Battle on the James River
| River: | James |
| Skill: | All |
| Trip Date: | 06/18/2016 |
Trip report for June 18, 2016. Co-sponsored by Carolina Canoe Club and Coastal Canoeists.
Text by Jenny Wiley
Illustrations by Harrison and Isabelle Compton
Participants: Jenny Wiley and Izzy Compton (OC2), Tim (Daddy) and Harrison Compton (OC2), Sarah (Mommy) and David (Poppa) Compton (sit-on-tops), Martha James (IK1), Sally Wetzler (K1), JJ Festa (K1), Janal Lindner (K1), Bob Morris (SUP), and Amy (Gran) Compton (shuttle).
Location: Pony Pasture to Reedy Creek section of the James River in Richmond, VA.
River level was at about 5.5 ft at the Westham gauge. We started at the Meadows and got to paddle Pony Pasture rapid. Other rapids were the Powhite ledges, Choo-Choo and Mitchell’s Gut. We passed by lots of tubers on the flat section above Powhite bridge. They were not being safe because they did not have their pfds on even though the river was over 5 ft. We ate lunch on the big rock at Choo-Choo rapid and we got to go swimming in our pfds in the eddy. We had lots of fun and Gran was waiting for us at the take-out. We got to go eat ice cream afterwards.
Harrison and Daddy Tim Compton paddle the approach to Choo-Choo rapid. Other people were enjoying the river the same day (note the person cooling off by jumping into the river from the old bridge piling in the background). We saw a lot of trains and one went over the arched bridge when we were paddling near it. I put my super soaker down to help Daddy paddle the rapids.
Izzy squirted other paddlers while Jenny paddled the canoe. She wore a large bright pink paddling jacket over her pfd maybe because she was cold and maybe to minimize her exposure to “ammunition” from other water battlers. She correctly predicted that Bob would fall off of his SUP in the rapids and was there with her super soaker to take advantage of his mishap as he was climbing back on his board. Poppa surprised her with a big squirt, though.