Chapter 2 - The
Addiction Begins
Chapter 3 - Can You Say Kaituna
Chapter 4 - So You
Want to Roll
Chapter 5 - The
Accelerated Course
Chapter 6 - The Legend Begins
Chapter 7 - Fear
and Other Thoughts
Chapter 8 - Spring 2007 - What a Disappointment
Chapter 9 -
Just Like Starting Over
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CHAPTER ONE:
WELCOME TO THE SPORT
My odyssey began with a harmless overnight canoe trip last October. This would be my first paddling experience with Bruce and I was pretty anxious. Although I had paddled a tandem canoe quite often in the past, it was mainly walking & dragging the Clarion River in Cook Forest - very little if any whitewater. After a couple of weeks of being warned about the ledges we would being going over, I was pretty worried about embarrassing myself in front of him and his friends, all much more experienced paddlers than myself. As it turned out, Bruce was just having some fun with me. There weren't any real ledges or even whitewater to speak of. We spent 2 days paddling the Potomac River through Paw Paw, West Virginia and although it was a beautiful trip I spent both days letting him know that I was actually disappointed that there were no ledges and that I really wanted to try something more exciting. We talked about finding a place to camp in the area and paddling something more challenging the third day. Unfortunately the second day we were paddling against a terrible head wind and it took forever to get to the take-out and by the time we did, it was already dusk. There would be no time to find a campsite so we reluctantly packed up the truck and headed home. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed.
While driving home we talked about the trip and my desire for more challenging paddling. Fortunately for me, our drive home took us onto Route 40 near Ohiopyle. Knowing how disappointed I was that we weren't going to paddle the next day, Bruce suggested that we stay somewhere near Ohiopyle and paddle the Middle Yough. I, of course, jumped at the opportunity. We stayed at the Summit Inn - a disappointment to both of us. Definitely not what we expected. While there we both came to the realization that in our excitement in finding somewhere to paddle we overlooked one thing - we only had one vehicle! Seeing the look on my face, he told me not to worry, that we would find a shuttle somewhere.
Knowing that I would have to paddle hard the next day, I tried to get some sleep. Not an easy chore. I did manage a few hours and woke up ready to go. Upon making our way to Ohiopyle, we found that most of the outfitters were closed. Wilderness Voyagers was open and we managed to convince them to run shuttle for us. What a relief! Bruce let me know that the level was only about 1.23 ft - pretty low - and that it would probably be scrapy through the rapids and that we might have to get out and drag the boat a couple of times but he was willing to give it a go if I was. At this point, there was no way I was going to give up this opportunity so off we went.
With a major case of butterflies and extreme fear of screwing up, we put-in. Bruce tried to calm me down, telling me not to worry, that there was nothing too dangerous or too difficult on this stretch of water and that as long as I listened to him and paddled, everything would be fine and that I would have a great time. He was right. Due to the fear and excitement, most of the rapids are a blur. I know we had good lines and that we made it through them all without any problems. What I do remember clearly are the "Doldrums" - 3 miles of shallow flat-water that at this level felt more like 9 miles! This was the one place he had to get out and drag the canoe. After this section came some more fun rapids which we made it through unscathed. Because we had done so well, and I was once again talking about needing something even more exciting to run, Bruce decided to continue past the State Park take-out and run "Zee" rapid, the sole Class III on this stretch. We got out and scouted this one. After seeing it and being told how we were to run it, I was pretty anxious but rearing to go. Success! The most exhilarating part of the whole trip.
I had a wonderful trip that left me longing for more. All that remained was to find out how well Bruce thought I did and the big question - would he take me paddling again? He told me I did very good and that he liked the fact that I really listened to his directions and didn't try to do things my way. Because of this, he would definitely take me paddling again and even suggested that we shred the Lower Yough in the near future. I was on cloud nine and immediately began yearning for that next trip. I was hooked!
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