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Fri., June 15th, 7:20 PM
We are relaxed, stuffed full of Sara's Satyamas Cauliflower Curry from the Moosewood Cookbook, and enjoying Rich's campfire (with assistance from Jean and Ray). We had a long drive today (3 1/2 hours) from Theresa's, a couple hour wait for the shuttle, launch at Iron Gate, and a short paddle on the James River before we found this excellent campsite in a clearing. The train will serenade us with its whistle throughout the night, a common accompaniment on river trips.
Sara graced us with a deep meditation by Johnny Seed, a prayer or plea to the power of evolution. Now she is using her prize, a miniature "Connect Four". She made the mistake of first playing Terry, our professional game player. Now she is more evenly matched playing Jean.
Chris and Robbie were supposed to be with us but, unfortunately, Robbie's paternal grandmother died suddenly yesterday. They wisely made the decision that family grief trumped family fun on a canoe trip. We are all disappointed as we had been so looking forward to finally paddling together for a long trip. It will have to wait for another day. A side effect is that we have tons of extra food since there are only six of us eating meals intended for eight.
Tomorrow we all look forward to some good paddling. The river is low but adequate, making the rapids a piece of cake. Of course, we have only paddled a few miles and my tune may change tomorrow. We shall see.
Sat., June 16th, 8:10 PM
The crew is satiated with Rich's ratatouille with potatoes and meatballs, a truly delicious meal. We are also enjoying Jean's homemade oatmeal sugar cookies for dessert.
After a short day yesterday we made up with about 22 miles of paddling today. The steady current helps the miles to roll away quickly. We are camped about 1 1/2 miles below Saltpetre Cave in an open gravel bar site shaded by a few big trees. The gentle rustle of whitewater will lull us to sleep tonight, a reminder of all the great fast water we went through today. The James has rewarded our long drive with manageable but challenging class 1 and 2 rapids at every bend.
The wildlife sighting highlight of our trip will undoubtedly be the "mountain goat" that we saw today. He calmly stood surveying us from his perch on a nearly sheer rock face over looking the river. He even stayed there while we took numerous photos, turning to show us a profile, full face, and best side. (Note: Rangers later identified the goat as one of many "wild" domestic goats who escaped and live in these mountains.) A deer in the river was another rare sight.
As usual we rotated partners for today's canoeing. That always makes for interesting communication and coordination between partners in the rush of whitewater maneuvering.
We have foam "fun noodles" duct taped to the forward gunwales of all three canoes. They elicit stares and questions from many of the people we pass on the river, but the purpose is to lessen the surge of standing waves into the canoes, a function that they serve admirably even if they are strange looking.
The weather was kind to us yesterday, doing all of its raining while we were still driving. Today the clouds burned off early and revealed a comfortably warm June day, just right for a cooling swim. After our long paddle today we will all sleep well tonight.
Terry just realized, with the sun setting, that we still need to hang the ropes for the bear bag. Off we go!
Sun., June 17th, 5:50 PM
We are lazily setting up camp on the north (left) side of the river about 3 miles beyond Buchanan, a quaint little railroad town where we bought icecream and sundries. I also took advantage of a pay phone to call Laurie, always a pleasant diversion. Our campsite again is a gravelly sandbar at a sharp bend in the river. It is clear, dry, and has a scenic vista.
Today we stopped earlier, about 4:30, having paddled about 15 miles, our assigned quota. The river continues to delight us with abundant whitewater. One ledge drop had a steep drop (minor waterfall?) at one end that Ray, Jean, Terry, and Sara all went over successfully providing their daily thrill. Rich and I were on the other side of the river and missed all of the fun.
Jean is cooking as I write, preparing her famous quinoa, chicken, peppers, and onion combo. Ray is the salad chef tonight, supplanting Sara who has been prepping the salad on previous nights. Teamwork keeps us well fed.
These days when we make camp early allow us to leisurely wash up, set up, read, take photos, and enjoy the more sedate pleasures of the trip. We work hard and relax hard, lubricated with red wine and good Scotch. The weather continues to be clear and comfortably hot. Good friendship is the final ingredient to our enjoyment.
Wed., June 20th, 5:00 PM
We have been in camp for two hours on the left bank between Buford and Dog Islands. I have been neglectful of this journal, having made no entries since Sunday. I will try to make amends. Hot and humid weather has been our companion for these last two days. Swimming in the river has provided us with welcome relief.
Monday we paddled from just beyond Buchanan to a pleasant site between Natural Bridge Station and Glasgow, stopping at a small commercial campground run by Dick and Charlie Pickle, father and son, owners of Wilderness Canoe. It was fortunate that we stopped when we did as a thunderstorm soon blew in and would have caught us on the river.
Tuesday found us paddling Balcony Falls and the class 2 rapids before and after it. Water levels have been low but the huge rocks gave us an appreciation of what Balcony Falls could be like and why it is rated class 3. As it was we hesitated at the main drop and took a "cheater" detour around the right end of the ledge. It was still a challenging series of rapids and an opportunity for Terry to break his rear thwart, now a twin to his broken front thwart. Both are subsequently tied in place. Bets are being placed as to whether or not they will be replaced by next summer. No one will bet for Terry replacing them.
After taking out at Cashaw Dam , yesterday afternoon and evening were spent recovering the car at Iron Gate, transporting everyone around the dams to James River State Park (between Bent Creek and Norwood), delivering a shuttle vehicle to Bremo Bluff, finding a nice restaurant (Cactus Jax in Arvonia), and finally getting back to the state park and bed after dark.
This morning we were up bright and early, heading downriver once more. We have found a new James River, this one wider, more sedate, missing its steep mountain vistas, and with fewer ledge drops. We paddled about 18 miles today, keeping us right on schedule.
Food continues to be a high point of our trip. The tempting odor of Ray's renowned amatriciana wafts towards me as I write. Monday night Terry supplied us with his superb beef stroganoff. We never lose weight on these trips. Even lunches are extra generous without Chris and Robbie.
We miss them both. They would have had an interesting time in their aluminum canoe. They would have scraped over and stuck to these ledge drops, especially yesterday at Balcony Falls where we all slid and bumped over many river rocks. Even our royalex canoes hang up at times, but we all remember how aluminum is a rock "magnet". Of course this constant abrasion has left Terry and me with some minor hull repair work needing to be done, perhaps Kevlar skid plates.
Thurs., June 21st, 8:00 PM
We are camped on a small island/sandbar at the beginning of the Seven Islands stretch of the river between Hardware and Bremo Bluff, having covered about 22 miles today. The last couple of miles were through a maze of beautiful islands where the river is studded with huge rocks, like the garden of God. We appreciated the beauty but were more than ready to stop, rest, and make camp. Sara's pronouncement that she would "not get back in a canoe today" spoke for all of us and confirmed that this tired crew was "home" for the day.
Right now everyone is relaxing after my hearty chili and fresh-baked cornbread supper topped off with the final installment of Jean's sugar cookies. We are luxuriating in the last rays of the sun as we read, putter, and take in the peace of our island campsite.
Tomorrow holds an easy four mile paddle to Bremo Bluff and the end of our passage on the James. It is only fitting that this is our most picturesque campsite of the trip, perhaps the most enchanting we have ever been in. Rich is ready to light our final campfire until next year.
Fri., June 22nd
We are back at Theresa's, showered and ready to enjoy again the benefits of civilization. The James hald a few last treats for us including some good ledge drops (one right before our takeout) and the sight of a bateau replica being poled down the river, perhaps a straggler from the "race" that started at Lynchburg last week. We bought some fresh produce from the farm stand where my car was safely parked and had an uneventful drive back to Theresa's in Sterling. The James proved to be a great canoeing river. It offered abundant rapids, beautiful scenery, almost no riverside habitations, adequate places to camp, and a surprising lack of other people. James River, we shall return!
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Copyright © 2007 Scott Clark