Not a fiasco, an adventure

I have to admit that things don't always go smoothly when my friend Mike Swope is involved. When we plan a early spring river trip it will be rainy and cold, we call it Swope weather. He has been known to lose the keys to the shuttle vehicle. Once on a trip on the dry section of the New River with the guides from Appalachian Bible College they lost the keys to the take out vehicle and after making their way back to the put in vehicle those keys were "lost" also. I'm glad that I wasn't on the trip. The things that happen when Mike is involved are always funny looking back on them, but often frustrating when they are happening. I think that if you googled Murphys Law - there would have to a picture of Mike, although Mike always says that Murphy is an optimist. We've had a lot of rain here recently and Friday afternoon Mike came down from Morgantown where he lives, I took the afternoon off and we "planned" to go boating on the Upper Meadow River, there is
a four mile section of river there that is beautiful, remote and continuous, if there is a better section of intermediate whitewater available I am not aware of it. It never stops, just small eddies to catch your breath and get ready for the next maneuver, it is a great run, it could easily become my favorite. I've only been able to do it twice. The Meadow is a small river in between the New and Gauley Rivers and has three sections, the uppers that Mike and I wanted to do, like I said an intermediate run, the middle Meadow which is close to home and has a short shuttle, so although it is an easy run the easy shuttle and beauty of the river make it worthwhile. The Meadow also has a lower section that flows into the Gauley River (right above Lost Paddle Rapid for those who have been there with me) only serious paddlers attempt the lower Meadow, kayakers like JB make it seem easy, but it has claimed a few paddlers lives. I plan to run the upper section more. I just need a paddling buddy close by that has Mike's sense of adventure. Anyway, the river run should have been about an hour and 1/2, the shuttle should have taken about an hour and we should have been home by 4:00 o'clock, but that is not how it went. First we had a delay because the Dept of Highways had a road crew working on the one lane road that we were taking to the put-in, Murphy's law in full force. Then we couldn't find the turn off for the trail down to the put-in, Mike thought that he found it and we pumped up the boat and started off, it did seem odd to me that we were going uphill when we were trying to get down to the river, and the trail wasn't really a trail, more like an overgrown right of way, it was full of briars, which kept getting in between my toes and that is a wonderful feeling, but I digress. Mike never lost faith that this was the trail down to the river even when it became obvious that we were headed up hill and in the wrong direction. After we abandoned all hope in that course of action, Mike then decided to hike down a small creek bed nearby which obviously had to go to the river, I had gotten smarter by this point and waited at the truck, choosing to spend the time picking the briars out from between my toes. When Mike came back we drove around for awhile and found the right road for the put-in, pumped the boat back up and hiked down with a renewed sense of purpose, remember that the plan was to be done with this river trip and be home by 4:00, well it was 5:00 o'clock and we still hadn't gotten our feet wet.
All I can say was that the river portion of the trip more than made up for all of the troubles, we saw a bald eagle and a strange looking duck. Funny thing about birds that you scare on the river, they tend to fly away from you down stream, so in a few minutes there you are again, I'll bet they are convinced that we were are a predator chasing them down. At the end of the four mile rapid there is an eight foot water fall and we had an exciting but successful run on it, we had planned to get out and scout it, but we hit a rock on the way into the eddie just above the waterfall and we had no choice but to run it on the go, just hoping our instincts were right and we had the good line. They were and we did. Anyway, we had a successful trip even though it turned from kind of a fiasco into an adventure. That is one thing I have always enjoyed about hanging out with Mike is his sense of adventure. He takes the road less traveled and I like checking it out with him.

Back in the Saddle

When you love doing something it doesn't seem like work, it is enjoyable.
I wish that everyone could have a job that they love. Monday afternoon after a weekend of four river trips, one on Saturday, two on Sunday and one on Monday, my lips were chapped, my face and knees were sunburned, I have blisters on my hands where callouses used to be, I have a raw spot from walking around in a wet bathing suit, my shoulders are sore from paddling and my on my this feels great, I'd love to do it 365. If I could afford to be a full time raft guide again I sure would. Saturday was a little rough, I wasn't very sharp and missed my line a few times, wasn't always right where I wanted to be, Sunday the first trip was a little better and the second trip also had improvement and then on Monday I felt like I was "back in the saddle again." The boat was where I wanted it to be and I didn't miss a wave.
I did get the smallest tip of my rafting career on Monday, a couple that was in my boat gave me $3, I mean he was drinking a $5 High Sierra Beer and he gives me three one dollar bills. I never look at the tip when people give it to me, just thank them and shove it in my pocket, so when I was in my truck on the way home and pulled out the $3 I dug back in there to see if I had missed anything. Working for Alpine - we never got tips, but at ACE you expect to get a tip, and I normally get decent ones, but I've never gotten a $3 tip before.
Sharon spent the weekend in Clarksburg our grandson had a graduation from kindergarten (K-4) and she wanted to spend time with her Mom who isn't doing well. I missed her, I had to wash my own clothes. One thing I like about the river guiding business is the wardrobe, three items of clothing sandals, swim trunks and a shirt - all that is needed.
I think I should print these emails out and snail mail them to Fred, why should he be exempt from having to read this stuff. I say equality for everyone. Everyone must suffer through these. Pam - can you make sure your dad reads this stuff?

Another gardening lesson for me, I should have read gardening for dummies, but I skipped it and am paying for that. Something has been pulling up the corn stalks right up out of the ground, - the crows, so I need to put up a scare crow. Catchy name, huh. They pull them up even though they are four or five inches tall, just to eat what is left of the kernal at the root. Gardening is something that I never pictured myself enjoying, but I do, I love this yard.
Well I thing that I've bored everyone enough for the week. I did miss Sharon for more than just my laundry, she is my best friend.

Never worked and never will

There was a story I always read to students, whenever I got the chance as a Principal, about a cobbler who had the sign up in his shop that said, "Never worked and never will." Turns out the cobbler liked making shoes so much that he didn't feel like it was work to make shoes, he was having fun. I wish all jobs were like that. That is how I feel about my job when I am working on the river. I'm getting paid to do something that I love to do. I worked the job that I love on Saturday for Alpine. We took a group of High School Seniors from a Christian School in Xenia, Ohio down the river and although they weren't the best paddlers they were a nice group of kids and it was a good day. The river was 5.5 feet and rising, it was over six feet by the time we got finished. If a group isn't good paddlers you can sneak almost every rapid and they don't even know the difference. Five - six feet is a high level, but not high enough to be dangerous, just a lot of fun. The river cured by aching back and made me tired enough to sleep well Saturday night.
My back had been stiff all week from working in the garden, that is another job that I love, but my muscles aren't used to working like that. We have a frost warning out for tomorrow morning and after church tonight we covered up all of the young pepper, tomato, pickle, squash, etc, with buckets and boxes. Hopefully that will keep them safe. I think the potatoes and onions will be ok without my help. The potatoes really look good, but I think I planted too many, next year I'll cut back.

Chocolate Colored Water

Forgot to mention in my weekly ramblings that as I was on my hike I saw that the river was running very high, it was chocolate brown and way up in the woods.

All of the river trips were upper trips either from Prince to Thurmond or from Prince to Cunard, the gauge says it was running 14.5 feet and it came up to 16 plus this morning, but now it is going down. I even saw a duckie trip come into Cunard, that had to be exciting, fast moving brown water makes for a quick trip.

There was flooding in Raleigh and Wyoming Counties, the two counties immediately south of us. They have declared Raleigh County to be in a state of emergency.

Sharon and I don't worry too much about flooding, there is a 876 foot gorge right next to us for any excess water to go.

Elvis and Mom - Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day Mom, I remember all the things you did for us. Raising 7 kids, going to church faithfully, the trips to Georgia almost every summer, the weekly visits to Eatmor, I always felt privileged if I got to ride with you to Greco's and get that treat of a pack of crackers and a soda. It is the little things long remembered than mean so much. I love you and hope you have a great day. Look forward to spending some time with you in June. Enjoy your cruise!

Don't forget that Mom and Elvis were born the same year! She was 18 when John was born, 19 when Fred was born and just shy of being 21 when I came along in 1956, by the time Barry joined the tribe in 1962 she was just over 27 years old with seven of us.

Red Ashe Island

I am attaching a link to a web site with pictures from the cemetery at Red Ashe Island, I took a hike out there today. Here is the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/dseay7/RedAsheIslandCemetery#

I got back just in time, it has been raining a lot here lately and it was clear while I hiked out today, but no sooner than I had returned it cut loose again.

Pickin up Sticks

Our backyard has 27 full grown trees in it. I'm talking mature, leaf producing, shade providing trees. Hickory, poplar, Oak, black cherry, there is quite a variety. Someone told me if you want to enjoy the shade in the summer you have to put up with the leaves in the fall. I don't mind the leaves, it is the sticks that keep me busy. I'll bet I spend 15-20 minutes a day picking up sticks that fall on the ground. I can pick up all the sticks in the backyard and come back a few minutes later and there they are again, more sticks. We did make a place where we can pile them up and have a hot dog roast or toast marshmallows once in a while. We look forward to roasting and toasting back there for many years to come.

The fella that is in charge of rafting at Appalachian Bible College Coach Tim Barton asked me to teach the guides some of the history of the mining communities and the ghost towns in the New River Gorge, so this afternoon I was heading down into an area that I could hike to an old cemetery and I was going to mark a trail back to the beach where the rafts stop for lunch often. However, a man who was camping with his family had fallen out of his canoe yesterday and since he didn't have a lifejacket on you have to know that there was no happy ending to that camping trip. Sad, but true, that more people drown in that river every year that are fishing than in 5 or 6 years of rafting, all because they don't want to wear a lifejacket. Anyway, my plans were changed because they had the road blocked off to where I was heading, a little place called Red Ashe Island. They were still searching for the man who drowned.

However on the way down into the Gorge I saw a BFR - (big flat rock) I had been wanting to get a BFR in order to make a bench out by the stick pile so while we are roasting and toasting we'll have something to sit on. I actually want to get two more BFRs, but one at a time. Well I stood the ol BFR up on it's side and walked it over to my truck tailgate and laid one end on the tailgate and tried to pick up the other end, but I didn't have enough umph to get it up all the way on the tailgate. Hence the B in BFR. So I called my good friend Nick and went and picked him up and between the two of us we had just enough umph to get it up and in there. I don't think that there was a lot of extra umph, we both had to grunt pretty hard. Sharon always makes fun of me when I go to pick up something heavy because I study it for awhile, but I think that lifting something really heavy requires a little bit of studying. I don't ever remember my Dad studying
anything he wanted to pick up, but I'll never be that strong.