On a more pleasant note, I had a nice adventure over the weekend. Claudia and I joined two local paddlers on a three day kayak/canoe/camping trip down the Susquehanna River Trail. We paddled to the campsite on Fri. afternoon, camped Fri. and Sat. night, and paddled to the take out Sun. morning. I have now done about 30 miles of the 80 miles that are available.
The river was beautiful, although a bit thin in places, with many riffles, huge boulders, tall tree lined banks, and a little honest to goodness white water. We had the chance to salolm through the barely submerged boulders, and to enjoy some refreshing spray. I was amazed at how much gear could be packed into an 11 ft. kayak, and with me included, I am sure that we exceeded the maximum GVW. Through the most exciting section, Moshannon Falls, (no real falls at the low water level) Claudia stayed dry, and I bounced off of a rock, buried the bow, and got a 5 gal. cold water lap dance.... It had to be the smaller boat and extra weight, certainly not operator error..... LOL Anyway, that is my story.
Locals, Matt and Paul, were about the best camping companions possible. First of all, they had canoes, with weight limits of over 1000 lbs, and brought lots of food and firewood..... or as Matt said “beer and gear”. Second, they were pleasant and easy going, generous with their supplies, excellent cooks and campers, and good conversationalists. Definitely the kind of guys that you want in your foxhole.
The river was mostly in the wilderness, with many great campsites available. The campsites are back in the trees, just off of the river, and are undeveloped except for user built fire rings and benches. We saw about 20 – 30 other boats (mostly canoes) on the river. About half of the people were camping over night, and the rest appeared to be on day trips. Here, like everywhere else I have been, the people on the river were friendly and polite. One group of 6 canoes, filled with thirsty young men, were amusing themselves by tipping each other over. It reminded me of what it was like to be young and invincible.
It is probably noticeable that I have been living a double life, sometimes a cheerful adventurer, sometimes an anxious victim. So far, I have only been able to distract myself and ignore the big issues. I want to learn to generate a fearless attitude.... defiantly engage the enemy and beat it into submission, instead of falling into despair when forced to deal with it. I can't think that this is the best way to approach the problem, I am convinced that it would be healthier to be on offense instead of defense. Guess that it is something to work on.
Just click on the pictures to enlarge them
The put in at Deer Creek
The white water doesn't look very impressive from this angle, but it was fun
Canoes coming down the river
Camp
In case of rain
Best sleeping accommodations
Claudia
West Branch of the Susquehanna River
The take out at Karthaus
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