| Paddling Red Creek … By Gary Smith 100 degrees this
weekend? Are you nuts?
Apparently eight paddlers were, as we paddled Red Creek on an overnighter August 11-12 in what turned out to be pleasant, or at least bearable, weather. The weatherman predicted highs of 103 on the 11th and 102 on the 12th in Wiggins, our meeting place. Joining Yours Truly on a weekend where at least as much time was spent in the water as on the water were Darryl Pry, long-time Haystacker friend Jennifer Philippe, Darlene Powell, new members (but certainly not new to paddling) Penny Joseph and Mike Berniere, and perennial front-runners for the mileage award, Woody Wood and Hoyt Sayler. The creek was running 4.82 on the Vestry gauge, just enough water to ensure we would spend most of the time paddling and not hiking as in the past when the level was considerably lower. The stretch of Red Creek between Hwy. 26 and Hwy. 49 is like two different streams. Above Kirby Creek, which is almost halfway, there's a lot of shade and the creek is rather narrow, with only the occasional sandbar. Below Kirby, the creek opens up and there are snow-white sandbars around every bend, making for easy camping most anywhere. We took lots of breaks for swimming and soaking and finally made camp around 4:30 p.m. The main snorer was relegated to the end of the sandbar, while everyone else gathered further up. We set up camp quickly and most of us took advantage of the remaining daylight to get some soak-time in the creek. Stoves were then brought out and whatever passed for dinner was quickly consumed. I think most of us thought it was going to be a hot, steamy, miserable night, but we were pleasantly surprised by relatively dry air and nighttime temps probably in the low to mid 70's. In the morning, most folks reported they had to put some cover on and turn off their battery-operated fans because it got cool. Taking advantage of the morning cool air, the group broke camp and hit the water around 9:10 a.m. and paddled an hour before the first 45 minute long break. After another break around 11:30 or so, we floated the final 15 minutes to the take-out. Around the middle of the morning, it really started to heat up, and when we took out near 12:30, the air felt like a blast furnace. Darryl took me to get my truck, which I had left at the put-in and when I got back, the rest of the group had hauled all my stuff up the hill at the take-out. They will never know how much that meant to me. I'm leaving out the best part of the trip, which is all the joking around, kidding and teasing with each other, and telling stories. I think the last time I laughed this hard was on the LAST Haystackers trip I went on. I have left out the stories and kidding and teasing because, after all, what happens on the creek STAYS on the creek. |
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