Zedler Mill Race

We entered our first canoe race on Saturday April 26th supporting the Zedler Mill foundation. Our sponsor was "The Coffee Shop" in Lulling, TX. The race had several classes to race in including a pro class, novice class, Tri-County challenge and business class. We raced in the Business class with 28 other canoes. The race started with a LeMan's sprint to the boats. Our boat was #005 so we only had 4 boats to the left of us at the start. As we launched into the boat we had a boat hit us on the left rear. We quickly moved away from the boat and behind another canoe that turned sideways at the start of the race. Only one other boat was in front of us as we picked up speed and hit the fast moving water on the river right. We quickly passed the other boat and never looked back. Our race time came in at 1 hour 4 minutes. We ended up finishing almost 10 minutes ahead of the other boats. Our biggest success for the day was having a time only 21 seconds behind our friends Cindy and Mike who won the Tri county challenge. Congratulations to Cindy and Mike and to Deb Richardson for winning the womens solo challenge! Over all it was a successful race and we are excited for the Texas Water Safari prelim race this weekend. Thank you to Bob Spain for directing the race! We were also excited to have Brad and Coleen make it for the awards ceremony! Brad has volunteered to be our team captain starting next week with the Prelim race. He helped us out this weekend by getting our drink jugs rigged up so we can easily mix drink packets in them! We were happy to have Dillon and Jenny on the bank cheering us on! It is wonderful to have so many great people helping us out and supporting our racing adventures!

What is up with the funny outfits?

We have had a lot of discussion about what you wear to paddle 262 miles in 3 days? Well the consensus seems to be the following...

water shoes with good drainage and water socks to keep rocks out
tights to avoid sunburn and poison ivy
shorts over the tights
quick drying short sleeve shirt
quick drying long sleeve shirt
good river hat (Joy and I invested in Tilley hats... we figured the investment would get us to both wear our hats and we were right)



When you talk to women who have done the race they say to cut the crotch out of the tights to make it easy to pee. We are still trying to figure out all of the lovely tricks like that to simplify the process. Joy has spent a lot of time and energy figuring out effective ways to rig up our boat. She has added loops onto our mesh bags so they hang neatly on the sides of the boat. She is also working on the spray skirt and a snap on swing that we can lay back on to sleep. I am so grateful to have such a crafty and wonderful paddling partner. As I was losing energy the other night she was full of encouragement and found a way to kick me back into gear. I really do believe We can Do it!

One day and 53 miles later...

This was our first big challenge in training for the Texas Water Safari. We planned a day with a total of 53 miles and two different sections of the river. We started at Spencers Crossing on FM1979 in Martindale and paddled to Lulling 90 for the first 28 miles. Then we loaded up the boat and the gear and headed to Palmetto State Park to paddle from Palmetto to Gonzalez for the next 25 miles. Our goal was to complete the second paddle in the dark as we anticipate paddling that section in the dark during the race. On the first stretch we had a lot of obstacles to maneuver around and several rapids that we had to make decisions whether to run or portage. We portaged the Staples Dam by going in between the garage and house and down the steps at a house. We love the owners of this house for making it so easy for paddlers to come by. At one point we attempted to run a rapid that had a lot of obstacles and found ourselves stuck on a log in fast water. I jumped out of the boat and pulled us through and we were on our way. This section was a good lesson in communication and navigation to safely move the boat around things.
For the night paddle we are very thankful for the help we received from fellow paddlers Debbie Richardson, Mike Drost and Ginsie Stauss. They were so kind to drop our vehicle at the end point and give us an hour head start on this stretch of the water.We are paddling a recreation class aluminum canoe and they are paddling much faster C1,C2 and unlimited canoes.
Paddling at night was a whole new experience for us. We learned quickly that your depth perception goes away and that you see things up ahead that don't actually exist. Joy would ask things like "go left?" and I would answer no going forward will work because there wouldn't be anything in the way. At one point I said hold on let me see how to get through this when there was nothing in the way. The reflections off the water and the bank make your eyes see obstacles when there are not any. We had a full moon and the weather was beautiful for the paddle. The night sounds were wonderful. We had an owl hooting at us, coyotes howling and fish jumping. The bugs were only bad for the first hour of the paddle and the rest of the night was beautiful. About 13 miles into the paddle we came to a large log jam and portaged around it. As we were putting our boat back in the water we saw two lights. We heard them holler log jam and I yelled back at them log jam. They were quite surprised to hear someone else on the other side. Scott paddled with us for about an hour and shared tips for doing the Texas Water Safari. One of the best things he told us was if an alligator comes at your boat they will normally just duck under the boat and go away. They are not aggressive unless provoked. We talked about navigating the bay and the types of food that he brings on the Texas Water Safari. This will be his first year doing the Texas Water Safari solo. Mike dropped back to check on Deb and Ginsie and they all caught up to us later. We attempted to keep up with their pace for awhile but we are quickly overrun and back on our own for the last 7 miles of the section. Our last big challenge was the portage around Gonzalez dam. The bank was very muddy and slick. We did the short portage down the rocks and learned later that the longer portage through the grass is much safer. This is a shot of us at midnight after 52 miles of paddling for the day!

Westerfield to Martindale

This stretch is by far the most technical part of the river we have encountered so far. After about 3 miles you come upon "Old Dam" marked by an old concrete wall on river left. As you approach this rapid there is a drop on river left.The water was pretty shallow on the drop so we decided to take the eddy on river right and portage over the rocks. This approach got us through the first section of the rapid but it did not move us past the swift moving water that heads toward a concrete wall on river right. We attempted to cut the corner and not move into the wall but the force of the water moved us onto the edge of the wall that was slightly submerged. Joy leaned into the wall and was able to push us off of the obstacle after the water spun us around. As a safe route we may choose to go to river left and portage over the shallow section between the other wall and the shore. Our motto on this section is to play it safe and portage as needed. As rookies to the canoe world we are starting to control the boat and manage obstacles in slower moving water but we are still learning the techniques in swift water. This section of the river has the famous Cottonseed rapids. We portaged right and walked over the concrete wall and down a cow path to scout the rapid as it takes a sharp left curve. The rapid is full of rocks and very swift water. After looking at it we thought it best to avoid the entire rapid by portaging over the wall and down the path. We portaged Martindale dam and encountered our last large obstacle of the day. The water narrows shortly after the dam and funnels under a bridge. As the water funnels it picks up speed and heads toward a large rock. Bob walked us through the maneuvers required to avoid the rock and safely run this section. He explained that this is the type of rapid that builds character and confidence. He told us to drop into the rapid and then draw hard to the left. Both the bow and stern must do a hard draw to move the boat to the left and away from the rock. The river is clear of obstacles on the left side and when done properly this maneuver works well and will put you safely downstream. Joy and I were apprehensive of running this and were about to say we would do it another time when Bob said we still had a little ways before we pulled the canoe out of the water. I handed over my sunglasses and put on my life jacket and said "We Can Do It!" We managed the rapid perfectly on the first shot and finished the last 10 minutes on the water with very little daylight. When we pulled over at the bridge Bob shot a quick ending photo and we carried the canoe up the embankment. As a nice surprise Bob had picked up a pizza and we stood by the truck and had a wonderful dinner after a great paddle.

Zedler Mill to Palmetto

Another Perfect day on the water!
Joy and I have used this mantra almost every day that we have paddled for the last 7 years. It is our belief that any day on the water is a perfect day and it always beats being stuck in traffic on Mopac on a Wednesday evening. Saturday morning was another perfect day on the water. We put in at Zedler Mill just above the dam and started our paddle with the portage around the right side of the dam. We decided to start here to practice carrying a loaded boat over the rough rocks. We managed the portage with no problem and immediately jumped into the rhythm of our paddle with tunes coming from my new waterproof ipod speaker system. It was great having the music to paddle by on this trek. I was battling a cold all week and talking would take extra energy so it was nice to have the music in the background. We experienced the portages for Zedler Mill and Ottine Dams and had absolutely beautiful weather on this paddle. The total trip was about 15 miles and we did it in just about 4 hours.

Our average pace was around 4.5 miles on this stretch of the water. We experienced nice rapids and practiced a lot of navigation around trees and branches. We were quite excited with how well we were controlling the boat and we are starting to understand what we need to do to make quick turns and avoid obstacles. This stretch of the water has one of the most dangerous obstacles on the Texas Water Safari... the Ottine Dam. The dam sneaks up on you as you come around a right hand corner. There is no warning sign and if you are not careful you will find yourself on top of about a 15 foot drop.

The portage is to the left and we learned there are two routes available for the portage. The low route takes you past old dam equipment and down the side of the dam with a lot of loose rocks. This is a shorter portage but a lot steeper. The second route goes up the side of the hill, under metal wires and down a dirt trail to the water. We chose this route and found we could rest the boat on the ground and inch it along without any problems and with very little effort. We came across two other paddlers at the portage and they said they normally go down the dam side. After we left they followed in our footsteps and found the dirt path a lot easier to navigate. They caught up to us right before the Palmetto bridge and helped us understand the easiest way to get out of the water at the bridge. About 15 feet from the bridge the bow paddler jumps out of the boat and then the stern follows. The water is only about 2.5 feet deep and it is easier to control the boat if you keep it pointing straight at the bridge. Putting the nose of the boat on the brace of the bridge I jumped up and helped pull the front of the boat onto the bridge. Joy followed and we safely and quickly had our boat over the obstacle. We only encountered one log jam on this section and it was an easy one to navigate over.

Live to Paddle... Paddle to Live!

I took the time to see a documentary tonight called "The Unforseen" about urban sprawl and the impact on our environment. This documentary hits close to home because it is based on the urban development of Circle C Ranch here in Austin, TX. The film really made me stop and think about our environment and the day to day impact we make on the world around us.

Joy and I have talked about why we are chosing to do the Texas Water Safari and watching this film really made me analyze additional reasons why it is important for me to accomplish such a daunting task. One of the most basic reasons for me to do the race is the simple pleasure of spending time in the outdoors. When I am on the river there are no distractions, no cell phones, no computers, no one asking me questions or wanting my time. The river is a place of solitude, reflection and introspection. I have learned that we can paddle faster but it will still take a good amount of time to cover distance in the canoe. The process of paddling the boat and learning to slow down has taught me a lot about how I have been leading my life. I find that I have jumped from one thing to another without fully enjoying things in the moment. In a canoe there is no choice but to take in the world around you and cherish the moment.

Joy and I have talked about the simple things on the river that put smiles on our faces. We both wonder at the colors, reflections, shapes and movements as we quietly move our paddles through the water. I often wonder how long the river can be sustained and how much work we must all do to protect the river from polution and growth. The documentary focused on the impact to Barton Springs with the huge amount of growth and development in Austin over the last decade. In 1992 Save Our Springs Alliance won a battle in City Hall to protect the Springs and they still continue working on efforts to maintain this beautiful piece of nature within our city. A disheartening moment in the film showed a shot of Barton Springs in the late nineties when the water was extremely clear and a follow up shot showing cloudiness in 2004.



About the movie from the web site: http://theunforeseenfilm.com/blog/about/

An ambitious west Texas farm boy with grandiose plans tires of living at the mercy of nature and sets out to find a life with more control. He heads to Austin where he becomes a real estate developer and skillfully capitalizes on the growth of this 1970s boomtown. At the peak of his powers, he transforms 4,000 acres of pristine Hill Country into one of the state’s largest and fastest selling subdivisions. When the development threatens a local treasure, a fragile limestone aquifer and a naturally spring-fed swimming hole, the community fights back. In the conflict that ensues, we see in miniature a struggle that today plays out in communities across the country.

“The kind of transformative viewing experience that has made the current period a golden age for nonfiction film.”

Robert Koehler, Variety

“The best film at the 2007 Sundance Film festival, hands down…”

Gavin Smith, Film Comment

“Laura Dunn’s The Unforeseen is a rare gift. Plainspoken yet urgent, it makes the wrist-slashingly depressing topic of real-estate development somehow transcendent. The Unforeseen is the movie An Inconvenient Truth wanted to be.”

So what does this have to do with my motivation to paddle 262 miles from San Marcos to the Coast? Well rivers are some of the most isolated reminders of the purity and importance of our environment. We need to protect the rivers and remember that our livelihood depends on the flow of water. So I am living to paddle and in many ways paddling to live as I explore nature and remind myself of how far we have moved away from the simple pleasures in life.

San Marcos River City Park to Westerfield

We took the chance on making it to San Marcos on a Monday evening to paddle the first portion of the river from City Park to Westerfield. Total distance on this section is only about 5.5 miles. Although this is a short paddle we have many things to learn about this section. It is difficult for me to imagine navigating this narrow piece of water with approximately 100 other boats.

Our strategy is to play it safe and make it thru the section without water in the boat. Our first big challenge is the Rio Vista dam. Many of the racers will run this dam thru the channels with ease. Our fear is that we will tip after the first drop and be stuck attempting to get water out of a fully loaded canoe. We are choosing to portage all three sections of the dam and put our boat safely in under the bridge. The portage has a very easy walk way and ends on a concrete dam allowing us to quickly get back in the canoe and continue paddling.

This section of the river has a lot of low hanging branches and strainers in it. We did not encounter any complete log jams, but we did have a few tricky areas where exact draws and ruttering were necessary to avoid the obstacles. Our next portage was around Thompson island. At this point in the river you have the option to follow the channel to the left and take a longer portage or stop river right and get out on the concrete barrier. We chose to go river right which works well in a short boat and would not be a good move in one of the longer 6 man canoes.

It is an easy portage and the river is moving well below the obstacle but it does have quite a few tricky corners and low hanging branches to avoid. At 4 miles we were reminded why people get confused at the intersection of the Blanco river and the San Marcos river. The wind can make it look as though the Blanco river is the downstream route. We continued to the right and picked up our pace in this open section of the river. The final obstacle is the Cummins dam where you have the option to lower the boat using ropes or walk the boat around the dam. Again we choose to walk the boat for fear of dropping the canoe or losing things out of the boat. The quick trip to San Marcos turned out good and we are planning to repeat this section Saturday morning and continue further downstream.


So I missed myself in this shot and got a lovely image of Joy :)