Peace River Weekend-

What a beautiful weekend, warm, lots of sunshine, not a cloud in the sky … and if you believe that, I’ve got this bridge …. Our list of 21 on Thursday morning dwindled down to 10 by Friday evening, though only two of those admitted to the nasty weather forecast being the cause of their change in plans. The full moon was beautiful on Friday night and a great campfire kept us toasty. Our iPhone guys told us of a dreary forecast for Saturday, but our intrepid and optimistic band set out anyway, leaving the Fort Meade launch area about 10 am. Immediately after our first few strokes, the first few drops of rain fell. Then more fell, and more. Some stayed quite dry, but a few wardrobe malfunctions left a few others rather damp. The temperature was now below 50 degrees. By noon, after consulting the weather channel, our bodies and each other, we decided that discretion was the better part of valor … time to abandon our ships. We had to paddle a few more miles to find a bridge, arriving about 3 pm. By now, of course, it had stopped raining and was warming up, but we wouldn’t have had time to paddle to a good campsite, set up, find dry firewood, and get warmed up before dark. There had been some talk of going back to Plan A, but when we got to the bridge, everyone beached and started unloading. It took a while to get the vehicles organized, but we were all headed home by 5:30. Most said they wanted to come back in a month or two and finish the trip, so we’ll do that. Several years ago, another club passed out buttons for leaders to wear on trips that said “no whining” –- no need for that with this group, real troupers, all of them.

Host: Linda Leeds

PEACE RIVER, Zolfo Springs to Gardner -

As everyone knows all too well, the rivers are down, and some are too low for paddling. The Sunday afternoon before the trip, I called the Canoe Outpost in Arcadia and Pioneer Park in Zolfo Springs, speaking to the manager in each case. I asked them what reports they were getting in from people who'd been on the river that weekend. Both said paddlers were telling them that the river was low, but doable from Zolfo down. A couple of our possible paddlers checked various websites and gauges and got reports they felt were to the contrary.

Well, now we've been there, and I'd rather rely on paddlers reports than on instruments. We had no problems between Zolfo and Gardner. Yes, the water was low, and sometimes our paddles touched bottom as we stroked, but not often. Yes, there were places where you could get stuck if, like me, you were sightseeing and not paying attention, or like some, just didn't read the river correctly. But getting out and dragging boats wasn't necessary. Naturally, we were very pleased about that.

FYI, this section was hit as badly as the section farther north by Charlie-Francis-Jeanne in 2004, but the damage is more visible. Farther north, the forest is denser, with more undergrowth, so it's not so bare looking. This section is more open, so when trees are down, it's much more open. Also, we saw lots of evidence of fire, which we decided was either natural or a controlled burn that got out of control. Our group of eight saw lots of birds, a few gators, a couple of otters, a deer, a pig family and a bunch of turtles. Campsites on this section are numerous, and we had a nice one. We had heavy rain for

about a half an hour in the late afternoon Saturday, and then a nice evening for dinner and campfire.

Our group of eight saw lots of birds, a few gators, a couple of otters, a deer, a pig family and a bunch of turtles. Campsites on this section are numerous, and we had a nice one. We had heavy rain for about a half an hour in the late afternoon Saturday, and then a nice evening for dinner and campfire.

Host: Linda Leeds

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