I know what you probably thought after reading the title of this post: "Brett joined a club?! What is he doing in a social organization?" Yes, I joined . They go on all sorts of fun trips throughout the year and this weekend went canoeing on in .
We carpooled to the campground separately throughout the day on Friday. The group occupied a large tree filled campsite right next to the river.
Friday night turned into a big outdoor party. The 50 (!) of us gathered around various campfires and socialized late into the night. I brought my harmonica, and at one point I was jamming with a guy who brought a ukulele and another who brought a mandolin. It was a great time.
I slept terribly since I my sleeping bag was still in my Indiana home. Instead, I used a makeshift bedroll made from some extra blankets from my apartment. Luckily, I was able to snag a tent, but several people chose to sleep under the stars.
I was the second person—after the club president—to wake up the next morning. People slowly trickled out of their tents, and we ate a breakfast of bagels and PBJ. Someone eventually realized that with the time change, we had only 30 minutes to pack up the tents and meet at the canoe rental place across the river. We must have made it in time because not long after that we were in a repurposed school bus driving to the headwater. We cast off about five miles upriver.
The river was cool and clear, the weather was absolutely ideal, and the scenery was spectacular.
Much of the river was lined by steep rocky banks.
Near the end of our portion of the river, we stopped at a beach nestled against a sheer rock face. There, we ate our lunches, and a few of us followed a small stream a few hundred yards back into the woods.
We were only on the river for maybe two hours. Everyone agreed that it was too short, but that it was definitely worth the trip.