Friday night was very cold for camping. Had a nice evening huddled close by the fire with Dave and Liz Bradford + Diesel, Stephanie, Tom Mc Cloud, Turbo and Jeff Johnson. Tough night in the tent and ended up sleeping in the car in the early morning. When I woke up, everyone was already gone! Quickly scrambled to try to find the put-in, sure that I had blown it and missed the day. Thankfully, found the group prior to departure but ended up on the river with no coffee and no breakfast. Made for a tough start, but Coastals being who they are, my distress was noticed and I received offers of food to put me on a better path. (Thanks Sejal, Stephanie and Savannah!)
All in all, a beautiful day to be paddling. The Bradfords did the tandem shredder for the first time and managed to stay married. Stanley rode in the raft with Wade on Saturday and matched my effort with two swims on the day. (OK... his might have been intentional)
After the paddling, several rode bikes back to the put-in and most convened for food and beverages at The Falls Pub. When we got back to camp, Tom Wood immediately locked his keys in his car with all his gear. He handled the situation with his typical quiet nonchalance
and Subaru roadside assistance came through before the evening was up. Sunday was a far calmer affair. Had nearly as big of a group, but far fewer swims and a bit less rambunctiousness as everyone was a bit tired on the second day. Did have a double swim at Dimple Rock (me again) and Jackie did a terrific rescue of a pinned boat, including exiting her boat and doing a split on a rock to catch the throw bag.
Thanks very much to Dave for organizing a great trip! Thanks to Sejal and Jackie for shepherding the rookies down the river.