USNWC Shamrock Smackdown 2013
This Smackdown had a different vibe. Sort of a See and be Seen thing. Just you and me and 10,000 of our closest friends.
Reminded me of the Oscars. Yep, that's it. I am already a notorious name dropper (Paddled with Dennis Huntley) so maybe this is the format.
I had posted a trip for the first weekend in March hoping we would have a combination of warm weather and good water on the Tellico. Looking at the river level the Monday before looked promising but the weather forecast was calling for highs in the upper 30s and lows in the mid-20s with snow for the weekend. I kept checking the forecast but by Wednesday it actually looked less promising. I decided to postpone the trip, hoping for more favorable weather.
We postponed the trip from its scheduled date because of cold weather. The following week was forecast to be warmer and sunny, so, why not?
During the week, the predicted temperature kept declining, and heavy rains on Wednesday sent the level of the Chattooga near 4 feet. By saturday the level was 2.44, and the forecast was low 40s in the morning dropping into the 30s by afternoon, with 30% chance of rain then snow later in the afternoon.
Wilson Creek laps 01/20/13
Participants: There was a green boat, two yellow boats, two red boats and one orange boat.
The water was almost too cold for swimming. Almost.
The End.
JMB
Section: Pleasant Green Road to Cole Mill Road (3.6 miles)
Level: 1.5 feet on the Pleasant Green bridge gauge
Difficulty: Class I-II
Date: Jan. 19, 2013
Participants: Sylvia DuRant (K-1), Robyn Maness (K-1), Bob Brueckner (C-1)
The Eno River usually reaches a good level — not too scrapey, but not washed out — in the middle of the night or during especially cold, rainy weather. But we were fortunate to find the river at such a level on a beautiful sunny day with temperature in the low 50's.
Sometimes opportunities come in bunches, and in this case we’re talking mistletoe bunches. As I was perusing the calendar, I noticed that several events were falling into line: a concert in Chapel Hill, then the Sprig Outing trip Saturday morning , another social engagement that night, and finally the club’s annual Winter Potluck/Meeting. I decided the Sprig Outing needed to be part of my itinerary.
Icebreaker 2013—Ron Miller
Once again, my sense of tradition kicked in, this time for the planning of the club’s first trip of the year, our ‘Icebreaker Cruise’ on New Year’s Day.
Mighty Mayo River Trip Saturday January 5th 2013
K1: Dawn Stewart, Larry Ausley, Nancy Guthrie, Pam Maynard, Joannie Lambert, Dennis Ashford, Nate Kritzmanich, Daniel Richardson, Ren Zacker, Danny Byrd (K1) Rhonda Jones (K1)
OC1: Shane Brown, Barrett Black, Brittany Di Massimo, Trent Fentress and Joe Berry
SRVCC Studbolts Joey Fallin and Sammy Allred were kind enough to guide us from the lunchstop rapd thru the final S Turn rapid. Our personal safety boaters!
Upper Russell Fork Trip, 1st release weekend of October 2012. The
following individuals ran the Pound River and the Upper Russell Fork
to the Garden Hole take-out:
Greta Durbin and Marlow Durbin (first timers), Joe and Tammy Laurick,
Kevin Kizer, Lorraine Burnham, Martha Mount, and a woman from western
North Carolina (I don't remember her name). Weather was great and
comraderie was superb. We ate dinner at the barbeque place in
Kentucky.
Trip coordinator: Lorraine Burnham
Sometimes tradition is a good thing, and I am quite a believer in tradition. Several years ago, while active in another club, we held a ‘fall colors’ run in October on the Balcony Falls section of the James River in Virginia. This year I decided to revive that scenario for CCC.
