Maiden Voyage

This is the maiden voyage of Gusto's new Essence 17' touring kayak.  Helpdesk has only been out one more time with his new Storm GT.  We tried a few edge turns and generally just tried to get use to the new rides.  Helpdesk almost capsized Gusto's boat trying to edge turn.  Reminder to all paddlers putting your hand in the water to keep you from flipping doesn't really work.  Somehow I was able to recover and thank goodness there is no video of that little mishap.  Can't wait to get more time on the water in these.

2013 “Ski Bowl” weekend

This year it was back to good ole Sugar Mountain!  We arrived very late on Thursday night and woke up to single digit temps outside.  Gusto and I took a short morning stroll through new snow that had fallen overnight. 

 

Saturday we took a trip up to a vineyard and generally trekked around the mountains.

 

Sunday we hit the slopes at Beech Mountain.  It snowed the entire time we were on the mountain. 

Ski Beech

Helpdesk–how slow can he go?

Sunday before kickoff we took a hike in the woods.

Small mountain trail

 

Fort Sumter 2012

Day two of our 2012 Charleston trip.   We did approximately 5 miles on a trip to and then around Fort Sumter.   Leaving out it was cool and windy.  The water was chilly as well and kind of choppy.  As the day wore on the wind died down and it became an almost perfect day to paddle to one of the great historical sites of South Carolina. 

Fort Sumter 2012

Paddle Out to Fort Sumter at EveryTrail

Bull Island Trip November 2012

 

Helpdesk, Gusto and Hiking Geer made the trip this year.  On day one we took our bikes out to Bull Island.  The morning air was a bit cool but it warmed up nicely as the day wore on.  We tried placing the GoPro on the bike for some shots of the interior island. However, the trails were just too rough and the camera really bounced around to much to make clear pictures.  But we did get some excellent footage on the beach as we road through Bone Yard Beach on the northern tip of the island.  From there we headed over to Alligator Alley and found quiet a few gators.  I stopped counting at 20 and some were over 10 feet long.  Gusto estimated one at close to 15 feet.  Good thing these boys were fat and happy.  We didn’t look like a steak to them this day.

Bull Island on Bikes at EveryTrail

Bull Island–Bone Yard Beach

Green River 2012

Just another great trip down the Green.  Gusto, Helpdesk and Sleepy made the run this time.  Helpdesk wrote a little song about it.  Just a couple verses… sing along in your best Johnny Cash voice.

I hear that water comin’
Running ‘round the bend
I hope to see the sunshine
As we try to score a ten

Sleepy will be backward
No matter what Gusto Said
The water rushing quickly
Helpdesk shakes his head!

The day will be a good one
Another for the list
We are getting older
But giv’n the green our best

Link to all the photo’s

Green River 2012

2012 Spider Lily Run

This year we were a little late for the peak season.   According to the park ranger the lilies peaked about 2 weeks earlier.  While we still had a blast it was a little disappointing that we had missed the best part of the trip in seeing a sea of white lilies from water level.  Gusto, Helpdesk, Hiking Geer and a new addition to the team Niblet made the trip down this great section of the Catawba river on June 1, 2012.   The weather was a challenge but believe it or not we didn’t get rained on while on the water.   The afternoon storms were all around the area but never caused us any real problems.  Enjoy the video of this years trip!

2012 Landsford Canal State Park

Here are the river flows for the few days before and after our trip on June 1st.   Note that we were on the water between 2pm and 5pm

We have paddled this section with water discharge at less than 1,200 cubic feet per second.  So it looks like we were in at about 1,800 or so and it wasn't so bad.  Would like it to be over 2,000 for the best runs.

This graph shows the Gage height.  Looks to be just under 6 feet when we started.

French Broad River 2012

Gusto and Helpdesk made an overnight paddle and camping trip to the French Broad river.  We put in a Rosman NC and paddled ~ 8 miles to a riverside camp.   We spent the night stuffing ourselves with Reds BBQ, chips and salsa with a few cookies to top it off.   We had a pretty good view of the moon after it broke through the scattered clouds.  The night was peaceful except for some coyotes that got a little to close to camp for comfort.  I am sure they were further away than they sounded, but we had a plan if we needed to defend our turf.  Day two we did ~13 miles into Brevard NC.  The second day had much better scenery and was a faster paddle overall.  After leaving the river we hit El Ranchero for lunch before heading back home.
Here is the track: ~21 Miles Total Trip
French Broad River Rosman to Brevard at EveryTrail



 

More photo's click below:

French Broad River