2013: Post 39b – Club Camping Trip – Day 2

I woke up early.  I thought it had rained when I pushed back the my tent door flap, but realized it was just a heavy morning dew.  There was no wind and the water over the pond was still.  Before too long others began to stir from their tents.

A little mist hung over the pond

Hazen crawled from his tent and seemed to be moving around better than the night before.  He said he slept pretty well and his back was sore but better than it was... we figured the combination of the medication, the ice and heat packs, a few drinks, and maybe sleeping on a thermarest pad on the firm ground all helped.

Breakfast at First Pond

As a group we decided the plan would be to paddle to Thoroughfare, about four kilometers from our current position, where we planned to camp the next night.  We would get out and see how Hazen felt after the short paddle.   If it was too uncomfortable for him to paddle we could put up his tent and get his camp in order and let him spend the day relaxing while the rest of us paddled to Ireland's Eye.  

Tony and I were ready before the others and we decided to paddle across the pond to check out a grassy area to see if it might be a better spot for camping.

Looking back across the pond towards our campsite

I was thinking we would have to walk the kayaks down the shallower portion of the river, at least the fiberglass kayaks and Julie's kevlar kayak.  But we were all able to paddle/float down the river where the water ran the fastest with minimal bumping over rocks.  

Julie taking her turn down the river

Hazen was paddling just fine and we reached Thoroughfare before too long.  As per our plan, we got out for a look around and for Hazen to access his sore back.  I was surprised when he said he wasn't staying there to rest but would join us on our paddle around the island of Ireland's Eye.  Seeing the discomfort he was in the night before I would have placed a sizable bet he would not have paddled anywhere the next day... Old Wobbly is one tough so-and-so!!!  Anyway, off we went crossing over to Ivanhoe.

Cabins in Ivanhoe

We paddled past Indian Islands and Broad Cove, and then into Black Duck Cove where we took out for lunch. 

Once back on the water we headed up to Ireland's Eye Point.  Around the point we had to paddle into a headwind for the first time so far on the trip.  A few kilometers down the shore and we came to the harbour that leads into the long ago abandoned community of Ireland's Eye.

We climbed up the hill to have a look at the old church...

There were flat stones placed on the old foundation and we wondered why they were there.  Some of the stones had names and dates scratched on them, but others did not.  It seemed that the stones were perhaps a sort of spiritual offering of people visiting the old church, maybe just a way to say they were there, or maybe to say they had not forgotten the past...     

Ron checking out the stones on the foundation

A closer look of the stones

Hazen, with his paddle for a walking stick,
takes in the view from the church site

After a while we all came back down the hill and continued on our way.  

Tony

There seemed to be a little more wind and the waves were a little higher at times.  I caught Barb a few times heading straight for some of the bigger waves and having fun riding over them.  A little further down the shore she exclaimed "I'm back."  She had been away from paddling for a while and had recently come back to it.  I could tell she was having a lot of fun in the bit of wind and waves as we came down the shore...

Barb

When we arrived back at Thoroughfare Barb said she didn't want to get off the water.  So we told her she didn't have to and she went off on her own for a while, staying in the sheltered waters of the area of Thoroughfare.  I think during this particular day she may have rediscovered why she took up paddling in the first place.

Barb on her solo paddle

The regular routine of camp life ensued... pitch the tent, inflate the thermarest, spread out the sleeping bag... Tony figured a few drinks before supper was in order and, having an empty stomach, I soon felt the effects of a my rum!!  After we got supper on the go and then collected up some wood for the evening fire.

Hazen and Tony

The view from the campsite

The evening fire

We had a few more drinks around the fire, a few laughs, and then turned in for the night...

2013: Post 39a – Club Camping Trip – Day 1

Hazen decided to put together and lead a Level Two club camping trip.  So after some planning, six of us headed down the highway to meet at the Irving Station in Clarenville. From there we drove about another half-hour to the put-in at Burgoynes Cove in Smith Sound.

We unloaded the kayaks and packed in the gear...  

Julie, Hazen, Ron, and I drove up to Trinity in the four cars and left three of them in a parking lot beside the take-out location, and then drove back in one of the cars to the beach where Tony and Barb had stayed to keep an eye on the kayaks.   It was such a nice day to lounge around the beach and I had tried to get Tony or Barb to drive my car to the take-out for me, but there were no takers on that one...  

After a round trip of about two and a half hours, and another half hour or so we were finally on the water and on our way to our first camping spot.

Barb

Julie and Hazen

Hazen

Ron

Tony

A couple hours later and we were at the entrance to Hickman Harbour.  We paddled the short distance to the end where we then paddled up the gentle river flowing out of First Pond.

Looking out Hickman Harbour

We paddled as far as we could and then had to get out of our kayaks and pull them a short distance where it was too shallow to paddle.  

Barb walking her kayak

Once on the pond we paddled just a few hundred feet to the campsite where we went about putting up the tents and having a late supper.

Old Wobbly (Hazen)

Barb

Julie

My new Tarptent

Supper time at First Pond

We collected up some beaver wood  and had a very nice little campfire and a few drinks...

Ron

Hazen had pulled his back at the put-in.  He paddled the seventeen kilometres to the campsite without too much trouble but was pretty sore and stiff by the time we got to the campsite.  We pitched in to set up his camp so he could take it as easy as possible.   Julie and Barb kept him in pain relief medication, heat packs, and ice packs.  

Barb tying Old Sore Back Wobbly's shoe for him....

After a few drinks around the fire poor ol' Hazen crawled into his tent with his ice pack...

I crawled into my tent and lay down.  My mind was active with thoughts of how we would contend with Hazen and his sore back in the morning.  He was in pretty hard shape by the time he crawled into his tent and I just couldn't see how how was going to paddle the next day.  I was envisioning the five of us taking turns towing poor Old Wobbly back to Burgoynes Cove the next day, or possibly raising the Coast Guard on the VHF radio to send in a boat to take him out for us....     

2013: Post 38 – Paddlin' in the rain

The forecast for today had changed when we got up this morning... so we changed our paddling destination to good ol' St. Philips.

We were supposed to be a group of five, but two of the guys couldn't make it this morning. So Gary, Tony, and I met before 10 am, geared up, paddled out the marina, and pointed our bows into the bit of southwest wind and rain that there was, and headed toward Topsail Beach. 

The plan was to paddle up to, maybe beyond Topsail Beach unless the higher winds forecasted came up and then we would just turn back and ride the following sea back. 

There was rock hopping on the way.  Tony and I were in our fibreglass kayaks so there were some places Gary had all to himself...  

And then our three-kayak parade got rained on... but there were no complaints, only smiles...

We reached Topsail Beach the wind still had not increased but it was still raining a little so we had a snack under the gazebo where it was dry... 

We discussed paddling over to little Bell Island, then over to Bell Island.  Instead we decided we would just paddle up the shore to Manuals...  

The water from Manuals River flows into a pond (called Bubble Pond) and then into the ocean at Manuals Head.  When we reached Manuals Head, Tony told us that the pond behind the beach (hidden from our view) was the first place he had tried his first kayak. It was a bit windy that day and he could hardly turn the kayak and, at the time, wondered if he had made a mistake in buying it... If you follow my blog, or you know Tony, you'll know he has no regrets now in his purchase back then.

I asked if it was worth carrying our kayak over the beach to paddle up the pond.  He said it was and we made quick work of it...

... and had a great little pond kayaking excursion, adding just 2.5 kilometres to the day...

From the pictures above I hope you'll agree it was worth it to paddle up the pond.  We carried our kayaks back across the beach to the salt water and we headed back to St. Philips, passing some divers at Lower Horse Cove on the way... 

I find I often take fewer pictures on the return leg of a paddle, or sometimes stop taking pictures altogether.  So I intentionally took a couple pics of the guys before we got back to St. Philips... 

Well, today is only August 4th and this is already my third paddle this month.  On Thursday past we had calm conditions and our practice session turned into a paddle to Topsail Beach and back.  And on Friday evening past we had our annual club night paddle out of Avondale, but and I had forgot to take my camera! 

Next weekend there is another club camping trip planned.  I'll have to make sure I have my camera for that one...