Merry Christmas to All who have paddle with us and those who have followed our site

Terry's Pics from Thanksgiving Camp Out/Paddle Excursion on Badin- Part 1

Terry's Pics from Thanksgiving Camp Out/Paddle Excursion on Badin- Part 2

Pictures from Thanksgiving Campout/Paddle

Even though most of the group has quit paddling for the season, there are still a few die-hards in the group who continue on. Thanks to Sheila for sharing the pictures from their 4 day Thanksgiving camp out outing on Badin Reservoir.

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How a Kayak is Made- Is your boat over cooked or under cooked

To find out how well your boat was cooked, click here to read these tips

T- Recovery when and when not to use it

Our group got great practice this summer with the T Rescue Method. Most of the group became very adept at performing the rescue. Still T-Rescue may not always be applicable in most situations. Now that we head into the winter months with water temperatures dropping, the other factors on whether to use T- method of rescue come more into play. I remember "Banks Dixon" of Frog Hollow, reminding us that you could have over 100 different scenario involving a canoe/kayak rescue. The following link below is to an article I found on Paddling.net about T-Rescue and what you must consider before deciding on use of this method.

Banks Dixon had also stressed to our group the importance of knowing the make-up of the other boats paddling with you. This is because the decision on the rescue method to use can depend on the boat. Several of us experienced first hand what it was like to try to rescue Fran's T-REX. The following week Fran made the decision to add bulkheads to her kayak. Had cold water been a factor in Terry's rescue attempt of Fran, chances are she would have succumbed to Hypothermia before Terry had emptied the water from the boat

Click Here to Read This Article

Royal's Creek- Tuckertown Reservoir

Our participation in several Big Sweeps this fall, eliminated our October Saturday paddles. This was all in name of a good cause. Still there are a few in the group who manage to find a way to paddle on some Sunday afternoons. Below is a slide show of few members having fun on one their favorite areas "Royals Creek" which is on Tuckertown Reservoir. Thanks to Sheila for sending me the photos from their paddle 2 weeks ago.

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York Hill Land Fill

Looking at the pictures in the slide show below, one would certainly think so. There are some sorrier people than Terry in the world and his photos are proof. (I had to get my dig in for the bridge remark) Thanks to Terry for the pics and comments! I should have been playing a banjo in the HRL Paddler Photo.

Saturday's Big Sweep at the York Hill Access, Davidson County and "TPUR"

York Hill Access is one of the most scenic access areas we have visited in the Yadkin River River Basin. This public access area has a lot of underutilized potential. Situated at the top of High Rock Lake reservoir, it is of a great benefit to paddlers, fisherman and hunters from Davidson, Davie and Rowan Counties. York Hill lies in the heart of the "historic trading ford". The last major civil war battle won by the South, was here at York Hill. I think you'll find that most users of the access are unaware of the area's rich history. It's sad to see there aren't signs telling visitors about the historical significance of this area.

The Trading Ford has seen over five centuries of American cultural, industrial, military, and transportation history. From Indian trading paths, failed colonization by the Spanish, travels by troops in the American Revolution and Civil War, to a site of numerous ferries and bridges, the Trading Ford is an important part of North Carolina History.(Click the Link Underline above to read more)


Driving across the bridge to Spencer or heading to Charlotte on I-85 , the typical motorist is totally unaware of the beauty, which lies below. I have to admit, that was my impression of the Yadkin was formed by what I saw from the bridges. I can tell you it wasn't a positive one. Once I started paddling I saw the vast difference between the view from the car vs the view from below. It wasn't until I visited the York Hill area, did I realize how distorted my opinion of the Yadkin River had been. I never knew the beauty of the Wil-Cox Bridge until I viewed it from the access below. The access area itself is also a beautiful setting. I discovered how these rivers are just pretty as any of the lakes we visit.

This was the 3rd Big Sweep for "HRL Paddlers" this year. Kudos to Bobby, Harry, Sheila, Terry, Dana and Neal Patrick for all they did.

We had very cool temperatures for this weekend's Big Sweep. The warm temperatures of the day and the cool temperatures of the night, created a very slippery slopes on the river bank. Normally one can wear tennis shoes in most places, but we've learned that it's best to wear rubber boots when working on a river bank. No one fell in, but there were times we easily could have.

Sadly we have to report that York Hill had the most trash of all the access areas we participated in during Big Sweep. We plan to keep "York Hill on "HRL Paddlers" Big Sweep list for years to come. Our most unusual finds were a microwave oven and cb radio. It's disturbing to see that some people will not make the effort to walk 10 feet to a nearby garbage can to dispose of their trash.

We all asked ourselves the question " how do you make people pick up or dispose of trash properly? " Terry suggested the following and later in this post I took the liberty of modifying it some.

"Anyone using an access area who is seen with trash around them while fishing , should pick it up or be subject to an fine." Subjecting all users to a fine for throwing down or ignoring litter is the rule we may need to make in order to keep these areas clean. A free access area is a privilege for all those who use it.

I thought Terry's suggestion was a great idea! Before you discard the notion as being silly, please take a moment to think about it. No littering signs with warnings just aren't enough these days, because the offenders have to be caught. Now if you have a rule were any user of the access can be fined if trash is found near them, people will take note and start enforcing the rule themselves. Those who think this rule is to tough, then there is an alternative we could pursue. We could ask the county to charge launch and fishing fees. Moneys from these fees could be used to pay a "ranger" to oversee the area on the weekend. This is something similar to what they do at Lake Thoma-Lex. Personally I would hate to see fees charged, because it would eliminate people who couldn't afford to pay. Unless we are willing to take and accept more stringent measures to get the litter under control in these areas, there may be no other choice, than to charge a fee.

Of course the rule will need to be more specific about what would invoke a fine.. One suggestion would be for the rule to fine a person for any trash found within 10ft of the spot they are fishing. The same rule would also apply to anyone leaving trash found within 10 feet their parked vehicle.(we find a lot of people throw out trash in front of where they park a car) This should all so be applied to all camp site areas, but with greater distances(making the radius 50 feet, might make them use that trash can that is 15 feet away.)

It's sad to think we would even need such a rule, however this is what it will take to win the war against litter. We have to all be willing to make the brush of enforcement a little broader, defining "that trash on the ground is unacceptable".

We all ignore trash that most of us could so easily pick up. I will admit I'm guilty of doing it . Instead of trying to be a part of the solution, we complain about the sorry individuals who throw their trash down. Could we not just as easily pick it up? "It's not my responsibility" is what we say, when the act of picking up the litter we see demonstrates to others what being responsible is about.

We can just as easily be part of the solution. People will say there needs to be stricter laws and higher fines. $1000 littering fees don't correct the problems, when someone has to be present to enforce it. Making it a penalty when it's left lying around, no matter who is responsible, will put an end to the trash we see at these access areas. It's easy to blame others for not doing their job, when with just a little effort we could do more ourselves.


All I'm saying is"this would be the stricter law we need", if we are to win this war.

Having a rule that could not easily be ignored by anyone would insure that these areas always stay clean. Big Sweeps would be freed up to focus on others areas that need the attention more. Clean areas would inspire counties to do put more money into these access areas. The Old 421 Park in Forsyth County is a great example of what can be done, when we take pride in an access area. Part of the reason we don't have more access areas is the litter problem, that comes with them.

It would be great if we could start a movement lobbying for such a law. Use of any Public Access Area should always be a privilege. It's time we had some hard rules to safe guard these areas from those who would trash them. I would be willing to subject myself to such a rule if that's what it would take to keep these areas trash free.

HRL Paddlers will start practicing the 10 foot rule on all areas we launch or take out from. We will add this new rule to our paddler's code. "TPUR"(trash pick up rule or "aka" Terry pick up rule) might inspire others to do the same.

When you really think about it, Terry's suggestion has great merit!

.

Paddling from Old 421-Tanglewood- Hwy 64- Hwy 801- I 85- High Rock Lake- Tuckertown Reservoir-

Image via WikipediI know some of our readers are wondering, when are we going to release the report on the Paddle Trails above? We decided it would be best to wait until our paddle season had wound down. This way we can sit down as a group and go over each of these areas a little more in details.

The information we provide hopefully will prepare canoeist and kayakers on what to expect along these particular paddle trails.

Our report won't hold back or gloss over problems we see that need addressing. The most serious problem is still "Idols Dam". This area still remains just as deadly as that day we paddle it back in July. While there had been good response from the city with the promise of signs, to date all we have seen are sketches. We find this very disturbing that there are no signs posted. There has been more than enough time and there really is no excuse for not having done it. We all need to start asking "what is the hold up?" What will it take to get the signs up?


Our report will make recommendations just like our concerns regarding safety issues mentioned above. We plan to release our findings as concerned paddlers to all the media, paddle publications and paddling groups. It will take more than just our voices to make any recommendations we suggest a reality. This is why we will release our report to any reader or organizations with paddling interests.

HRL Paddlers doesn't like being a thorn in anyones side, all we want to do is paddle. Now if it takes being a "thorn" to make our paddle trails safer, we will gladly accept the role. Our main concern to make sure that safety issues like the "open death trap" at Idols Dam gets closed. So far the only positive move we have experienced were just a couple of meetings listening to our concerns and the display of some "graphic rendering of signs" that supposedly are ordered. I did do a personal follow up a few weeks back. A city department head informed me that they were working to resolve the portage issue. I also asked if the signs were up, but this official informed they weren't. It seemed they were wanting to resolve everything at the same time. I asked that the signs be put up immediately, knowing the portage issue will take a little longer.

Since that time I've heard nothing on signs being in place. Our group may have to paddle the area again and invite others along this time to see why we are so concerned. There is just no excuse for signs not being put in place by now. More than enough time has passed. The city was actually made aware of the problem back in June, so this wasn't suddenly overnight. When we discovered it we turned up the burners on what had been a low burning flame.

The public needs to see photos of the warning signs in place, not sketches of what is ordered anymore. We encourage anyone reading this to write the City of Winston-Salem Mayor or ask their city council member why this hasn't been done yet? HRL Paddlers is one dog that won't stop barking until this safety issue is resolved. We will continue our campaign to get the safety issues resolved once and for all.

"Only dead fish go with the current"

Big Sweep - Davidson County

We invite everyone to join us for this Saturday's Davidson County Big Sweep. We will meet at the York Hill Access Area, which is just off Hwy-29-70 on the Davidson County side of the Yadkin River.

Those wanting to canoe/kayak afterward will have the opportunity to join several in a paddle to what we call our "Land of the Lost". It's a great paddle and not to far from the access area. This is probably a two hour paddle at the most.

Below is a slide show of our excursion to the Land of the Lost. This will also give you an idea of what the "York Hill" access. We won't paddle beyond the "Buck's Steam Plant" this time. It will be a paddle down and a paddle up. This area is known as the "Trading Ford", there is lot of history that has taken place over the years. Indian Settlements, Revolutionary War Battle and the last battle of the Civil War all took place in this area.

Terry's Pics from the Davie County Big Sweep at Hwy 64 access

Cost to Drive is a neat tool for anyone planning a trip

This neat little link will tell you what to expect to pay in gas. It factors in your car type, gas in the area you are traveling to. Click Here to give it spin. I'm sure it will help us in planning excursions and a good way to help us estimate on how to share traveling cost. Since it will be a plus for our group and others, you will find it on the right sidebar of our site.

Terry's Pics from a Labor Day Paddle

What Big Sweep is About

Kudos to WCNC TV for it's promotional piece about "Big Sweep"

Harry, Sheila and Fran return from Hunting Island, SC

We will get the full story later. Hopefully someone in the group will embellish on the fun the others missed out on. I'm sure Terry would be more than happy to give Sheila the paddle!

The lead song on the music playlist below the slide show is "Sailing". Somehow the song seemed appropriate for this slide show. There was time I would go "sailing every evening after work. Christopher Crosses' song "Sailing" pretty much sums up the feeling I got each time out. Even though I kayak more, "sailing" is still my first love. I still get the same feeling anytime I'm out on the water even in a kayak on a windy day. The 2nd song on the player I put there for "Harry". A great surfing song by Jan and Dean "Surf City". The song some how seemed appropriate since he was out numbered 2 to 1.


Thanks to Sheila for providing us with the slide show below . Her comments always add a special touch, making the photos more personal to the viewer.

Just in case Terry decides not to give Sheila the paddle, there is an old rule Sheila needs to remember "Possession is 9/10 of the law".

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Click on the Music Player Below while you watch the slide show. Just click forward until you find a song of your liking.

Rowan County Big Sweep

The "Flat Creek Gang" was treated to a visit from "Mighty Kayak Dog"


You couldn't have had a more perfect day for Rowan county's "Big Sweep". Participants met at Dan Nicholas Park. Mike Lambert and Bob Pendergrass of Dan Nicholas Park welcomed the volunteers as they arrived. Mike was the coordinator for Big Sweep and gave us assigned areas we could go to. Since I was familiar with the "River Road Area" along Tuckertown Reservoir, I elected to go there.





Somehow I became the default "sweep leader" of what I dubbed as our "Flat Creek Gang".(the name being derived from the "Flat Creek Access Area" off River Road we were assigned). I was only the leader because I was the only one who knew the location of our destination. I don't believe it had do with any leadership skills, other than my sense of direction on how to get there, so others could follow me in their cars.





We had a lot of good people helping and everyone seemed to know what to do. The group made my job easy and it even looked like I knew what I was doing once I got there. All that was required of me was to act the part of a leader for a few hours. I even left our troops alone for a few minutes to see if they could function on their own. I was able to pull this challenge off by helping shuttle some kayakers I befriended at the Flat Creek access area. Would I see a mutiny when I returned? The lesson I learned when I returned was, a leader really isn't required when you have a good group of workers. I had 16 "good ones" who didn't didn't need me other than lead them to the Big Sweep site.


Once we got to our destination we broke up into groups of 4. This allowed us to cover more area a lot faster, including an access area on the Davidson County side of the Tuckertown Reservoir. Our "Flat Creek Gang" decided it had no boundaries, I think they all were inspired by "Mighty Kayak Dog" who hails from the Kernersville area. We learned their are no boundaries from "Mighty Kayak Dog", who kayaks waters all over the world. "Trash is Trash" no matter where you find it. Our new group adapted this philosophy and learned to work outside the box. No one gave it a second thought as to what county we were in. Our goal was to help clean up, not county lines.

Most of our group was new to Big Sweep and that included me. We were provided with plenty of work gloves, trash bags and even a tee shirt. Mike Lambert, this year's Big Sweep director, had suggested people bring "tools". I had no idea what kind of tools to bring, so I grabbed an assortment before I left home. For future reference, a "garden hoe" is a wonderful tool!!! A pitch fork, shovel and potato rake(if tool end is nailed on to stay in place) also are good tools to bring. You learn very quickly what works and doesn't work when picking up trash. I would highly recommend rubber boots or waders for wearing in the mud in the future. Charlie was the only one in our group dressed appropriately for the task at hand. He's only 5, but he was ready and raring to go. Just check out his photos in the slide show below.

Our finds included a lot of plastic bottles, small propane canisters, bait boxes, fishing line, tires, carpet, Styrofoam cooler chest lids, reflectors, glass bottles and tire rims. The strangest find of all was a "chicken foot" with a nail through it, I don't even want to guess what that was about.

We all found it very disturbing that people wouldn't even walk 10 feet to dispose of their waste in a nearby trash can. There needs to be a return deposit of 5 cents on each plastic bottle or the litter problem with plastic bottles will never be resolved. You don't find many aluminum cans because of they are worth about 3 cents a can at the recycling center.

The "Flat Creek Gang" did a wonderful job and had fun doing so in the process. I hope all 17 will return the 3rd week in September next year. It will be fun watching Charlie grow up. Let hope he makes this an annual event in his life. I look forward to seeing everyone next year or sooner if they decide to paddle with HRL Paddlers. My friends know I invited almost anyone I meet on or near water to go kayaking with our group. I handed out plenty of HRL Paddlers cards which have phone contact numbers and web address.

Listen to some good music while you watch the slide show, click forward until you find a song you like.

Terry's Photos from Saturday's Fun Paddle/Low Country Boil

Low Country Boil and Fun Paddle

Tentative plans for Saturday are for some fishing, fun paddling and rescue drills.

Weather permitting, we will do this at my family's lake house on High Rock Lake. If you want to catch a big fish(big in my book is 20lbs or more), you will need to be there at 7:00 am. Now if all you want to do is paddle, practice rescue, play baggo. (no don't worry, I didn't say banjo), horseshoes, and cook, then 9:00 -10:00 will be find . We should wind up everything up by 2 pm. I've posted a sign up sheet on the site. This little get together should wet our appetites for the upcoming Shrimp Feast we will be having at Hunting Island, SC the following week. I'm going to teach Fran and Terry how to catch shrimp and I know we are going to catch a lot. Email me for questions or directions.

Rescue Techniques- Sheila's Pictures

Sunrise Paddle- Tuckertown- Harry & Sheila's Pictures

Hwy 801 Access-Boones Cave- Salisbury Pump Station - Sheila and Harry's Pictures

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Make It Safe- Winston Salem Journal Editorial

Image via Wikipedia There is a great editorial on Idols Dam in Today's Journal. We hope you will take the time to read it. Thanks to the Winston Salem Journal and reporter Lisa O'Donnell for taking the time to report our concerns, about this beautiful. but deadly dam.

Click Here to Read the Story!

Hwy 801 Access-Boones Cave- Salisbury Pump Station - Part 2 of Terry's Pics

HRL Paddllers will start Geocaching

Several of us got the Geo-caching bug from Paddlefest! Our plans are to start seeding our paddle trails with geo caches. We will try to teach you geocaching as we learn ourselves. I got the distinct feeling once Fran gets the hang of it, there will be plenty of buried treasure to find from HRL Paddlers. Hopefully Terry and others will beat her to the jump. The video below will give you an idea what it's about. Most of our Geo Caches will be around the water.




Maybe when the "Colorado" GPS by Garmin below ,drops down to $100 in price, I'll get one. I loved the features! Presently they are a little less than $400 and Terry has bought many a kayak for less than that.

Idols Dam News Story- News 14 story

CLICK HERE TO PLAY

News 14 did a feature story on their 5:00 news about Idols Dam. Terry did a great job in front of the cameras and expressed the concerns our group had when we paddle the area back in July.

Now for those who would rather read a written account of the story above, click here. Our thanks to Ed Scannell of News 14, for their coverage on the safety issues of Idols Dam. HRL Paddlers is not trying to create problems for anyone. We feel these safety issues can be resolved working with the City and the property owner of the portage area. We hope the media attention that Idols dam is receiving will serve as a warning to others of the present dangers of this low head dam. We do not recommend anyone using the portage area, until the safety issues of the portage have been resolved.

Saturday's launch could very well be from your front door!

The good news is "no shuttling". Hanna will bring the launch site to you. All our group has to do, is meet at an agreed upon spot on the water. Sorry Fran, this looks like one of those Saturdays that might be good for a meeting. The question is where? Salisbury, Lexington or Winston? I'm open to suggestions. Borders, Barnes & Nobles or Starbucks

801 to Boone's Cave to Salisbury Pump Station- Terry's Pictures

Listen to some good music while you watch the slide show, click forward until you find a song you like.

Idols Dam News Story in Winston Salem Journal- Hopefully this story will lead to making the area safer for boaters, paddlers, fishermen and others

We hope today's story in the Journal will help eliminate what we consider one of the most dangerous portage areas in the Yadkin River Basin. Thanks to the Journal for bringing this to the attention of their readers. Hopefully with the help of the City of Winston-Salem Utilities, Montie Hamby and Mr. Comer working together, we can make the area a lot safer. Paddlers too most take some responsibility for safety measures as well. To read the story in today's Journal, click on the title below:

Making the Yadkin Safer

Thanks to the Winston Salem Journal news reporter Lisa O'Donnell for her story on the dangers of Idols Dam. Thanks also to news photographer Lauren Carroll for her photos.

801 to Boone's Cave to Salisbury Pump Station

Listen to some good music while you watch the slide show, click forward until you find a song you like.

Boone's Cave Dwellers- 801 to Pump Station Run

Saturday was a lot of (fun. The river was at "Full Pond" . Our stream flow was still "cooking "
at 2530 cubic feet per second. We were able to take the "Express Run" to Boone's Cave and the Salisbury Pump Station Access.

Our run from "801 to Boone's Cave" only took 50 minutes and the entire 8.8 mile run to the Pump Station only took 2 hrs and 5 minutes. The GPS showed us moving along at 4 mph and that was without paddling. This 4 mph was our GPS reading just before Boone's Cave. The river flattened out a little after after Boone's Cave.

Yesterday's paddle down the Yadkin was a great ride and made for a really wonderful time . It's amazing how much different this run was from the 10.9 miles we paddled from the Shallowford Road Access to Tanglewood. That Saturday our group paddled a historical low flow. There were plenty of rocks to dodge along the way. It took us 6 hrs to paddle the 10.9 miles to Tanglewood. Today we felt like we actually needed to paddle another 4 hrs to even feel like a paddle. A lot rain sure does make a difference in how a river paddle.

Presently there is no excursion planned for next week. We did toss up some ideas of paddling the Uwharrie or Dan Rivers. The only plans we all agreed upon was to do some more self rescue drills and have a" low country boil" afterwards, with a little fishing thrown in. This should happen sometime before some of our paddlers head out to Hunting Island, State Park in the next few weeks.

We have a group of paddlers now, that have no boundaries. My dreams of camping out under the lighthouse at Cape Lookout are fast becoming a reality. Hopefully the Hunting Island Trip, will be a start of a lot of great excursions in the years to come. I hope our group will be able to paddle the Cape Lookout/Harker's Island area sometime in the Spring or early summer of 2009. During the winter months we will sit down and make plans on where we might want to go and what we want to accomplish as a group in 2009, while having a lot of fun in the process. We've accomplished a lot in our first year, so next year can only be better.

Fast Ride Today

Image by wabberjocky via Flickr The CFS is 2530 as of 6:30 AM, this should make for a quick paddle trip today for our group. Weather should not be a factor. ETA at Boones Cave should be 10:15 am and ETA for Salisbury Pump Station should be 1:00 PM

While we are paddling enjoy the video Mike composed from last Saturday's Paddle.

Click Here

Hwy 801 Access in Davie Countie- To Salisbury Pump Station is a Go

This is going to be fun run. We will probably reach Boone's Cave in a little over an hr. This same run was at 1900 CFS in April when Fran took the trip with the Land Trust. We may very well may be in that range we launch Saturday morning from the 801 access. Below is a map of our run for Saturday. Launch time is 9:00 am, but shuttle time will be 8:00 am. Please read the prior post about shuttling. The blue arrows on the map below give you direction of the shuttle route, there is a lot quicker way to go by back roads. The red arrows mark the direction of the shuttle for those going the distance to the Pump Station. "Click on Map for larger view"


Current Stream Flow as of 8:00 am this morning.

Current Stream Flows- the river is still cooking

Are We There Yet? Terry's reflection of Saturday's Run

Image via Wikipedia
"This is not Terry,
it's just an image
I used to go with
the captionI have taken the opportunity to reflect back on Saturdays run and think that perhaps it could be summed up in one four letter word, “GRIT”, and if you just ran a variety of alternative words through your mind then you should be ashamed of yourself.

Thanks to a half-wit navigation engineer, we had what could only be described as a comical transit to the 421 park to meet our group for the launch. It was great to welcome aboard Mike, Butch and Deborah for their first encounter with HRL Paddlers. These guys will surely add some additional flavor to our recipe for fun on the water. My food reference here is mainly due to the culinary chat between several of us during one of our stops. Deborah chatted up some mighty fine southern eatin’, unfortunately I ended up attempting to bed down a might fricish appetite with a ham sandwich instead of some ham hocks. This newcomer trio and Montie opted to pull-out after the first 5.4 mile segment and exited at the Huntsville Access area. I hope to paddle with this bunch again soon.

We did however manage to keep the roster healthy with the fashionable entrance of two more brave souls that were willing to endure the remaining mileage with us. Kay and Jan joined the convoy of paddlers that were scattered among the ever present rocky protrusions on the water starved Yadkin.

Things were going well under the circumstances and we encountered several consecutive mild rapids that we used to slingshot us down stream. This pace would soon prove to be short-lived and we soon began to paddle nearly stagnant water. After several miles of seemingly endless flat-water stretches, I apparently began hearing mirages of traffic that I perceived to be to the nearing of I40.After rounding numerous bends and discovering nothing but more river, I finally quit attempting to use my instinctive gauge to determine our position and subsided from my promising alarms that were meant to encourage some of the weary paddlers among us.

We did eventually capture a glimpse of the I40 bridge and took view of the finish line. I noticed that I actually felt pretty good after this monumental trek for our group. I am proud to say that our regular attendees handled this journey really well. I would guess that this is due in part to the conditioning that we receive from regular runs on a weekly basis.

Make no mistake about it, this was not “easy” by no means and any paddler among us that experienced some discomfort should hold their head high for even having the guts to attempt such an adventure. Neal himself even discovered limits to what an individual can endure on a long paddle, especially under historical conditions.

This was not the longest paddle for me as an individual but, it did remind me of just what it takes to hold a moderate pace when distance becomes your enemy. I enjoyed meeting new paddlers and hope they tag along again soon as we continue exploring new waters.

HRL Paddler
Terry

Old 421to Tanglewood- Terry's Photos

Old 421 Park Access to Tanglewood- Video Clips

These aren't the best videos clips, but they give the viewer an idea of what we paddled.

Old 421 Park Access to Tanglewood- Sheila's Photos

Old 421 Park Access to Tanglewood- Fun, Challenging, Beautiful and a lot of Firsts for HRL Paddlers

Image via Wikipedia We launched on time, which was a first! This was because of a few wrong turns and a defective navigational system. Some call it "Neal" system, but I believe it was a "Terry-Linda-Donald-Neal" system. The Terry part wasn't programmed in from the start. The Linda part needed fine tuning because her vision was like that of the hubble telescope when first launched( never hand a map to a person to read going down the road who needs glasses). The Donald system would not input . The Neal part of our navigational system offered to much unclear input and choices. Now try to put these in play when driving down the road pulling boats and you are going to take a few wrong turns.

Our impromptu navigational system caused us to run 30 minutes behind schedule. When we finally recalculated the correct coordinates, we opted not to shuttle all the vehicles back to Tanglewood, to make our 9 am launch. We were fortunate enough to have decided to drop two cars not carrying boats, at the Tanglewood Access, on the way up to the Old 421 park. This was the only saving grace, that kept the launch on time. By the time we reached our final destination at the end of the day, it seemed like we had dropped the cars off on Friday morning instead of Saturday morning. It was that long a day for us.

We picked up a new part to help correct our flawed navigational system at the Huntville Access on our way to the way to Old 421 Park. The Huntsville access reminded us more of the access area in Davidson County, at the Davidson/Davie line on Hwy 64, but much worse. Once we added the " Montie Nav system" at Huntsville, it formatted all the bad on board data and gave us an accurate route to the 421 Park. Once there we met Butch, Deborah and Mike who were paddling with our group for the first time. Everyone else from HRL Paddlers was there and ready to go. We made the 9:00 am launch on time.

Now that we were on the water, not much could go wrong, since only 2 directions were involved. Even the four flawed parts knew to go down river, but we had our our Montie Nav System with us, just in case. We arrived at the Shallowford Road Access as planned. We had estimated an arrival time of 11:00 am and made it according to schedule. I'm sure this impressed the new paddlers Jan and Kay who joined us. Now at the end of the run, I'm sure their impression of our planned timing changed.

We did linger at the Huntsville Access a little bit longer. It became more of a social hour at one point. This was due in part because some of the group opted to take out out when they discovered the Montie part of the nav system was leaving. We said our goodbyes to our new friends. We all welcomed our two new paddlers, who would join us for the remainder of our run. Kay and Jan joined us for what they expected would be only a 4hr paddle, a distance of 10.9 miles. Even with the delay, Jan would make it back in time for the 6 pm, pool party.

Once we launched from the Huntsville Access off Shallowford Road, things began to change. Our navigational clock was now one hour off schedule, having left Shallowford at 12:00 pm instead of around a 11:00 am. The Terry Chat Time at the Access area hadn't been allowed for. Once we got that part running again, our new ETA would put us coming into Tanglewood around 4, or that is what we thought. The old navigational systems still tried to take over. The "it's around the next bend", Terry Alarm sounded several times. It became redundant for the last 5 miles of our trip. Others in the group learned to ignore the false readings, looking only for the I-40 Bridge. The rest of our navigational system went silent and only the words "Kill Neal" were murmured.

Now add to the fact that our navigational system didn't allow for zig zagging or low flow. Our estimate of a 4 hour paddle quickly turned into a 6 hour one. Instead of a 11 mile trip, now it seemed more like a 20 mile trip. "Are we there yet", was a phrase we heard often over the last 5 miles. Our paddlers decided that Terry's hearing needs to be checked, because he was hearing cars 5 miles before we got to the I 40 bridge. Donald said it was the wind blowing through his hollow skull that made him think he heard cars. The stretch of water between Huntsville and Tanglewood slowly became a "Bridge to Far". Keep in mind our group paddles every weekend. We had just completed a 14 mile run on the lake the week before, so we knew we were in condition for these type of runs. After all we paddle more flat water than most people. All of us paddling thought this was much longer stretch than the map showed. Since Terry forgot to program in the GPS, all we could tell you is that we were paddling at rate of about 3-3.5 mph. Still we enjoyed our run. I know this was a first paddle for Jan and Kay and we promise, we won't do this to them again. The last couple from Rowan that went with the group on a long paddle, hasn't been heard from in months. So if we don't see Jan or Kay again, we do understand why. Unless you have a death wish, never say "It's around the next bend" to them.

There is not much our group can't handle when it comes to paddling long distances now. We paddled the lowest flow in the recorded history of the Yadkin River, 203 Cubic Feet Per Second(the norm is 1700 CPS). We saw the most rocks probably anyone will ever get to see, while paddling on this stretch of river. There were many times I found myself taking the wrong turn in the maze, having to retrace my steps.

T& D boat towing service got to be put in use for the first time. This was good practice for some in our group and it adds another dimension to our rescue prowess.

We finally pulled into to Tanglewood around 6 PM. By the time we shuttle the remaining vehicles back from Old 421 access it was around 7 PM. I got home a little 7:30 having left that morning at 6:45. This was full day of paddling for everyone. I'm sure Fran got more than enough for her fix. We may not paddle Labor day, since we paddled enough Saturday for the next 4 weekends. I'm sure Jan and Kay may be thinking they have paddled enough for the next 4 years.

My estimate on rapids was "dead on", we may have even had more. There were 4 rapids on the Old 421 to Shallowford run and maybe 16 rapids on the Shallowford to Tanglewood Run. There might have been two class 2's , but for the most part all were ones. Had the water been up another 1.5 feet and the flow been up to around 900, these rapids would have made for a perfect run. I don't plan on paddling this any time soon, unless we have these levels and rates. This was a historic run for all the people who paddle this. They can add this to their own "Back in the Day "Quotes. They will tell their stories how a crazy guy convinced them into paddling in the worst possible conditions on the Yadkin River.

The low river conditions are record breaking. Let's hope they don't get lower. I hope you enjoy the pictures we took below. Playing the Music Player below the slide show, will add to your enjoyment of watching the slide, just forward to a song you like. All kidding aside this is what being in a paddling group is all about. We all had fun!

The prettiest picture in the slide show below, besides that of me, was the "I-40 Bridge"!

Idols Dam Revisited Thursday

"Terry Tester and I got to paddle some Thursday, but this time our trip was of a serious nature." We met with Winston Salem utility officials yesterday, to discuss ways to make Idols Dam safer for paddlers and boaters. Once we arrived, we found city officials to be very receptive to the idea of improving the "Portage Take Out Area" . The city also has plans to place new "warning signs" for the Idols Dam. The Idols dam is referred to as a "low head Dam".
These type of dams are some of the most of the most dangerous, which take lives every year. A low-head dam is a dam of low height, usually less than 15 feet. These are drowning machines and pose a threats to any swimmer or boater. Most of the accidents that occur at these dams , are the result of not properly marked warnings. Click Here for a recent report on an accident on the Neuse River, involving a low head dam. It's accidents like these that could have easily been prevented, had they been properly marked. The Army Corp of Engineers needs to place warning buoys at Idols Dam. Click here to read the law in Pennsylvania on the proper marking of these Dams.





Montie Hamby, a board member with Yadkin River Keepers, was present for the meeting. Bill Brewer a representative the City of Winston Salem Utility Department met with us on site. Also present for the meeting was Mike Garner, who is over Parks and Recreation for Davie County( I invited Mike, because I feel a River should join counties and never divide them. Since the Portage Take Out is actually on Davie County, I felt Parks and Recreation was a natural choice for me to invite, because they too have a dog in this fight ). Lisa O'Donnell- reporter for the the Winston-Salem Journal and Lauren Carroll- news photographer for the Winston- Salem Journal were also in attendance.

We received a friendly greeting from several City Employees who were on site. They all were very courteous, some even helped us remove our boats at the end of the day.

Our short paddle launched us directly above the top of Idols Dam. We launched in front of the City's Water Treatment Facility. Special permission was granted to us this one time, for what is otherwise a secured, gated facility. Lisa O'Donnell and Lauren Carroll where invited to paddle across to the present portage take out area, so they could get a feel and look at what a typical paddler would experience.


We paddled up river first, beyond the Portage Take Out Area. I paddled Lauren, the newspaper's photographer, in my tandem, so she could take photos. . Terry provided our reporter Lisa, with here own kayak.(who by the way is a natural in a kayak). We couldn't entice Bill Brewer to paddle with us, he was to "dressed up" for the occasion( meaning he had on a nice shirt and nice pair of shoes). Mark Garner with Park's and Recreation of Davie County, opted to ride with Bill in the company yacht. I think he decided this after seeing how difficult getting in a kayak was going to be. Our makeshift launch site was "a little bit edgy" for getting into a kayak. It was wise choice on Mark's part and I tried to get our media guests to go back by boat. They were real troopers and wanted go back across by the same mode of transportation they came. Montie Hamby also paddle with our group. I knew Montie would paddle, because he's hard core.

We paddled with our photographer and reporter upstream. Terry and Montie both pointed out the present "Mandatory Portage" warning sign. The sign was still under a bunch of tree laps. This can be attributed to the F3 tornado that came through the area back in May. After a few comments about this downed "Stop Sign" we headed back to meet Bill Brewer and Mark Garner at the Portage take out. There we would discuss some solutions to resolve the present situation.





Once we paddled back down to the "Portage Take Out", our invited guest could see that the "Portage Take Out" sign was not very visible. This too was due to the May storm. Since our media guest weren't experienced paddlers, we decided not to take out at the present " Portage. Take Out". Safety is our first concern and we felt that it was to dangerous for our guest, even with a low water flow.




We paddled back up stream to find a safer portage passage. This wasn't much better, but at least it would be safer. We didn't have to contend with a possible drowning scenario. Instead we opted for a walk through poison oak and a possible venomous snake bite. We made it back safely to the original portage take out. There we met Bill Brewer with the City. Bill discussed some possible solutions with Montie, Mark and myself. Poor Terry couldn't come ashore because of his allergic reaction to poison oak. He had to sit out in his boat next to the Portage takeout and listen.

The flow rate of the river today was 287 Cubic Feet Per Second.(which is still in the record lows, it was 257 the other day) . These are the lowest flow rates that have been seen since 1944, when they began keeping records on the Yadkin. When our group paddled the river on July 26, the flow rate was just 600 CFS, which is considered very low.

This morning the flow rate is 203 CFS, our water supply is getting dangerously low, I'm afraid that we will start seeing large fish kills appear in these type of conditions.
An average flow rate for the Yadkin in this area is around 1700. This type of flow would be pretty scary at our Portage Takeout in it's present condition. One slip and you would go over the dam in just less than a minute. Now there is a chance that you may not get that opportunity, to take the death plunge over the dam. This is because you stand a good chance of getting trapped beneath the two huge strainers that are presently at the Portage Take Out. Even with a life jacket, you might not survive with a flow rate of 1700 CFS pushing you under a tree. This rate of CFS can be translated in a flow of 12, 716.85 gallons of water moving past you per sec. Today the flow was only2146.90 gallons per sec. Looking at it today, it seemed calm, but fall in and the reality of a slow rate can be dangerous.

This is why we contacted City Officials. We felt this needed to addressed immediately. We notified the press and others to help bring attention. We aren't pointing fingers we are contacting those who we feel can help close this "deadly door" before it's to late.

Paddlers have a right to a safe passage around dams and bridges. We aren't asking anyone to build us a lavish Portage Take Out Area. All we want is a "safe one". We want a Portage Area Take out that will be maintained in the future, so this never has to be an issue again.

Terry and I were representing HRL Paddlers today. We aren't paid and for doing taking the time out of our day to do this. Terry had to start at noon loading boats to make the 3 pm meeting. I only had to catch a ride with Terry. Like Montie Hamby who's been doing this for years, we too do it for the love of the Yadkin River Basin we paddle.

Our meeting today strictly for benefit of those who may paddle or boat this area in the future. We are only looking for a solution to the problem. Bill Brewer who represented the City expressed a willingness on the City's part to help us resolve this. We know that no one person can accomplish this alone. We all acknowledged it will take a combined efforts of those affected to fix the problem. We know the key to finding a long term solution is to work together. We have to become just like the River, joining and not dividing.

Part of the process has begun. "The wheels are in motion." The city has ordered warning signs to be placed on the pylons of the Railroad Trestle. Bill said city crews will go to work immediately on getting the downed signs back up. We know the work on the Portage area will take more time, but at least the "Stop Signs" are going back up. This is still a very dangerous area until the "Portage Take Out" is fixed. We strongly advise that you not paddle this far down, until you receive word that a " safe portage take out" is in place.

Special thanks to Terry who went the extra mile today. Thanks to Montie who always does the same. We also would like to thank Mark, Bill, Lauren and Lisa for allowing us to show them our concerns. Lastly we do thanks those other city employees who helped us get back up on shore safely.


Neal Conner
HRL Paddlers


The following are some photos I took of yesterday's meeting. I'm sorry I don't have any of the city officials, but perhaps Terry will on his upcoming post about the meeting.