settle down and finally have some well-deserved sleep.

Kelli Straka is a rising sophomore journalism major from Hickory, NC. She is not a ginger despite the comments Alex and Hutch might make and refuses to be called Special K.

Chris Boehlert

5/27/2011

Today was our last long day in canoes and our last canoe portage, but it was a long one. We paddled the remainder of Lake wateree to the dam at the end of it. During that we did another timed mile. The first time my mile was 19.47, this time Brian and I shot for 10.00 but ended up with 14.30, pretty solid still. Also on the way we all tied our canoes together and made a giant sailing raft using a dining fly. We weren’t going too fast but it was cool. When we finally reached the dam and began moving our gear to the road it began pouring and thundering like crazy. I was enjoying it but we were fortunate enough to have a man from the water treatment plant allow us to take shelter in a pump house and use a short cut through the plant. Even with the short cut it was a long portage. I could barely lift my arms by the time we were finished , but it felt great knowing we had no more canoe portages. We put back in and floated a mile downstream to an island where we set up camp. The rain let up at point but continued into the night, it was excellent to have a warm meal before I hit the sack.

Chris Boehlert is a rising sophomore psychology major and a quote he lives by is "It's a dangerous business, going out of your door, you step into the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to."

Tristan Rodenhauser

As a group, we know the drill when it comes to setting up camp, tents, and making dinner. We have a rhyme going as well whenever we come up against a dam. The portage of the Wateree Dam, we pull up on Duke Power Plant property an take a look around scouting for our route to the other side. This is the 7th dam we have crossed out of 8. Twice we have found designated trails to walk on, twice we have gotten a ride around them. Todays route is unique like all the rest, the new challenge was the rain that soaked us as we brought the canoes up the hill to the road. Between aerial pics and Kellie asking a man about where to go we got a break- he let us cut through their grounds, opening one of their many electric high voltage gates. We decided the cart would not survive the walk through the woods that was our shortcut, in stead we broke into groups some of us carried our gear in the large bill’s bags, others took canoes two at a time on the cart over the road. On the second trip we carried two canoes above our heads to save on time of going back with the cart for a third trip to save on time since it was getting late. As we re-packed the canoes the cooling rain let up, we made camp maybe a mile down the shore, still with in sight of the dam.

Tristan Rodenhauser from Kill Devil Hills, NC a rising senior studying Criminal Justice. Would love to use her degree in an outdoors setting.

Brian Murphy

I have been amazed to see how helpful people have been to us along our journey. We have come a long way since Grandfather Mountain, currently in Camden, SC, and already people along the way have given up so much of their time and hospitality. Mr. Kessel in Hickory let us camp in his backyard when there was nowhere for us to sleep. The OP and UREC staffs have been essential to our journey in logistics and transportation. Ronnie at the Catawba Indian Nation was a great help to us letting us stay on their land and teaching us about the culture that they are keeping alive. The least we could do was a service project where we cleaned up a trail that had been wrecked with fallen trees from a storm the previous week. Then there is Katie from the USC OP who went out of her way to drive us and shuttle us around the Great Falls reservoirs, without her we would have been stopped in our tracks with no where to go. Even just yesterday David Keisler, a stranger to us, picked us up while we were walking 2 miles from the river to where we planned to stay in Camden. While walking down the freeway 601, despite all of the people we passed he was the only on to stop and lend us a hand. All of these people and even the ones I haven’t mentioned have had a huge impact on our expedition and have been so helpful. I am so glad that there are still people around that are willing to go out of their way to lend a helping hand when sometimes it feels like none would.

Jamie Taylor

What happens when you bring 9 young adults, who have lived in the woods for the past twenty days, and throw them in to a Quality Inn? They set their alarms for 6:00 AM and rush to the continental breakfast to beat the elder crowd. After 2 waffles, a blueberry muffin, an apple, and a mini powdered donut, I ran back to my hotel bed and slept off my food coma and went out on the town. This consisted of hitting up the local dollar general and loading up on sunscreen. After an eventful day of grocery shopping and dealing with logistics we were ready for dinner to try some local flavor. Unfortunately, like many other small towns in the South, every local establishment closes on Sunday. So we settled on a Chili’s, where Alex Schwartz was quite the joke master. After dinner, we headed back to the Quality Inn and we pierced each other’s ears. I think the piercing party reminded me that you better throw these 9 kids back on the river before they do something even dumber.


Jamie is from Greenville, South Carolina and will be a sophomore in the fall. She is studying Exercise Science and hopes to become a Physician Assistant. She loves dogs, the outdoors, and awkward moments.

Samuel Brown: The Day of Knowledge and Good Earnings

It is amazing to learn the history of a place where many years ago people depended on the river like we still do today. Bright and early today our team paddled down to the Catawba Indian Reservation. Ronnie, one of the many talented people on the reservation, gave us a tour. It was astounding to see how much of their lives revolved around the river that we have been paddling. They made pottery, grew crops, and fished along the Catawba utilizing every part of nature that they had. Ronnie shared with us some of their culture with stories and even sang a song of the tribes’. Apparently a lot of the sounds in their songs drone comes from the mimicking of how their songs sounded on horse back as their voices jumped to the horses step- so cool! Also, the Catawba used to scare their children with tales of the Yahasuri(which are little men) that annoy children. Their people are far different from many cultures, but similarities such as their stories to scare children connect across generations on the simplest of levels. After our tour and gift shop walkthrough, we began a service project to clear the reservations trails along the Catawba. Everyone had a blast and I loved the enthusiasm that went around, especially Kelli and Hutch! Sweeping went from mere work to rampaging warfare amongst the rakes. The job got done quickly and our added teamwork really made the work manageable for everyone. The day ended with Ronnie signing the Source to Sea paddle and some of Hutch’s delicious pineapple pizza by the river- doesn’t get any better than this.

Hey everyone! My name is Samuel Brown and I am a rising sophomore Biology Major at Appalachian State University. I am hoping to do conservation work in the future and want to work with rivers around the world.

Meredith Hinson

When looking at the past 20 days of the expedition, it definitely does not feel like I have been in the backcountry for this long. We started the journey with some boulder-hopping down Wilson Creek, followed by a day of funyaking, and then lots of canoeing with some resting and service along the way. I personally have enjoyed every minute of this expedition so far and cannot wait for the transition into sea-kayaks. I have learned many useful tools that can apply both in the backcountry and out. The thing I am most impressed with myself about is that I now eat just about anything. During these 20 days, I have tried and now enjoy foods such as tomatoes, tabouli, hummus, avocado, salmon, tuna, and many others. Backcountry food is definitely much better than fast-food by far. Probably the most refreshing part about this trip is the ability to live simply. Usually being a heavy packer and worrying about how to organize my many different items, I have learned to condense and get rid of more stuff than ever in my life. It is an awesome feeling to be able to travel for weeks with only a pack, a couple pairs of clothing, food, and myself. Also, being without technology for the most part has shown me that it is truly not necessary and mostly overused.

It is also amazing to see how the water has changed throughout this trip. When I signed up for this trip, I had no canoeing or kayaking experience at all. I was in it for the ride, and I am now addicted to water. Going from boulder-hopping on a small creek, to canoeing down a medium-sized river, and on to huge lakes has been a real experience in showing what water-ways have become. However, my favorite parts of canoeing were definitely the days when we navigated through rapids, saw wildlife, and were far away from any civilization. Being away from real life is amazing, and I will definitely be sad to return to civilization. 

Meredith Hinson

Meredith is from Gastonia, North Carolina. She is a freshman Recreational Management major, and really enjoys the outdoors. 

Paddling... it's what we do, part 2

This group has changed as well as we travel downhill. Gone are the days when wake up times of 5 am elicted shocked expressions and minor protests. They are replaced with enthusiasm for "knocking out the miles" before the heat of the day and the flotilla of powerboats and wave runners on the bigger lakes dominate our environment. Gone are the questions of "how many more miles" or "where are we" instead folks ask to see the map. We operate like a good group does, taking care of ourselves, each other and what needs to get done today in the here and now. Along the way we get to experience the moments of challenge, and of elation: getting to the end of an 18 hour day still smiling, understanding your new canoe partner as you spend a day in conversation, the physial transformation of our bodies into calorie burning machines, or knowing the simple pleasure of a warm meal well earned. As I said at the beginning of this trip, "the group that leaves today will not be the same which returns." That change has already happened and it will continue to grow and surprise us with its lessons.

This is why I do what I do.

Dave Hutchison "Hutch" is the Coordinator for Outdoor Programs at Appalachian State University, co-leader of the expedition. He has been professionally involved with OP since the summer of 2002 and has been full-time since the fall of 2008. He oversees the water-based program and loves to be on the water in all manner of boats.

Paddling... it's what we do

As we slide silently beneath the bridges of interstate highways along the Catawba River, I cannot help but smile. How many times have I stolen a glimpse of this waterway for the fleeting seconds it takes to cross over while driving? How many times have I pondered these moments, and wondered what it would be like to be here, now, looking up from below in this canoe with this team? How could I know that I would be so overwhelmed by the gratitude, pride, ownership and respect I have for this expedition? How could I know that swallows, by the thousands, build their mud nests in the concrete corners of these same bridges, unless through experiencing it myself? They do not show their world to those above, quickly passing by on their way to somewhere else.

These moments for me are benchmarks for this expedition. They are moments of meditation on the here and now. We travel along an ancient pathway using an ancient method and begin to view the modern as strange and out of place as we may seem to those viewing us from above. The waterway has been altered over time, from natural flow to dam controlled resevoirs and streams. The mode of transport has evolved from dugout tree to molded plastics, but the path and the way of getting there come just the same --one paddle stroke at a time. We wake up, pack, eat breakfast, laugh, paddle, eat some more, paddle some more, laugh some more, find camp, go to sleep and do it all over again in the morning.

Continued on part 2.

Wateree!

If there was ever a great location for an off day before our transition to sea kayaks, Lake Wateree State Park is fitting that ticket real nice. Nice waterfront campsites, a bath house close by, gorgeous sunrises across the lake; not a bad place to spend two nights. Yesterday, Katie Coley, the director of Outdoor Programs at USC, ran shuttle for us around the Great Falls and Cedar Creek resevoirs, joined us for lunch at the Flopeye Cafe, and accompanied us for our food shop to last us until Camden. Her co-Driver, Rivers, was undoubtedly the most loveable American bulldog/pit bull mix we all have ever met. As a co-leader on all of Katie's trips including, but not limited to, paddling and climbing, it makes sense that he gives some of the best high fives around. After we loaded up at the base of the Cedar Creek dam, we paddled down the final stretch of the Catawba and saw a beautiful sunset as we reached the Wateree River and Lake Wateree. What a time to look back at the confluence of those rivers it was and reflect on the past couple of weeks we spent to get to that point.
Today will consist of some serious lounging, hammocking, and swimming to celebrate our halfway point throught the trip. Maybe we can rig some hammock/sails up on the canoes and practice our sailing today! Pictures to come???

River people

Yesterday morning, we woke to an early breakfast and a sunrise paddle on the river down to the Catawba Indian Nation. There we met Ronnie Buck, the head of music education and all-around handyman on the reservation. We received the grand tour of the old wagon trail the tribe used to travel from village to village along the river, and of the cultural center where many artificats, old and new, were on display. We even were lucky enough to have him sing a traditional song with drum accompanyment for us. After we set up our camp and grabbed some lunch, we were tasked with helping them clear a major trail from the cultural center to the river. What was interesting was how the storm that caused the trail to be covered with debris was the same storm we experienced on the very first night of our trip.
Learning about the Catawba Indians that have lived on the banks of this river since long before European settlers arrived helped give our highway of travel a lot more character. They heavily relied on the river for food, water, swimming, transportation, fishing, and recreation, much in the same way we are using it during this trip. Rivers provide such an important role in the people's lives that live along it, and yesterday was an excellent testament to that fact.

Day 13: Cart-astrophe! Part 2

The first run went fine and the carts were ready for their next shuttle. A mile in, a loud bang signaled the failure of one of the tires. Fortunately, we had a spare. Unfortunately, the wheel that needed replacing was welded locked onto the axle, so changing it out was not an option. The day then turned from waiting for the carts to go back and forth from boat ramp to boat ramp to unloading the remaining canoes, carrying as much gear as you could manage, and stacking the empty canoes onto our Frankenstein cart. Who knew you need to buy three canoe carts to be able to piece together one solidly working one? and it is hardly coincidental that this occured on the lucky, thirteenth day.
If there is a bright side to these events, it would definitely be that if we did not have those carts at all, and not have to constantly be treating various failures they experience, portages would have been many times more difficult in that we would have been hand carrying everything in multiple trips. It is just unfortunate that one of our gear items that we were heavily counting on is so quick to give out on us. Now it is just time to figure out how our final canoe portage will occur with just a single functional cart.

Day 13: Cart-astrophe!

As i'm sure it is apparent, this entry is a few days late in its posting. However, Sunday's events absolutely warrant a comment from the Source to Sea gang.

Throughout the duration of our journey, portages have been a constant test of our group's enduance and ability to work together as a team. Route finding around the dams, with the help of some Google mapping, has been fairly straightforward. Finding a good lunch spot above the dam and a feasible put-in below the dam has also gone without hitches. On the other hand, the carts we had planned to carry our canoes and gear during the portages had been giving way on us starting on their very first day of use. The interesting plastic-on-plastic bearing choice proved to be a very good technique to produce molten hot plastic lava. Fortunately, we were able to work with the pieces that had managed to half stay together.
Then came day number thirteen of our journey, and the inevitable finally occurred. It was out Lake Wylie dam portage and it was time to pull out our "trusty" canoe carts. ("Trusty" in the sense that you can trust something will go wrong.) Our original three carts had been whittled down to two because of bearings melting and tires blowing out, so we set off on our portage with out two "good" carts and a bag of spare parts. Only having two carts, however, meant that instead of two trips to transport ourr six canoes loaded with gear, we now had to do three, which makes a considerable difference when the Lake Wylie portage is about a mile and a half.

What a day!

Day 11 of our 30 day journey brought with it a busy day at the US National Whitewater Center (USNWC) just outside of Charlotte, NC.  After breakfast, we set off armed with black trash bags to clean up the shoreline of the Catawba River that runs by the USNWC.  The competitive side of our group arose yet again in finding the most interesting piece of trash that we could.  The winner was a plastic mold of the life stages of a frog!  Perfect to make Jell-O tadpoles with!  It was really amazing to see how much of our trash finds its way to our waterways.  A definite reminder for us to take more care in what we dispose and how we go about disposing it.

As we neared the finish of our clean-up, we met a small group on the canopy tour the USNWC offers and we were able to talk to them about our trip and how we're already 1/3rd of the way complete!  After returning to camp and grabbing some lunch, the rest of the day was spent taking advantage of all the activities the USNWC had to offer!  We did everything from rock climbing, zip lining, rafting, whitewater kayaking, and just plain old enjoying our stay here.  It's funny how when a group that has come together to paddle from the mountains to the ocean is given an afternoon to relax and take it easy, we end up finding a way to remain active.  But, naturally, we're pretty beat, and are headed to bed to wake-up to another day down the river.

Smooth sailing, pt. 2

After our errands, we took our food back to camp, repackaged it, and prepared our packs to be loaded into the canoes for our day back on the river.

This morning, we started our day with a tour of the Cowan's Ford Dam that holds back the water of Lake Norman. A lot of interesting information concerning hydroelectric power, power consumption, and why Super Bowl Sunday is the day where the most power is drawn from it and the nuclear plant next door. Our dam tour guide even had some good dam jokes to share with us.

After the tour, it was time to get back onto the Catawba again. We paddled underneath many power lines due to our proximity to the electric facilities nearby, and noticed so many ospreys that had built their nests on those structures. Around every bend of the river and Mountain Island Lake, you would see an osprey. Our portage of the Mt. Island Lake dam was anything but easy. We were spoiled with a simple, straight-forward portage of Lookout Shoals Lake dam and we had to earn this one. Fortunately, our group has figured out how to take the conditions that are thrown our way, and work towards becoming the most efficient as possible to complete our objective. We finished the portage and pulled out our headlamps as the sun was beginning to set. Not too much later, we arrived at the National Whitewater Center where we'll be spending the next day at participating in various activities and service oppourtunities. But first, time for another good night's rest.

Smooth sailing

The past two days were spent sailing on Lake Norman with North Carolina Community Sailing & Rowing. It was absolutely an amazing experience for all of us! We split into five flying scotsman sailboats, each skippered by a sailing instructor, and made our way down the lake. We learned everything from sailboat nomenclature to the techniques you needed to use in order to, most efficiently, use the wind to power your craft across the lake. Naturally, it turned into a bit of a race. However, many of the instructors claimed that by racing and trying to make your boat the fastest, you're working towards reaching that maximum efficiency. The prize at the end was shelter from the rain and wind and a large pot of hot coffee at their headquarters. We then helped ourselves to the buffet at a delicious pizza place in downtown Troutman, NC. We all ate our fill and then some.

Yesterday, we had our early morning sailing lesson with Will at NCCSR and very quickly, all of us were off and sailing. Some of us were in 420's, and the rest of us were in sunfish. The winds were kind of low, but when we got the occassional gust, those boats could really move.

After we wrapped up our lesson and said our thanks and goodbyes, we began our errand run. We all had laundry that needed to be done, so we took care of that. Then, we had a food shop to do for our next set of days on the river. It is no wonder that food has become a very popular topic on this trip as our daily activities require a good bit of calories.

Another long day under our belts

Today was another 20+ mile day of canoeing with a portage around the Lookout Shoals Lake dam, but with another early morning start, a good breakfast and lunch, and high spirits, we knocked it out with time to spare. Our celebratory falafel dinner on the shores of Lake Norman will definitely be a repeated menu item down the river. Tomorrow, we have our first day of sailing to look forward to but first, we're looking to get plenty of sleep and keep dry as we continue to experience one of the more key components of our waterways: rain.

A bit of river magic

Yesterday, after a 5 am start, 20 mile paddle, and the portage of the Lake Rhodhiss dam, we experienced the generous hospitality of the Kessel family on their beautiful waterfront property on Lake Hickory. It was the perfect end to one of our longer mileage days. This morning, we woke up to a french toast breakfast and a delicious watermelon our hosts provided. We're just finishing packing our camp into our boats now and will be getting right back onto the water to continue on our way.

Off to a great start

So far, we've made it hiking down Upper Wilson Creek, surviving a torrential thunderstorm, and backpacking into the Mortimer Campground. From there, we met our funyaks and paddled down the Wilson Creek gorge! Some parts were a little low, but definitely fun nonetheless. Today, we canoed down Wilson Creek to the John's River, skirted by Morganton, NC, and are on our way to the Catawba River before nightfall! We're absolutely enjoying covering the long distances by canoe as we continue to make our way to the ocean!

And we're off!

We have finally transitioned from the past few months of planning and are headed to Grandfather Mountain to begin our journey! There's a lot of excitement going around as we'll take the first few steps of our source to sea expedition. As that old saying goes: It's all downhill from here!

Almost ready!

We're 4 days out from our early morning start down from Grandfather Mountain and our trip prep to-do list is just about knocked out!  All that will be left to do Tuesday is to start following the river!

Tuesday morning, we're starting our journey from the Grandfather Mountain parking lot with some photos, hand shakes, hugs, a few words, and our final good-byes as we make our way down the mountain.  Along with following our trip through this blog, check out our itinerary!  It shows all of the sections of the trip with mileage and a little bit of information about them.  It's cool to scroll down to Section 11 and envision what all we will have been through by the time we reach the Atlantic Ocean in June! 

There is a ton of excitement going around as we're wrapping up trip prep to get this journey out the door and onto the river!

Gearing up for Source to Sea!

On this past, beautiful Sunday afternoon up here in the high country, the Source to Sea gang had a great field day out on the South Fork of the New River practicing canoeing skills, river reading, portaging, and just having a fun time out on the river!