It was great to back on the Shenandoah again. I love the sounds from this trip -- the river rushing over rocks, the canoes rubbing through the rapids, and the paddles pressing and slicing the water. It sure beats a day in the office.
Like the beach trip last June, the canoe trip last weekend was a combined outing for troops 2119 and 1916. And all of our scouts experienced the challenges and rewards of a Shenandoah float trip.
Unlike last fall, the water was at it's usual September level (fairly low). So the game was quite simple: read the rapid, find a route near your current course with decent water depth, steer for it, and paddle like mad to make it through. When you got it right, it was like catching a wave in the ocean. When you got it wrong...well there was considerable extra effort required for the 'unstucking' process. So you really wanted to get it right!
Our campsite was right on the bank of the river. So we had great views of the water the whole time. And considering this was our first trip of the year, lots of things in camp went quite well. The grubmaster meals were top notch. And there was plenty of time for campfires Saturday evening.
A big thanks goes out to Shelly for organizing our largest canoe trip ever (over 60 paddlers!).
-Mike
If you want to see the pictures from this trip, click here.