We Are the Champions

Rob brought home the title from the Perry County Washer Pitching Tournament this year. Click for proof....





Giving us the play-by-play of how it all went down.

Pitchin' lessons outside of The Villager.


You can find the rules HERE or a simpler version here, where they also say: "Camping games should always include washer pitching," and "Pitch washers on your float trip!" So we probably should. Greg, it looks like we just need some PVC pipe, some washers and lot of beer but call Rob to confirm.

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Drought FAQs

Everybody keeps asking how the drought is going to affect the Rebel Rivers trip this fall. Here are most common questions (and the answers).

1. What are the rivers really like right now (the ones that we float)?

ANSWER: Depends on which type of river. The dam controlled ones are up and down. Here's the Duck River just below Normany Dam.





Rebel Rivers at the Duck River, Hopkins Bridge gauging station.

The free-flowing rivers are not up and down. They are way down. Here's the reading from the Piney River...



The triangles chart the 75-year norm.




Rebel Rivers at the Piney River, Vernon Bridge gauging station.

2. What are we going to do on November 3?

ANSWER: November 3 is a long way away.

3. If it does rain between now and November 3, will it fix everything?

ANSWER: Probably. But it needs to rain a lot, and it can't be all at the end. September is one of the driest months, so we could have "normal" rainfall and still have a problem. We're not likely to have long periods of steady rain. Short, hard rains will runoff quickly, so even if it adds flow the river is likely to be brown and muddy.


4. What if it doesn't rain?

ANSWER: We'll still have options. There are some rivers that are not seasonal at all, and there are downstream sections of rivers that can be floated year-round, too. Even during a drought.

Here are some sections of Middle Tennessee rivers that we consider "dry weather" floats....

Elk River - Garner Ford Rd. to Old Dam Ford
Lower Buffalo River (spring fed)
Caney Fork (completely dam dependent)
Duck River just below Normandy Dam/Cortner Mill (non-power generating, spillway always running)
Red River near Port Royal (mostly pools)
Green River (see RRCC Spring 2007)
Roaring Fork from "The Boils" down

On the bright side, we'll have no trouble finding a gravel bar like we did on the Green River




5. That picture of a dried up river you posted last month really makes me thirtsy. Are we going to have a meeting at Brown's soon?

ANSWER: There are two RRCC meetings currently scheduled at Brown's. The first will be a pre-trip meeting Sunday, September 30, on the eve of the effective date of the "Non-Smoker Protection Act". It will be like the Mardi Gras of the Metro Nashville smoking ban. We will also have a post-trip meeting Saturday, November 10 because Multi-Bob Delevante is playing a gig at Brown's that night.


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Off Season Trade Activity

RRCC members made a special trip to the Lodge Cast Iron outlet store in Sevierville with the club credit card this summer. The Lodge Logic 12" Fish Pan was already on our wish list, but it shot straight to the top after we were told it has been discontinued and the only one left...high on a shelf, under a display light....was for "archive" purposes only.

That, of course, meant we had to have one. Like that giant catfish on the Brazos we "wanted it with that heat of desiring that has nothing to do with meat, and digs so far back, and gets so tangled with 'sport,' that it disrupts all agreeable semantic theorizing..."

(Goodbye to a River p. 246).

A treasure hunt ensued. Operating on tips and rumors we finally found one (the last, last one?) at a pottery store behind the East Town Mall in Knoxville.

So now it's all up to the fishermen.

But that's not all. Cast iron is an impulse item and we did not leave the outlet empty-handed. The camp cooks must find something to melt because we bought a 4" melting pot.






















We got a canvas carrying bag for the 5-foot dutch oven tripod....





















And, best of all (in a John Locke greatest-good-for-the-greatest-number sort of way) is the Lodge Seasoned Skillet Spoon Rest which is described thusly: "A 3-1/2 inch diameter version of a skillet with cigarette rests. Works well on stove as spoon rest, too."















Frankly, it's embarassing we've had a canoe club this long without a seasoned ashtray.

New Fall Date

Hate to do this, but we have to move the fall trip back one weekend due to "circumstances beyond our control."
We're not changing it again, so write this one down in ink. Somewhere you'll remember it.


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Meet and Greet at Savarino's

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