You cant do that- the day after we did

Feeling it, I’m certain B is as well. D might be feeling it in his calves, you’ll see why in the second pic.

Ignore the elevation, only had three navsats available and elevation requires four or more. But topo only needs three. Speed and distance were all I was concerned about. (Side note, has anyone else been noticing issues with US Based navsats dropping offline or is it just my hilly location messing with me)

Not quite 40 miles as advertised but we’d still have ‘made it’ with several hours till sunset, if it had been.

Three old doods, and a metric ton of drift boats, bass boats, a few other kayakers, and one unruly mob of Jetskis making like a biker gang bustin’ ass down the highway. (Yeah. We git the hell out of their way. Heard ’em coming for a few minutes before they blew by us on a highwall of white soupy water and a bunch of rooster tails.) (Actually, they were ‘unruly’, but they are damned fast, we ran into them again at the take out an hour later, and they were all cool as heck.)

In order, shore to river, Hobie Mirage with peddle drive, Perception Carolina 14.5 (B’s Serenity, my old Carolina) and 17′ Prijon Kodiak aka Ghost.

We kept outrunning the ‘bubble’. We’d stop, relieve pressures, grab a drink or snack, and the waterlevel would come up and start floating our boats. Take back off and have that current giving us a boost, then start easing back into the kludge of turbulance on its wave face. You could feel it trying to push you back upstream.

We did 10 miles in 2 hours before our first stop. Spent a half hour talking to people there. (Shoulda got a pic but,,,) awesome rock arch called the rock room, and some other kayakers but mostly some daywalkers. Lots of questions about the boats, what we were doing, what its like, etc etc.

Second stop was 6 miles further, Lunch!!! Working up an appetite by then.

Third stop was 7 miles on,,,, that beer at lunch was a rental on my part and i have NO ASS and things were starting to feel pinched in my left leg from it. Ised my float bag as an improvised seat pad for a short while after that, and it helped, until it didn’t. The air started to expand from my body heat and was raising me up, throwing my balance all to hell. Rafted up with B and let some of the air out; much better. About five minutes later here comes the Jetski Brigade and I’m even happier that I did let that air out. My balance was so bad, I would have capsized in those waves. As it was, just rock a little and keep paddling, no problema.

The last 6 miles or so was the worst. River opened up wide and deeper, current slowed WAY DOWN. We had averaged close to 5mph and that last few miles pulled our average down to 4.4. And we were all starting to feel the years and asking “are we there yet”. Knowing that the only bridge we would see is our take out, and that we had to round a bend to see it, every bend was rounded in expectation and disappointment.

But then, there it was and we had done it!!! Can’t be done is usually “‘I’ cant do it” a mindset they translate that into ‘no one’ can.

Will we do it again? Hell yeah!!! and take some lessons from this time. Wont need so much gear since we didnt need it this time (was the just in case stuff) start later to catch that wave, not the wave front, and I will take Serena (she’s been on that river before and she is a river queen for wide open rivers, not the creeks)(and at 32# unladen, not a back breaker like the shown fleet was,,,)

But today is domestics, appeasing Kittehs, and rubbing tigerbalm into places complaining. Nothing torn or immobilized, but all of its saying unkind words to the brain. (I ain’t 20 sumpin anymore,,,)