Thursday, September 26, 2013

Dispatch From Hickman County

Picture and message just received from Vernon:
 
 
 
"DUCK AT LEATHERWOOD BRIDGE:  Taken 20 minutes ago. Level looks good. And, as I drove across before stopping to take this, a Bald Eagle flew out from under the bridge skimming the water."

Friday, September 20, 2013

This Is the Year We Roast a Whole Pig

You knew that sooner or later we were going to have to do it.   And since Jim has just taken over the position of Chief Pig at the Fatback Pig Project, this is the time.  (see also: http://www.foodarts.com/news/front-burner/26388/bringing-home-the-bacon

It's also a good trip to do it because, as previously mentioned, the Duck is wide and slow in the lower parts.   That means it will be good jon boatin' conditions, which we will need for two reasons:

To transport the roast beast after he comes off the truck:

 
And two, we're going to need it to get the cooks from the first night campsite to the second campsite (about Mile 11) early on Saturday so they can set up the pit and and watch it cook all day.  The very definition of hurry up and wait. 

Will be good to have the Green Mule back in action hauling our stuff.   It also opens up the possibility of using it for its original purpose which is getting late-arrivers down the river in the dark on Friday night.  Not encouraging that, just saying it's available if someone (Stuart) would othewise miss the trip.



Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Escape Route for Friday Guys

Some of you have said you're going to be conflicted out of the trip because of a Saturday night event.   So we're offering a Friday-only option that will get you out at a bridge on Saturday morning in time to get back to Nashville and reapply your Vagisil.  

The Totty's Bend bridge is a little over six miles from our put-in at Littlelot.  Although we are getting far enough downstream now that the Duck is faily wide and slow, it still has a surprisingly good number of gravel bars.  Some of them real A+ ones.   So we can camp around where Coleman Branch comes in, which will mean four or five miles of paddling Friday, then two or less to Totty's Bend on Saturday morning for the Friday guys to pull the rip cord and the rest of us will continue on for night two.

Click:



The Totty's Bend bridge is not a real access and would require some ballsy trespassing if we were to pull up in the big blue trailer and engage in the full spectacle of an RRCC launch.  For one thing, it's about 40 feet above the water:

 
 
 


But we should easily be able to park a car or two there and get people out if we limit it to our usual whiskey shot ceremony when someone has to leave us early. 


 
 


Monday, September 16, 2013

Points of Interest on this Section of the Duck River

  


Our take out in Centerville is the home of Minnie Pearl.





This is the farm of J.I. Allison from Buddy Holly's band the Crickets, which we will also paddle past.  That's Keith Richards on the left, who used to come here to shoot skeet and heroin, then go scare the crap out of everybody at the Ser Sta Gros.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

2013 Fall Trip

...will be Friday, November 8 to Sunday, November 10. 

Location:   Duck River from Littlelot bridge to downtown Centerville.

Click to enlarge:


 


Two nights, 16 miles.   The put-in (black arrow on the right) will be the same place that we took out the morning after the big storm on the Fall 2012 trip (below).