WOR: Little Tennessee – 7/3/05

In the morning, Rich stepped up to lead a trip on the Little T and we learned that Sarah would be taking her second ever solo canoe trip on a river. How could we turn that down? The Little T is a classic beginner trip with moving water, fairly continuous small ledges and occasional larger rapids to keep things interesting. A year ago, I had scouted it by map for a possible overnighter, so it seemed a nice idea to see if we could find any campsites. I didn’t see many opportunities for camping, but the trip was a treat nonetheless.

We unpacked and got set up for the day’s run while the drivers did their shuttle. Not long before they returned, the rain started hinting its arrival. Soon after the drivers returned, the skies opened up in earnest. The rain was hard but short-lived. We were hoping for more so that options on Monday might be more diverse.

The skies faded from rain to overcast to blue over the course of our trip. We eddy hopped and eddy hopped, enjoying the practice and the relaxed atmosphere of the trip. Sarah was a natural in the canoe, as we expected. She was catching eddies easily. I had to wonder how much more she would be tearing up the river in a boat more her size.

Sometime after lunch, once the blue skies had committed to the day, Rich talked us into a little side-surfing hole where we filled the canoe up to the gunwales with water. Surprisingly, we didn’t swim out. We paddled the boat into the eddy (gingerly) and were able to dump everything out. Neither Lucas nor I has much interest in side-surfing, so we were happy to wait in the eddy, enjoy the entertainment and photograph it for posterity.

Toward the end of the run, Rich started a water fight. Lacking a bleach bottle bailer, Lucas thought we were limited to whatever water we could smack with a paddle. Then I showed him the might of the bilge pump. I think bailer wars may deliver more water, but the targeted blast of the bilge pump more than makes up for that difference.

Sarah and I swapped places with one rapid to go. She paddled out in the Caption with Lucas and I tried my luck with her Impulse. While I enjoyed the solo time, I also missed my Probe, whose smaller size suits me better. We were first to the takeout, so I took advantage of the chance to hike up for more pictures. The steep bank made close-ups difficult, but gave the chance for wide, scenic shots. After all the boats and gear were packed, we ended our day with dinner back at camp. Rain flirted with us again, leaving us wondering what options the next day would hold.