Spring 2017 Pictures

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The Final Countdown

Tomorrow morning looks like this:

-  Skip, Josh, Phil, Mike Cronin and Water-wheel Chris will meet behind my house at 7:00 am.  Cronin has been downgraded to maybe but may try to join us for Friday night only, in which case the above still applies.  We will drive with the canoe trailer to Bucksnort Trout Farm.

-  Mullowney and Vernon will drive separately and meet us at the Bucksnort Trout Farm by 9:00 am.

-  Rob H will pick up Pete F'ing Feldman at the airport at 8:30, make one kitchen stop, and then meet us, probably at the put-in.  

-  Rob C will skid up to the put-in in a cloud of dust just before we shove off.  We haven't heard from him but that's what we expect to happen.

DIRECTIONS TO PUT-IN

Take I-40 West to Exit 243/Hwy 13

Turn south (left) on Hwy 13 and go about 9 miles into Lobelville, TN

Turn left on 8th Ave. E (County Road 1777)

Go about 1/2 mile and turn left on the unnamed road into Leeper Bottom (last left turn before crossing the river)

There's a gravel boat ramp next to an RV that is under a permanent roof (see map and sat photo below)

The RV belongs to John Goodson who has given us permission to launch there (or at least he has in the past).   Leave a note on your truck saying as much, and leave my name and cell number as well.

DIRECTIONS TO BUCKSNORT TROUT FARM:

It's in McEwen, TN.  Follow your GPS.

Here's a sneak preview of the new and improved water wheel.

It will grill all night, hold your beer, suck your dick and do the dishes.   I think you will like it. 

More Trip Week

Tim is out now, also due to family reasons.   However, our water wheel craftsman, Chris, is going to come along on the trip so we're still at 9 souls.  Apparently Proud Mary comes with a service contract as well!   Tim's canoe is already on the trailer so it will be easy for Chris to just use that.

Small correction from last post:  those of you who were meeting us at the put-in should actually meet us at the Bucksnort Trout Ranch.   9:00 am Friday.   Rob is picking Pete up at the airport at 8:20 so they will meet us at the put-in.   We'll try to have the shuttle run by the time they get there too.

Hot Rods and Cadillacs have confirmed they will let us use their private landing for our take-out Sunday.   They said they will "dummy" the lock on the gate so if you pull up first it should open.  Not the same kind of dummying that Ol' Bert and Ike Atterbury made to trick Sam Sowell and got Davis Birdsong stomped. 

I was trying to decide whether to bring the Chuck Box or not, which is a very useful item as a command center to run these trips out of.  I was leaning toward not bringing it to save space.  Then I tried out the new river accordion for size and the decision was made for us.

Vernon has located some wild mushrooms and is bringing them on this trip.  Not that kind of mushroom.  They are morels, and Rob promises to work them into the menu.

Here is the rest of the menu for the weekend: (from Pete)

Friday dinner:

Rotisseried chickens on Proud Mary

Shrimp fried rice with tasso and turnip greens

Bourbon and pie for dessert

Saturday dinner:

Lamb or goat on Proud Mary, not sure which one yet, but it'll be some real Semitic tribal riverman shit

Stir fried greens a la Charlie

That white trasher dessert you rivermen like with some more bourbon

Trip Week

Jim Myers' dad died unexpectedly this weekend.  Very sad news for Jim and the RRCC.  Condolences from all of the rivermen, who are your brothers.  We will stop and recognize both you and him at the appropriate time this weekend.

__________________________________________

Current roster, presumably without Myers, would be 9 paddlers.

Thanks to recent additions to our fleet, we are in good shape for all-solo paddling:

Rob H. - blue Dagger

Skip - wooden Old Town

Vernon - Grumman

Tim - own boat

Josh - own boat

Mullowney - own boat

Cronin - own boat

Phil - own boat

Pete - own boat

For those of you meeting at my house we will leave at 7:00 am on Friday.  

We will be stopping at the Bucksnort Trout Farm in McEwen on the way, where we will catch our lunch that we'll fry up in Big Daddy once we're on the river.

They normally open at 10:00 but have agreed to meet us at 9:00 am Friday so let's be punctual with our departure because that only leaves time for about one beer and ice down stop.    Bring a fishing pole if you have it.   They rent them there but it's better, easier and cheaper to bring your own.   Also, they'll clean the trout we catch for $1.00/fish, which is a 500% increase over the going rate at Beaver Creek in 2000.  Next thing you know they'll be charging for corn!

Who is picking Pete up at the airport?

Rob H, we'll come by your house on the way west or meet you at trout farm unless it's you picking Pete up.

Vernon, will you meet us at the put-in?   Maybe you never left!

Mullowney is picking up Proud Mary tomorrow and the assumption is he will meet at the put-in also with his canoe.

I picked up the trailer from Josh so if you've got a canoe that goes on it drop it off sometime this week (Vernon I have one loaded for you).

Phil, bring Old Glory when you drop your canoe or bring it with you on Friday.

Tim may or may not have to pull out Saturday which could affect our lunch situation.

Jim has a message for 2017.

Time to Get Orientated

In case you like to know where we're going.

Recall that the floatable part of the Buffalo starts up by Summertown and the Natchez Trace bridge, about where we put in at David Fox's farm.  Then it flows due west about half its distance before it hangs a right and flows north the other half through Linden and Lobelville, ending in the Duck River at the top of this map.

We won't do it on this trip, but we are coming very, very close to completing the entire Buffalo River.  Something we originally aspired to do on the 250 mile Duck, but one of the RRCC mottos is "Set your goals low, then fall short of them."  Still it will be cool to have done one from headwaters to confluence.

For this trip we are going to be on the lower Buffalo, north of Lobelville.  Not the very lowest. That was what we did Fall 2007 when the last half mile of our trip was upstream on the Duck to our take out.  We're doing the section immediately above that.  In fact, our put-in Fall 2007 will serve as our take-out this Spring. 

You may remember we car camped at that bridge in 2007 because the land belonged to the owners of Hot Rods and Cadillacs, the roadhouse bar up the hill where we spent a hard day's night on Friday (also close to Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch where we had a hard day's breakfast Saturday morning).

 

  

 

As a matter of fact, it's only because Mullowney chatted them up about their land ten years ago that this trip is possible.  There is no public access at the bridge and it is posted no trespassing.  But it's also for sale. 

So remember, WE ARE SERIOUS PROSPECTIVE LAND BUYERS.  We have been in "negotiations" with the real estate agent and that's the only reason they are letting us take out on their property.  Just don't tell them that one of the contingencies before closing is we have to hit the superfecta.   

The put-in for this trip will be 13 miles upstream at the place where Vernon was waiting for us halfway through our trip last fall.

From there we will paddle exactly ONE MILE on Friday to our lunch stop.  It's the good looking island right under Pine Bluff that we would definitely have pulled out on last fall had we not just stopped for 2 hours for Frito Chili Pies and to hear Zach Cunningham make his 4th down tackle to beat Georgia. 

Here it is, on the left:

After lunch we will float exactly ONE HALF MILE to our campsite where we will set up Proud Mary in the current of Russell Creek if we have any energy left from our rigorous paddle.  

Then, on Saturday and Sunday, we'll have a total of 11 miles to cover.  After we pass our take out from last year (the big campground with the rope swing) the remainder of the trip will be new territory for us.  So we'll hope to get lucky picking our second night camp, but the satellite pics look very promising. 

Just a couple of examples....