As a kid, I used to go on canoe trips with my dad on the Rappahannock River. A few years ago, I set out to revive the tradition and asked a few friends to take a similar trip. We took last year off due to a few extenuating circumstances but this past weekend marked our third year. We do the two day, 29 mile trip offered by Clore Brothers… the same outfitter my dad and I used 20 years ago. (The owners still remember me, which is amazing.) It’s been awhile since I’ve done a bulleted list so I think it’s time I broke one out. Click the image above or here for more pics.
- It was really freaking hot. It actually wasn’t that bad because we spent a lot of time in the cool water goofing off and relaxing. In retrospect, it was probably one of the better places to spend such a blistering weekend.
- I don’t recommend drinking before lunch when the hardest part of your trip is the first 5 miles. In the previous two years, our two canoes had swamped a grand total of two times. This year, my canoe swamped three times before lunch and bystanders actually had to catch it downstream one of those times. The ego hit won’t hurt nearly as much as getting a chunk taken out of your shin while floating down the rapids after it.
- If you’re going to spend all day drinking, eating beef jerky and goofing off, be prepared to set up camp in the waining daylight. If you don’t waste your time setting up your first campsite on a hunting reserve frequented by drunken rednecks, you might get to your final site with a bit more light to spare.
- Don’t forget to reapply sunscreen after every single time you go in the water. If you forget, you will burn, even if it’s your last two hours on the river.
- I’ve realized that earplugs are one of the most critical pieces of camping equipment. In the company of avid snorers, I’m not sure why I didn’t bring them previous years.
- If you give Mike a bottle of Beam and challenge him to do anything, he’ll do it. He probably won’t shut up for hours on end but some of the stuff that comes out of his mouth will be truly classic.
- It’s probably been 15 years but poison ivy is just as annoying as I remember it. I actually escaped the worst of it but pretty much everyone got it from the hike into our put-in.