Fri, Aug 8 2003 - Canoeing and Lodge weekend at the Cartecay (View Original Event Details) Trip Leader(s): No Coordinators Found Participants: Joe Donovan, , Katherine Martin, , Dawnmarie Hil, Frederick Choi, , Michael Aubertine, Pam Davis, Phil 'Foz' Parkerson, Nellie Horton, Michael Mones, Sharon OFlaherty, Ben Taratoot, Darcy Chalfin, Daniel Glauser ,

Write Up:
After meeting at the lodge, Michael decided to sacrifice his eyebrows for the sake of Bubba burgers and lit the grill in style. The burgers were tasty and we all enjoyed washing them down with chilled beverages and chatting.

Saturday morning we awoke to the smell of coffee as well as bacon and eggs cooking on the grill. After a tasty breakfast that included dutch-oven fried doughnuts, several people took off to mountain bike, with the remainder visiting some apple orchards and going on a hike.

At about one o’clock, we all met back at the lodge for lunch. After lunch, we walked over to the outfitters, signed waivers, and waited to see the instructional videos.

Jeff and Michael decided to chop down a tree by throwing horseshoes at it. As we waited, a storm started to blow in. After watching the instructional video, we collected PFDs, helmets, and paddles, and jumped onto the refurbished ice cream truck for the ride to the river.

Once we were on the river, the storm that had been blowing in immediately began dumping precipitation on us, making this an official AOC event. By the first stopping point, we were soaking wet and Dawnmarie had already sustained an injury from being on her knees too long. After some brief instruction, we went through the first set of serious rapids. Everyone emerged unscathed and we headed down the river to the dreaded S-Curve. Most everyone made it through the S-Curve without a hitch, although ropes were thrown to a few people at the end of it. As one of the last canoes was heading into the rapids the guide, Jay, said, “here comes crash and burn”. Within seconds, the canoe capsized in the rapid, and two AOC members came floating down the river.

The final big rapid, called Raspberry by Udo, and the Rooster tail by Jay, was roughly a 5 foot drop. Everyone from the AOC made it over without incident. After Raspberry, there was one more small ledge that Olen and Kathy managed to get stuck on, since Olen hadn’t been paying attention to Jay’s instructions. Katt and Joe, who were right behind them, promptly got stuck on the same ledge as well. After freeing the canoes from the ledge, we floated into the put out point and returned to the outfitters.

Once we were back at the lodge, Dan, who had survived the river injury free, opened a beer that exploded and propelled the cap into his face. Therefore, safety goggles are now mandatory when opening beers on any future AOC events. After showering, Katt and various helpers cooked a delicious spaghetti dinner.

Several people went upstairs to play Cranium after dinner, while Dawnmarie and Pam busted out some low-fat Haagen Daaz for dessert. After some initial skepticism, several people tried the low-fat sorbet and were pleasantly surprised. Not to be outdone, Mike and assistants cooked up a scrumptious apple cobbler. Later on, everyone wandered upstairs to hang out and chat. Eventually, Dawnmarie, Sharon, and Pam were discussing the damage the river inflicted on their pedicures, while munching popcorn. That scene was immediately dubbed “Sex in the Country”. About midnight, everyone headed off to bed.
Written By: Olen Daelhousen
Photos From: various

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