I have a partner in crime named Allen who invites me to go along on the more adventurous geocache outings. We have take several 8-10 mile hikes, camped in the cold, and as of last weekend, took a weekend to go canoeing and camping.
A few weeks ago Allen e-mailed me about the Brazos River Cache, Canoe, and Camping Event that was being held on June 11th. I have never really been canoeing before, but I figured it would be a great getaway. I like to camp and geocache so adding canoeing to the mix sounded pretty good to me. We worked the logistics out (who was preparing what, times, locations, etc) and before you know it, June 11th rolled around.
Our plan was to leave late on Friday morning and drive to Possum Kingdom Lake, grabbing some geocaches along the way. Allen had mentioned to me that there was a challenge cache that we both could fulfill (The Lonestar Busy Day Challenge) if we planned our route correctly. The challenge required us to grab six different types of geocaches plus a benchmark, all in a 24 hour period. Now getting four of these would not be hard, but getting the other two of the remaining ones would be more difficult. Virtuals are scarce and earthcaches, letterbox hybrids, and whereIgo caches are practically extinct. Earthcaches are making a comeback but still are scattered far and wide. Yes, I know I also did not mention Cache In Trash Out caches, Event caches, Mega Event caches, Project A.P.E. or GPS Adventure Mazes Exhibit caches. These were excluded from the challenge and are many of these are rare.
The good news for us was that we were heading west and many of the caches we needed were right along the route (give or take a few miles). To make a long story short, we grabbed all the caches needed for the challenge and all we need to do is go get the challenge cache and log our find.
Once we made it to Possum Kingdom (PK), we set up our tent in the wind (with the help of some other geocaches), helped a few people set up their tents, and had dinner. Once it got dark we headed off into the woods to search for the night cache hidden by the host of the event (Doug). After searching for (and finding) the night cache, we headed off deeper into the woods to grab yet another cache hidden by Doug. We enjoyed he three mile hike from the trail head to the caches and back. Hanging out and talking with new people is always fun.
After the hike I grabbed a shower (which consisted of cool lake water pumped from the lake...no hot water) and it felt great. It was one of the most refreshing showers I have ever taken.
Most of the people were still kind of wound up so they stayed up, despite the fact we needed to get up early and break camp so we could make launch at 9 AM. We still needed a few miles to the canoe rental shop, then they would shuttle us to the launch point.
Allen and I were both tired so we did our best to get some sleep but sleep did not come for some time. It was still rather hot and humid, not to mention noisy as people continued to have a good time.
6:00 AM came and both Allen and I struggled to wake up. I unloaded my single burner and put on water for coffee and oatmeal (my normal camp breakfast) and started to pack up what we would need for the canoe trip. I no sooner than finished my breakfast when Doug shouted for everyone to hurry up. I was a little bewildered by this since it was only 7:00 AM and we did not need to leave for at least an hour. Allen and I quickly packed up the gear and loaded it into my truck. We then rushed off to Rochelle's Canoe Rentals several miles up the road on Route 4. After getting to Rochelle's we learned it was first come, first launch. We got our people in line and filled out the paperwork so we could launch as soon as possible. Finally around 10:00 AM, we launched the canoes on our 20 mile trip down the Brazos River.
As I said earlier, I have never really taken a canoe trip before. I have floated on inner tubes on rivers in WV and even used rafts to cross rivers, but I have never taken an extended canoe trip before. I was in unfamiliar territory the minute the canoe slid into the water. Nonetheless I was excited and anxious to get this trip underway.
Now if you could not tell by the name of the event, this was a canoeing, camping, and CACHING event. Along this 20 mile section of river were 32 geocaches to be found. A few of these had just recently been placed and had not been found yet so we were in for a special treat.
The view along the Brazos is pretty amazing. While the water is shallow enough int spots to cause your canoe to drag, you can avoid walking the canoe if you watch the current closely. Being green at canoeing, I did not watch the river closely enough and we had to walk the canoe several times the first day.
After canoeing and caching 13 miles, the team decided to beach the canoes on one of the islands dotting the river so we could spend the night. After investigating a couple of spots, we made our decision and began to set up camp. Allen and I quickly unloaded the canoe and within a short time had our tent pitched on soft, sandy soil. The wind was a little strong but the tent held even in the soft soil. One of the more interesting things we noticed on several of the islands was the abundance of cow patties dotting the ground. Local farmers let the cattle roam and they cross the river at the shallows and eat the bright green grass on the islands.
After we set up camp, the event coordinator Doug began preparations to get dinner together. He had smoked some brisket earlier in the week (a Texas thing...) and packed it up in his canoe for dinner that night. Other people pitched in to provide sides and drinks. At first I had not plans to eat (I brought MRE's) but they had plenty and insisted we join them. Allen pitched in some money to cover the cost of food since we did not bring anything to share. I kinda felt bad for not bringing something, but I did not want to try to keep food cool while canoeing.
After dinner most of us were pretty tired. We had paddled 13 miles as well as climbed in and out the canoes dozens of times looking for caches or dragging the boats through the shallow water. Since people were so tired, the camp was quiet by 10 PM. It was an odd thing compared to the previous night when everyone was up until way past midnight.
Before bed, Allen and I discussed the plan of attack for the next day. We planned on getting up early and hitting the water by 8 AM. We hoped to get out and finish first, then move on down the road to get home early. However, even though we were the first to wake up, we were almost last team to leave the island. One of the reasons was that I brought a big tent (Allen did not have one) and it took a while to set up/breakdown. Next I let someone use my single burner stove and he did not get it back to me until right before we launched. In the long run it did not matter. We may have been almost last leaving the island but we were right in the middle of the back when we arrived at the pickup point.
I was pretty proud of Allen and myself as we got within three miles of the pickup point. We had not tipped over the canoe once (considering all the gear and water we brought) although we had come close a few times. However our good fortune did not last. Just about 2.5 to 3 miles from the pickup point we hit an area of fast moving water and we lost control of the canoe. We drifted straight into a fallen tree and got turned sideways. The force of the water against the side of the canoe tipped the canoe over on its side. I managed to pop out and right the canoe just before it tipped over completely. After the canoe was upright, I noticed it was almost completely full of water. My gear, which was water resistant but not water proof, was soaked. We pulled the canoe out of the swift current (no easy feat) and started to bail the water out. Once most of the water was out, we went on our way towards the pickup point. We were wet, but safe.
After arriving at the pickup point, we posed for a group picture and grabbed a few more caches in the area before heading home. We managed to get all but five of the 32 caches in the area. Of those five we thing all of them are missing. Several good people looked for them without any luck. The owners have been notified and I hope they will be replaced.
Allen and I took the more direct path home but we still stopped a few times for caches and to try to dry out some of our sloppy wet gear.
I had a great time canoeing on the Brazos River. I will remember that weekend for a very long time.
