Crew Kayaking '06

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CREW!!

You just can't have more fun than this without going to Philmont. What a weekend of paddling we had on our kayaking trip. The trip got off to a slow start when our fearless Treasurer ( aka Sleepy) was still getting his beauty sleep at 5:10 when we were supposed to leave the church at 5:00. Happily, Nathan is worth waiting for. We did manage to get to Scoutland for our rendezvous with our instructors on time, if just barely. After checking out our kayaking gear, we headed to the lake to learn paddling strokes, wet exits, Eskimo rescues, and other cool maneuvers. Lara M. faced the toughest challenge until the lead instructor figured out ( toward the end of the day ) that her kayak was a broken-down disaster that even an Olympic kayaker could not have paddled without going insane. Once she was in a good boat, she did great as did our other newbies, Clare, Kenzie, Nathan, Charles and Kathy. The figure eight drill where we all race and crash through each other to keep moving in a figure eight was a real barnburner. It looked like a Friday night stock car race in rural Georgia absent the loss of life and limb. No one even went upside down. Speaking of upside down, I got to practice hanging upside down in the water for Eskimo rescues a bunch of times as I practiced my bracing. No risks - no glory! Matthews S. and C. once again showed their skill in flipping Eskimo rolls although several other Crew members were tantalizingly close. By the end of the day, everyone was looking very comfortable. After a long, terrific day on the lake, supper was well received. Kenzie demonstrated her patented stick method of cooking her brat. To the amazement of all, the stick was both a cooking and an eating implement. Speaking of eating implements, we had to perform a version of the miracle of the loaves and fishes for everyone to eat since we were decidedly short on utensils. Bet everyone packs them next time! Nap time was also popular after the lake session Sat. with Kenzie crashing hard on the picnic table bench before supper (although she roused herself enough to play Frisbee after our feast) and Matthew C. hitting the bench after supper and getting some serious z's. I'm not sure if he woke up until we were on the river Sun. and even that was questionable early. The evening was spent with a few brave souls playing cards ( be sure and ask Lara about rummy ), checking on the Dawgs, and basically chillin'. Our morning wake up included the special treat of Charles bellowing out his wounded animal cry when I tried to get him up. Made milk curdle for a 3 county radius. We were all delighted to hear that we would float the Chattooga on Sunday. The Chattooga is one of the few rivers in America to be designated as a wild and scenic river and for good reason. It is just flat gorgeous ( although, unfortunately, given the low water level, flat was a more accurate description than normal). Kathy M. paddled like a pro ( except for a bit of a "stuck on a rock" thing. More later. ) Clare got so good at taking the rapids that Matthew C. started following her down the chutes instead of one of the guides. Matthew S. paddled in his usual excellent manner but still somehow managed to ram me amidships again this year. It is getting to be an annual tradition. Fortunately, this time he didn't finish me off in a rapid by putting me on over. Unfortunately, he came in high and got me in the ribs instead of on my boat. I never expected to make that use of my PFD. Speaking of ramming amidships, Kathy was stuck on a rock and, being the dutiful, concerned for her parental unit daughter that she is, Lara went immediately to her rescue and tried to bump her free. Kathy responded by trapping Lara's kayak under hers. Time for a parenting skills workshop. Charles got a really nice rock hickey when he rolled over in a large chute and startled all of the guides when he hung out upside down for an Eskimo rescue while continuing down the rapid. Great hang time but bail out and take a wet exit next time, kid. Most all of the Crew had a great time swimming in a big rapid ( on purpose after parking our boats ). Chris M. gave it his usual flair by leaving his helmet in the boat. We know you are thick headed, Chris, but strap that brain bucket on next time, big guy. Nathan listened so carefully to my instructions about staying hydrated that he flipped in one rapid and swallowed as much water as he could in as little time as possible. No gauges were near by but the water level seemed to decrease by a good half inch. Matthew C. took one rapid flawlessly although he insists that it was just self preservation. All in all a great trip. Our instructors were very complementary not only of our progress in the lake instruction and on the river but also about our "have fun" attitude even when things got tough ( like our crab walk in our kayaks down a long, dry rapid just before the trip ended and we had to . . . oops . . . got to hike out a 1/4 mile carrying our boats and gear). What a great bunch of folks. Lets do this again. Remember that there is a fee free ( yes, I said FEE FREE ) float set for Sat. and Sun, Sept. 23 and 24. Reply soon if you want to go so we can try to make it happen.

Don W.
Advisor, Crew 149