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Archive for the ‘Trips’ Category
New kayaking website
Wednesday, June 16th, 2010The beginning of the 2010 season
Monday, March 29th, 2010The kayak season has somewhat officially begun. With the sunshine and warmer weather the website has been getting a lot of visits and the phone has been ringing. Excitement is building at AquaScapes as our second full season begins.
Friday, March 16 I had a couple of people decide to go down the Blue River. Crystal and Marion, her dad, are from Houston, TX. Crystal is going to school in Louisville and dad was up for a visit over spring break. A last minute trip down the Blue seemed like a good way to end the visit.
Crystal and Marion ready for their trip.
While I was driving to meet them I noticed the Ohio was high enough that it had backed up the Blue about 6 miles. The crossing for Dry Run Creek was inundated with green water from the Blue and it appeared the river was running upstream.
I met with Crystal and Marion at Stagestop Campground and we walked down to the river to check out the flow. Surprisingly it was very low. This seemed strange to me but I guess we haven’t gotten into our rainy season yet. Since that day we have had at least 3 inches of rain and the Blue is running strong.
I drove them up to the put-in and of course we had our usual chitchat. Marion sells insurance and he was telling me about his fears for the insurance industry if the Healthcare Bill was passed (of course it was passed two days later).
Obviously some other paddlers were enjoying the warm sunny weather as several vehicles were parked at Rothrock Mill. But the early spring sunshine hadn’t warmed the water much and my feet tingled for about 20 minutes after I had launched Crystal and Marion.
They wanted to get out a little early so I decided to meet them at White Cloud. I sat on the warm stones and worked on my tan while I waited for them to show up. They soon rounded the bend and came into view. The pullout at White Cloud is steep and stones from a bridge have tumbled down into the water so I was a little concerned about pulling them out here.
They didn’t seem deterred and approached rapidly. I scrambled down the bank to hold their boats so they would be more stable as they got out. I was almost to Crystal when she stood up in the boat. Most people usually roll immediately when they do this but she held on for about 3 seconds. It is always surprising how quick these boats can roll.
In the end they both had a good time and Crystal was good-natured about getting dunked in the cold water. As an outfitter that is usually as good as it gets, but it is enough. Look forward to more posts as the season progresses.
Crystal and Marion at the end.
Patoka Lake Canoe/Kayak Adventure
Monday, August 3rd, 2009Sunday, August 16th 1p.m. Canoe/Kayak Adventure Enjoy an afternoon on the waters of Patoka as we look for area wildlife and explore Patoka’s heritage. We will be viewing an Eagles nest and other wildlife. Meet at the Beach at 1 p.m. or may also meet at the visitors center at 12:30 pm.
Kayaks will be available with prior reservation.
Contact 812-639-9651 for reservations and information.
Great Water
Thursday, June 11th, 2009We’ve been running a lot of people from Rothrock Mill to the Blue River Chapel and even on down to Stagestop Campground on the Blue River. This trip is highlighted with many ripples and a few good rapids as you travel south through Crawford County. Canyon walls rise hundreds of feet above you on the solitude of the river. About three miles from the end of the trip the river passes under the I-64 bridges and soon it stills into a mirror before crashing over the White Cloud Dam. After running the dam, eddy out to the right and climb back up to run it again. After the dam a long series of waves and in lower water some boulders await adventurous paddlers.
Soon the Blue River Chapel appears on the right bank of the river and the first pullout isn’t much farther. If you decide to travel on to the next stop you will run a chute that empties into another long series of waves. One more rapid appears in the distance, go to the right for a fast chute that splashes through a few large waves. If you go left you may bottom out. That is the end of the fun water but on the left bank a long rope hangs from a tall tree. Climb up the rocks with the rope to the first small tree, a rock ledge is convenient to stand on, grab the rope above its highest knot and swing on out for a 25 foot drop into the cool water. Your feet might touch the bottom so be ready.
It looks really high!!!
A wintery run
Thursday, February 12th, 2009On Saturday, Jan 31, I saddled up with Kelly (the kayaking duck hunter), Todd (canoeing maniac) and a new initiate Curt (his third trip). We planned on running the Blue River from the Milltown public access point to Rothrock Mill; approximately 14 miles. The sun still had a little time before it was due to punch in and the clock on the bank said it was 3° as we left town.
The sun exploded over the horizon as we drove through the hills. The glass dipped trees shone with the pink reflection from the sunrise. We were driving through a glazed cotton candy valley. Reality of the week’s ice storms hit us as a line of bucket trucks from several different electric companies smoked on the side of the road. The crews were heading out to hopefully get power to the thousands trying to stay warm. We were lucky at our home, electricity flickered several times but we never lost it. My sister-in-law was in Madisonville, still days from power, huddling to keep warm.
We pulled into Milltown to check the water flow; I was afraid the gauges might have been frozen and wanted to make sure the water wasn’t dangerously high. The water looked great and we all agreed the temperature had gone up about a degree. A few locals drove past shaking their heads at us.
Preparing for the entry
Kayaks and canoes were loaded at the top of the ramp and then tobogganed down to the water in the 6 inches of snow. Things were settled quickly and we launched into the rolling stream of water coming over the dam.
The familiar river was now a black line cutting through a crystal kingdom. The icicles rang like small bells above us in the trees and the ice crackled on the banks of the river and all was covered in a powdering of snow. The rivers flow was steady and fast. We watched for trees that may have fallen from the weight of the ice and occasionally we heard the explosion of branches breaking overhead. One branch crashed into the water that Todd and Kurt had just passed through in the canoe.
Other than these falling branches all was peaceful and the river was running beautifully. We were reminded of the predicament of the storm struck area when the rumble of generators broke the silence. We were lucky to be enjoying this God-created landscape rather then battling it like many of those around us.
Its a winter wonderland
The temperature rose as the morning passed until we stopped for lunch on a bank that was separated from the main bank by a divergent stream of water. It was several hundred yards before the stream rejoined its parent waters. The narrows formed a long series of quick rapids and we ate lunch anticipating the exciting launch. The canoe was our hauler and Todd had brought some buckets full of kindling. So we sat around a small fire on our buckets, steaming and swapping stories.
Up to this point the trip had been only beauty and good talk with some whooping during a couple of good ripples, but we were in for some surprises. From our lunch spot to the end of our run we ran into rapid after rapid. At one point the waves created by the submerged boulders crested at three feet. None of the rapids could be classified more than a class II but on the Blue River this was more than we could normally expect, it was exciting but not overwhelming; just fun.
Up to this point the river had been virtually clear of strainers (trees that fall into the water creating choke points and dangerous currents) but our luck ran out. At the beginning of a 60-yard rapid we spied a tree lying across the river. Its large trunk was suspended over a narrow choke point, leaving about three feet of clearance between it in the water. We would have to duck to get through it and I didn’t see how the canoe could possibly get under it.
This was the only strainer we ran into on the river and the score went something like this: Kelly shot straight and made it under; Todd and Kurt in the canoe didn’t turn quick enough, got sideways against the tree and didn’t make it; I made it under the tree but missed the turn around some branches, got sideways and got wet.
My wife called after Todd got the rest of the wet kindling lit and we were steaming around the sputtering campfire. I told her three fourths of us were wet at that moment and I would have to call her back after my poly-underwear dried.
Drying my backside after the spill.
We got back on the river an hour later and enjoyed constant ripples and rapids until we pulled out at Rothrock. The air warmed and the only other danger we ran into were falling icicles from the branches above.
End of the trip
Patoka River 7.5 mile trip
Thursday, September 18th, 2008By this time of the year the Patoka River has become a brown stagnant trickle, however, this year’s extraordinary amount of rain filled the Patoka Reservoir to the point where, as of this writing, the lake is still at least 5 feet above summer pool. The Corp of Engineers has the dam releasing water at the rate of 295 CFS to bring the level down before winter. Subsequently, the Patoka is flowing very well. At the tailwater, fishing from any of the sidewalks other than the two highest will require standing in about a foot of water. For kayakers and canoeists this water level means a pretty good 7.5-mile route is available.
The trip from a paddler’s point of view is enjoyable, along with the flowing water, flowers are blooming along the banks almost the entire trip and wildlife is abundant. When I went on September 9, there were few snags or log jams and the only major obstacle was a road that was submerged around mile 3. The road created a small waterfall with a drop of about 14 inches. The water level wasn’t high enough for me to run the fall, I tried and ended up doing the butt scootin’ boogy to finish. Usually the road is above water and it is an easy 9-foot portage from one side to the other.
From the recreational paddler’s point of view (a recreational paddler would be someone that gets on the water only a couple times during the year with friends and looks forward to moments on the trip when they can pop a top and falling in the water is a highlight of the trip) this trip may be a little boring, the muddy banks and private property don’t allow for many places to stop and picnic, however, this is a good fishing trip.
Around the 4th mile of the trip, trotlines began popping up and for about a mile there was a trotline about every 50 feet or so. This led me to believe that catfish must be abundant and locals verified this assumption. In fishing the river I usually catch crappy, pumpkinseed, and bass as well as bluegill. They congregate around submerged root wads, stream entrances, and the couple of bridges on the trip. I have also seen gar and supposedly there are paddlefish (illegal to take).
In a few weeks if they continue to release water from the reservoir, this trip will be highlighted by the fall colors of the hardwood lined banks of the Patoka. The maples are already turning and this trip will become stunningly beautiful when all of the trees’ leaves have turned.
High jump in quarry
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
Rothrock Mill Access Site to Blue River Chapel
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008Last Thursday (August 14) I took Rhonda and her two boys, Dane and Ross, down the Blue River from Rothrock Mill to Blue River Chapel. The water gauge was reading 2 feet at White Cloud and we had pretty good water for August. We dragged in some of the shallows and had to portage a couple of times, but for the most part we floated.
The boys spent a lot of time fishing while we floated. Oddly enough when we got south of the I-64 Ross caught a walleye. I didn’t know walleye were in the Blue.
Rhonda was vacationing in French Lick and couldn’t believe the amount of activities that Southern Indiana has to offer.
Saturday, August 2, Blue River Trip
Tuesday, August 5th, 2008We put a great group on the water Saturday morning. The Blue was running at about 3.5 feet by the White Cloud Gauge which gave us excellent water for the trip. We put-in at Stagestop and after some small mishaps (one of the folks rolled in the pool at the put-in, it kinda worried me about the rest of the trip) the group headed down river. The first ripple took out another one of the group but they regrouped, dumped the kayak and continued down the river.
After they rounded the first bend out of our sight. Amy and I headed out for the highway to see if we could meet them further down river. Off of Highway 66 in view of the river is a gated walking trail with a small pull off. We parked and packed some fishing gear down to the water to wait for the group. After 45 minutes of fruitless fishing we heard laughing echoing down the river and the first few came into view. They pulled over at the stop and waited for the rest of the group to show up for a few photo opportunities and then shoved off out of sight until we met them at the pull-out at the old Iron Bridge.
The trip took them about 4.5 hours and they were nothing but smiles as we loaded up. The group jumped to help with all of our packing. which was greatly appreciated, and they were talking about planning a trip every month as they drove off.
This is why I am a kayak outfitter, hopefully I’ve introduced a few more people to this great sport.
