I am going on an Adventure

LRCC, Crossed Paddles, River Kings, 12 Stones, TRR Pineland, River Rats! Great time at River Feast IV and Toys for Tots collection. 28 paddlers enjoyed the scenic black water of the Lumber River. Great food, fellowship, and camping. 93 toys were collected.

I have been working on my kayaking strength , I hoping to run a few races in the future, last one I came in 7th place out of some 35 plus kayakers in my age group. It is also a time to separate myself from the world and be at peace, the cellphone is in the truck, like the world, I leave it briefly behind, there is something to be said about paddling on your own or with a few people that are experienced. No need to check on others, no herding cats, nothing to distract you. This is raw video with one cut out scene I am sure no one wants to watch me adjust my foot pegs and seat, I installed Soul Waterman foot pegs, and removed the old heavy bulk head, I will no longer be kayaking in anything over Class III, I did run upon a deer crossing the river, I was going to help one out having trouble get up the steep wet bank, by the time I got there he found his footing and disappeared into the forest. ( I did video him). I usually shop local ice cream shop, but with all the rain, I guess she decided not to open. I missed most of it.

Van will be posting the trip report, I am testing the Soul Waterman District 11 kayak on class I/II and p3 Paddle Saturday morning things were a bit iffy, considering the low water level (1.55 feet/572 cfs), overcast skies, and Scott's weather forecast of 70% chance of rain. Well, it turned out to be a good day on the Cape Fear River where we enjoyed sunny skies around lunch time at Lunch Break Island and running the rapids under favorable water conditions. We did find some rocks along the way, but were surprised we didn't do more scrapping considering the water level. We put-in around 10:10 AM and took out about 1:30 PM. No problems. Paddlers were Omer, Scott, Gene and Van. Thanks to Omer and Gene for the shuttle and Scott for the pictures on FB. Van Parker

paddling up stream is called Attainment , it is great workout out and way to read the water, any mistakes made will be amplified. We do this run for this reason and also there is a Ice Cream Shoppe right down the road

Thank thank Gene for paddling with me and showing me the wonderful little spot on the Upper Rockfish, . 2.2 miles up stream and 2.2 down stream, met a nice Father and Daughter also enjoying the river and thank Gene for his saw work. Testing out the Soul Water District 11 kayak and p3 paddle

For Rosh Hashanah, myself and Andy decided to paddle up stream to Chalk Bank from Wagram 401 and take lunch and float back, Andy got to paddle my kayak and try my new paddle. There was Shofar blowing and afterward some coffee ice cream to finish a great day on the water.

Lumberton FFA Very successful day with the Lumberton FFA Chapter! Today was our Lumber River Canoe and Land Cleanup! 🛶 With the amazing help of the Lumber River Canoe Club we rowed 5 miles down the river and cleaned up the downtown area. We collected over 20 bags of trash!🗑️ We are so thankful and appreciative of all that helped make today possible! We want to also give a huge thank you to the Lumber River Canoe Club and Friends of Main Street Lumberton for their help and support!💛

The crew went back to find 3 chainsaw the river had claimed, from this day forward, August the 5th will be known as the "Lumber River Chainsaw Massacre", we found one, and we also cleared alittle more, we had taken new paddlers with and decided to make an easy path through all the downfall they had issues with, we are not just clearing for now, but in Fall and Winter, a slip over can become a life threaten issue very fast. The life we save, may be our very own.

The Owner of Cypress Bend Vineyard was kind enough to let us launch from her land, they was so happy that we had cleared the river, that they took a picture of our fearless leader " Chainsaw Mitch), have saw will clear. Paddlers, Gene, Mitch, Omer, Garette, myself

So Garrett, Scott, Gene and I are now well qualified to work for the department of transportation or any public utility company after training today. Yes, we went on a 6 hour river clean up with Mitch Lloyd today and the aforementioned four of us mastered the skill of standing around and watching one guy work. Mitch is amazing. Not only can he saw underwater, but he can also run three chain saws at once. It’s a sight to behold. Anyway, the Lumber River between the JP Stevens water intake on Riverton Road to Hwy 71 is now mostly clear of downfall. Or at least it was about an hour ago. If you know the Lumber, all bets are off as to whether or not it’s still entirely clear, but at least it should be better than it was this morning

Trip report will follow once it is complete, Enjoy, God Bless you and yours for all your days

Happy 4th, God Bless the Republic. This one is for Rosa

Following the 0915 shuttle courtesy of Gene Lewis, eleven paddlers set off from VC Britt Landing (Boardman) at 10 AM bound for Princess Anne where they would have lunch with fellow members and friends of LRCC. Paddlers were, Andy (TL), Scott (and Patrick), Van, Omer, Melanie, Laura, Beth, Shawn, Kathleen, Bill, and Dennis (in his canoe). It did not rain, there was no down fall, there was good current, a light breeze, few curious bugs, and lots of wildlife. This was the most leisurely paddle of this section I have ever had. We put in at 10 and took out at 12:45 - not stopping for lunch until we stopped for the picnic lunch. Some of our group were off the water at 12:30. I hear Patrick went for a swim. So did Andy - at the finish. It was a great day and fine picnic. Thank you to all who brought food, cleaned up the tables, and cooked. The food was excellent! Scott presented a limited amount LRCC "We Saw You Paddled T-shirts. Sandy Meese donated a 3rd Edition of Paul Ferguson's Paddling Eastern North Carolina. It was nice to see long time members and friends. We have a good organizational group with a good activity and following. See you on the river. Pictures are posted. If you have any pictures please add them

LRCC and friends decided to do some camping and kayaking Little Pee Dee State Park, 1298 State Park RD Dillon SC 29536 The trip turned out to be Paddle with your Dog day! Patrick and Ginger had a great time, they both made new friends.

Greetings, Was a great paddle trip, we was on the water by 1001hrs, We had a welcome addition onto the group a 4 legged pup, eager to get on the water. We ran into alot of new downfall that was new and alot of poison ivy on that downfall, most of it was was able to get around, 3 required some saw work which Gene and Van was all to happy to do. The weather was very pleasant, I was concerned about rain because I ran into on the way to put-in, but it held of but there was alot of wind, but because of the trees, most of it was blocked so it was not an issue. We did take a lunch break pass our normal location because the normal location was difficult to get to land and area I found provided a small sand bar. The real issue we had was post paddle, I seemed have misplaced my keys, Crystal found them at the put-in, laying on the ground, apparently, God has a soft spot for paddlers. As I reward, I took her , Andy and Gene out to Blue's Cafe for 2nd Lunch, the cafe was 3 mins away, and is run by 2 grandmothers, being in the South and cafe run by grandmothers, the choice was easy, fried chicken and sweet tea, Gene had BBQ sandwich. I paid for the meals. Gene brought out his new kayak, and him and Andy did a quick switch, both are very happy with the kayak, so we have a winner. I am glad I could get him connected with the seller. Paddlers: Andy, Van, Gene, Crystal, myself, Myron, Dorcas,Ginger Thanks you Crystal for the shuttle and for finding my keys Thank You Van and Gene for you clearing a path for group I will post video later, Andy and Crystal will post pictures I am sorry I had to change the date, as the weather forecast was 100% of rain for Saturday and most of Sunday. Scott n Patrick the Wonder Dog PS Monday is Memorial Day, please take a moment to thank those that sacrificed for the nation and their families, SALUTE!

Had been interesting morning as I set my phone alarm, while I sleeping, the phone did a update and rebooted, so my alarm never went of, I woke up 0750hrs, so I was in a hurry, it is a 50 min drive from my home, I did text Van I would be there 10mins late, and way I went, I actually got there 0901hrs and 2 mins ahead of Van and Omer, to our surprise, we had a Janice and Denis W., waiting there for us, we unloaded the gear and boats and left Janice to supervise Omer on the guard duty. Janice being a trooper, picked up litter and Van left it in truck. We hit the water at 1001hrs according to Van, it was low, but very good level I would say, no issues of downfall, and there was some new downfall, but nothing we could not go around. It did seem like we was making good time, I mean we paddled to the 5.4 mile before we took a break for snack and refreshment. This not my favorite section because of all the traffic that can be heard from the road near the river, for me it is like I am really not leaving the so called civilization behind and enjoying God's creation . After lunch we ran into Charlotte, Marshal's wife, and her lady friends , artist doing drawings on the river, bank, we spoke with her alittle and all the lady's took pictures of us kayaking, than headed down river, several power boats were out and about as well as several fishermen doing their thing, one spoke to me, if we was fishing, I replied that we just kayak, which he did not seem to understand, that people just actually kayak for enjoyment. We did run into a hawk, that was faking injury to lure us away from her chicks, was interesting as I never seen a hawk to this but I have seen this from ducks. I captured this on video, yes I remembered to take off the lens cap this time :). I will post video later, I do not know if anyone took any pictures, as we weere just enjoying the beautiful day with some of LRCC finest. Paddlers Omer, Van, Denis W, Janice and last but not least ME! Thank You Van for the Shuttle back to boats, I took Omer and Van back to their truck at the end of the day. C U on the River! Scott and Patrick the Wonder Dog

As the title says, the water at Manchester Rd USGS was under 7ft, this mean that the Upper Little River will be lower water, as you can see from the video alot of rock scraping, it was so low I walk up river to check on the guys that where clearing some down fall, the Cape Fear River was alittle above 2ft which is run-able, just have to read the water well. Found a 4 drawer tackle box, fully loaded, looked to see if the owners name or address or some type of ID was in it, so I could return it, none to be found, Omer said he and his brother fish, so I gave it to him.

A few good men invited me for a nice day on the river for my 60th Birthday, this is also my 40th year of kayaking. I grew up on the The Danube (Latin name Hister), is the second-longest river in Europe.

Short little video from Lunch Break Island which is normal lunch break area, hence the name, well not much of the island showing, we did 8 miles in 2hrs that is including 25min Lunch

Sorry about video quality, but I do not have a paid subscription so it will be 1080

The is a very special time for my friends of faith, so music is according, Happy Passover and Joyous Easter, my you and yours be blessed for all your days .

The Good we all was on station at 0930hrs, everyone unloaded and geared their kayaks out pretty fast, I think we was eager to go, the weather was nice in the beginning, Gene lead the mob to Erwin via convoy, and Garett shuttled us back, leaving his POV on the side if the road. While we was gone Rhonda and Patrick pulled guard duty over the gear. Little River Gauge at Manchester 7.9ft @ 340cfs Cape Fear River at Lillington was 2.9ft at 1750cfs It was running similar to last time I went , so I foresaw no issues, there was alot of wind, but because of the steep banks, it just blow overhead. The Bad, often tell paddlers, do not grab downfall, and with the water flowing at the above mentioned cfs and than add it being funneled, grabbing overhead anything pretty much will cause an instant pendulum effect causing spill over in heart beat, this was the issue as the swimmer was holding on, best course of action. swimmer to clear area quickly as possible, known as being provocative rescue, once they are clear, rescue can begin from both sides of the obstacle , if the person has not cleared the obstetrical, there is no need for next paddlers to come in as will causes another issue , incoming kayak could strike the swimmer, causing injury and also the new kayaker over turning . We was able to get the most important things, swimmer out of the water , paddle and boat, in that order. After we got the gear to sand bar, I was able in my SOT to paddle over and begin shuttle back with swimmer on the back pf my boat, I will say this, excellent job Gene on talking and reassuring the swimmer until I could get my rescue boat in. We decided after getting everyone back in boats to head down without a lunch break to take-out. Keeping both swimmers active will generate body heat, I also carry a emergency gear with 5mm Shorty Dive suit, plastic poncho and emergency blanket/poncho, reflective . I asked Gene and Van to go ahead, so they could get to take out faster and bring a nice warm truck wet paddlers. Great job guys. The Ugly, well the rain started and wind got heavy, my paddle hit overhang and I released the paddle, Gene was spot on and returned it to me, Patrick decreased of of my ability to carve the water, and well with no lunch break, was alittle antsy and would not listen, We got into the confluence , because of added weight of my boat, I took a different path, I got breached on a rock, swinging my boat instantly 180 degrees, trying to counter the effect, my seat hold down strap, broke, causing the boat to overturn, heading down river upside down, I instantly scanned for Patrick and he was nowhere to be found, I swam as fast as I could to the boat, thinking he may not be visible on the other side because it was blocking my view. I yelled his name and I hear a whimper, I got to boat and flipped it over, Patrick had been pinned under the boat, he refused to leave it, he had his PFD on, I quickly pulled him up by his harnesses handles on top and got him in the boat, Garett assisted me in getting my gear, which broke my action camera. Patrick was shaken. I will rethink taking him with on anything but slower moving water, and also redesign the seating system on my SOT, I am thinking a traditional sit in side seating system or use non SOT chair, and use SOT seat with thigh braces, which I had on my prior SOTs. It was anything but boring, and if I upset anyone during this trip, I apologize, as sometimes the Army comes out of me and I bark directions. I will not mention who the swimmers where. This is why we keep eye sight of person in front of you and the one behind you. We are involved in a recreational activity that can and will have consequences. you paddle between swims. put in 1000hrs? Take-out 1250hrs i was told via gps we did 7 miles in 2.12 hours

I have been wanting to explore the Lower Little River all the way to Cape Fear River, scouting the area on both sides of the river to look for put-in and take-out locations, I am looking to paddle entire length in very near future and do an overnight camping trip, so scouting and exploring the possibilities of such has been on my mind for sometime and I have been reading trip reports ofr other paddlers and also picking their brains, or what is left of them. Today was such another trip, I met up with a brave soul, Garett 0900 hrs this morning we off loaded the boats to the put-in, and one of the ladies from the from the church pulled up, I spoke with her, it seems I will be attending her church this Sunday. She gave permission to use the area for access, the put-in was a nice sand bar beach, so not issues there. I decided because of the raian we should check the conditions of the possible take outs, so Garett and I checked them out all the way to the main take I wanted to use. The take-out was a different matter, so we tied a rope to tree and attached a tow line for us to grab, this served 2 purposes, one to mark the area and two to grab to get out, there are actually 2 location within a few yards of each other, we used both at end of the trip. the take out location was just a mess of litter and trash, it appears that this was used as a dump and homeless area, an 8 man tent was at location and was in disrepair. We traveled back and unlaoded the rest of gear and boat and Garett shuttled me back to my truck. The weather was very nice and I actually was glad I had shorts on. The trip was 3 miles, we did it in 45 minutes, the water was moving that fast, the area had been cleared as there was signs of clearing it in last couple of years, of note there are also distance markers on the way down the river. The banks are steep, so if you spill over, there is no bank to swim to, you will have to do a in water rescue, there was some downfall , but nothing of any concern, but may be in lower water at the USGS Manchester at the 6ft level,. Really this is my kind of paddling, steep banks, no litter and fast moving water in a narrow river. USGS Gauge Manchester level 9.08ft at 552cfs