Lunatic Seeks Advice

[bearridge]

Friend Clare,

Pelican makes some nice waterproof boxes, some fer cameras. http://www.casesbypelican.com/ I figger Walter gotta be able ta git inta 'n outta the boxes eazy? A hunerd pounds of camera gear iz a heap a gear ta take campin'/paddlin'. Most of us try ta cut down on gear 'n cruize lite az we kin. Cameras oughta weigh a few ounces....but I seen Ole Ansel's pichurs.

What kinda water do ya'll plan ta paddle? I ride over yer bay ever now 'n then 'n I vow ta myself that I will come down 'n paddle that river jest west of town close ta the Mississippi line....on 98. Dont the Sipsey come out down yer way? Most of my Bamalama paddlin' haz been up north of Birmingham, but the Cahaba flower trail iz callin' me too. I got a few hats fer that. :wink:

The more gear ya'll put in a boat, the harder it will be ta paddle 'n handle. The faster the water moves, the more that becomes a problem. If it moves fast enuff 'n yer boat iz weighed down, it kin take all the fun outta it.

I jest got a Hennessy, so I caint tell no lies like the other fellas....yet. Two Hennessys with the big flys oughta give yer pooch plenty a cover on a dark 'n stormy night. He will be rite next ta ya'll. I'm a big fella 'n I swing jest a foot 'er so off the ground. Hmmmm....if the trees do their part, ya mite hoist one big tarp (mebbe a Cooke) over both hammocks 'n Mollie?

If ya'll give this a try by yerownself, bite off a small piece first.....try overnite so ya dont have ta tote so much gear. Water, Dago Red 'n fine sippin' whiskey weigh a lot 'n slosh....makin' the boat act up. Leave Grandma's cast iron behind til ya'll git the lay of the land. Do like me 'n try ta think small. :wink: Take a $2 Campmor plastic trowel instead of a latrine shovel. Git a Zip Stove stead of a big Coleman with gas bottles....til ya git a chef with a wok, bamboo shoots 'n a moo goo guy pan.

I got some more thoughts, but some of the other fellas likely got some too. Gotta go watch the end of Bobby Flay Throwdown. :wink:

regards
bearridge

University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small. Henry Kissinger (or C.P. Snow)

 

[clarenancy]

Thanks for the info, Steve. That's exactly the kind of practical information I'm looking for.

And of course, I don't mind you posting pix. But it looks like you missed a protocol or 2 !

Here's my fool proof method. No typing, just right clicking and selecting.

(in FireFox) Right click directly on the picture to get "copy picture location". Then click the board code by clicking the image button twice.

"".

Then put your mouse right in the middle and right click, paste.

(in Explorer -I hate Gates. He makes life harder than it has to be) Right click directly on the picture, select properties and you'll see the URL in the properties window. Select every character and paste that in between the image code.



Check your pms. Walter asked me to send you a few questions.

I don't know about the rest of the folks here, but I'm always up for looking at pictures. I know there are dial up issues. But black and white is faster than color to load. Less digital information.

Walter say, "Very cool." I especially like the botanical. Lambs Ear?

Clare

Steve's Beautiful Pictures below:

 

[clarenancy]

Bear Ridge,

Thanks for the advice and the link to Pelican Cases.

I agree about the gear. I reckon we'll do a few day trips with just the little camera. The 8x10. And one tripod. We'll see how that goes. The 8x20 is where the trouble comes in. Bigger camera, bigger film box. Another tripod. I think we'll he'll knock 50# or more off his load by using only the little camera.

I'm not sure about the Sipsey down this far. It's a bit north of us. But there is the Escatapa out toward the Mississippi line. Very fine, slow canoing river. Easy, clear water and nice sandy banks. Great for novices or leisurely paddles.

The flowers are in the middle of the state at the Donnelly Resevoir, aren't they? Roland Cooper State Park. WB and I have been there a couple of times. Wonderful place. Very isolated, few inhabitants, right in the black belt.

I've never used a zip stove but I'm pretty good on our little coleman and an open fire. I did look up the zip stove based on posts by Chuck in the camping section. I think I'll get one and try it out in the yard before I declare I can make something edible with it.

And Bear, that Dago red sipping whiskey doesn't weigh much at all! Mollie doesn't drink so we don't need much

 

[Kayak Jack]

I just returned from a road trip to the colonies, historical jaunt. Welcome aboard, Mz. ClareNancy. Looks like you fit in the group fairly well. (Good, strong medicine may cure that affliction.)

Building and using your own moats will provide both good utility for the job at hand, and a lot of enjoyment to boot.

 

[a Bald Cypress]

I just returned from a road trip to the colonies, historical jaunt. Welcome aboard, Mz. ClareNancy. Looks like you fit in the group fairly well. (Good, strong medicine may cure that affliction.)

Building and using your own moats will provide both good utility for the job at hand, and a lot of enjoyment to boot.

Friend midevil Jack, If she were to build "maots" then the advice about using a trowel would be quite useless. It is my belief that building moates in this day and age requires a backhoe at least.

I do belive she would get enjoyment out of watching all the geezers try to get lost paddeling around and around the house in the moat.

 

[Jimmy W]

Welcome Clarenancy, I like your work also as well as Walter's.

Building and using your own moats will provide both good utility for the job at hand, and a lot of enjoyment to boot.

Now Jack wants you to dig your own moat to paddle around.

Bear, the Sipsy flows into the Tombigbee about 9 miles below Aliceville. The Tombigbee joins the Alabama to form the Mobile River.

 

[clarenancy]

Thanks for the welcome, Jimmy W. I'd gladly dig a mote if it were a special rap music diminishing moat! Or maybe a bill deflecting moat.

The pictures I posted are Steve's. I can't take credit. He tried to post them but was unsuccessful, so I did it for him.

BUT, the cute picture of the dog with the pink flower. Now that's some of my finest work :wink:

Clare

 

[Jimmy W]

I knew those were Steve's. I looked at Walter's on his site and followed the link to your design work. Really liked the crowing rooster and other flash work.

 

[bearridge]

Friend Clare,

Dang....I like that moat pichur of Walter's. Yosemite 'er Rock Bridge Canyon? I will spend some more time lookin' at Walter's fine shadows 'n lite pichurs when I kin find some time. I aim ta take a peek at yer stuff too. Ya'll paddled the Estacatawpwa?

Did ya tell us what water ya aim ta paddle? I drove over the ole highroad cross the bay (come thru that tunnel they use now fer the Barry Manilow music 'n weapons of mass destroyin') 'n wuz near bout blown off inta the bay...water come blowin' cross the highroad.

No matter what ya want, no matter what anybody sez, there jest aint no boat that iz rite fer all rivers, creeks, skinny water, lakes, oceans, etc. I reckon yer pirogue idea iz a good one, but the more I think on it, mebbe one boat oughta be different, but able ta sneak inta the same skinny water?

When we know the water ya'll plan ta paddle, I we will give ya the best advice we kin give.

regards
bearridge

The only really good vegetable is Tabasco sauce. Put Tabasco sauce in everything. Tabasco sauce is to bachelor cooking what forgiveness is to sin. P. J. O'Rourke

 

[Kayak Jack]

MOAT: Code word for Top Secret underwater invasion boat. This craft is solar powered, and travels at 0.002 Mach. It can remain submerged for weeks at a time. Only a few paddlers have been lost during operational tests. Capable of carrying multiple war heads, it destroys impertinent smart asses on site.

SO THERE!

 

[clarenancy]

Thanks Jimmy! I forgot all about my own website!

I used to do an awful lot of freelance web, graphic and illustrations. Not so much since I bellied up to the gov't troth (the local university where I work now). I miss the more creative stuff. The steady check and insurance are great for the bank account but not so much for the soul.

And I reckon that's part of why I think I need to build something and get out in the wild more. Hard to be inspired with 4 walls around you 80% of the time.

Bear, Walter's got a notion of photographing more in Alabama. He's got a few photographic series that focus on the state. We've hiked or camped in more than 1/2 the states parks. But due to proximity, we've spent much more time in Lower Alabama. And the slow water is about our speed. We paddled around the bay, Dog River, Escatapa, Chickasabogue Creek. I'd like to go up to the Black Warrior, Cahaba, Upper Tombigbee, Conecuh, just explore my state more thoroughly.

BUT...I'm trying to convince him that his region isn't the state, it's the Gulf Coast. I'd LOVE to get over into FLA, the Panhandle and the central part. I'd be just as glad to explore more of Mississippi and Louisiana or even as far as Texas.

Clare

 

[clarenancy]

See Bear, I'm a big naturalist. (not a naturist. :shock: at least not when anyone's looking)

Walter's been in Lower Alabama all his life. But I'm really from East Tennessee. When I moved down here I didn't know 1/2 the plants and birds and such. It was disorienting. And so I started learning and exploring the flora and fauna and I got even more interested in habitats, species, subspecies.

So I'm always looking. Looking for native plants. Looking for bird species I've never seen. Looking for wildflowers I've never seen. Or snakes or turtles or bugs or butterflies. Just like when I was little lifting rocks to find crawdads or salamanders. If I don't recognize something or it's not in one of my field guides, I look it up online.

Walter's always looking too. Like me but for pictures too.

When we drive through the state we try to find a path we haven't taken before. We pick the highways rather than the interstate. We go slow so we can see things, stop and explore.

I don't suppose we alter our habits much when we're on the water. And the pirogue would really be just a vehicle to expand the accessible areas we already explore.

Clare

 

[bearridge]

Friend Clare,

Put Black Creek (jest south of Hattiesburg, goes thru Camp Shelby) on yer list. It iz a short drive frum Mobile. It iz national scenic protected 'n looks like the St. Mary River, cept without all the folks along the bank with chicken coops 'n garbage dumped down the bank. [That iz a bit hyperbolic.]

While I dont have a pirogue, I slept in a Holiday Inn once....'n I paddled one....on the St. Mary. At least I figgered it wuz a pirogue. It wuz homemade....but without knee pads 'er thigh straps. :wink: I figger pirogues set on the top of the heap when it comes ta swamps. I dont think they are yer best choice anywhere else.....but I got a dollar sez some here will disagree. :mrgreen:

We used ta pull inta Rickwood Caverns ta camp with a few dozen college kids while we run the Locust Fork and the Mulberry Fork. It iz jest off Ole Ike's Highroad bout 30 miles north of Birmingham. Rock Bridge Canyon iz over near Vyna. Sometimes we'd take the kids thru there too. Prehistoric valley on private land. Dave used ta haggle with the ole miss on the tab fer a bunch a poor college kids....'n the bus driver. :wink:

I recall that the Cahaba River iz where they have the Lily Pad Float when the flowers bloom.....not too far frum Birmingham. I never joined up fer that one. When I am really old, like the High Sheriff 'n the very oldyaker, I may put on a stylish hat 'n look at colorful flowers frum a canoe. :roll:

Ya seen a pichur of the Commodore 'n Ray when they load a canoe? I never seen nobody load a boat like them. It iz a wonder the Guinness Beer Folks dont put them in their record book, but they load that canoe stone sober.

regards
bearridge

Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study Hard. Be evil. unknown

 

[Kayak Jack]

...When we drive through the state we try to find a path we haven't taken before. We pick the highways rather than the interstate. We go slow so we can see things, stop and explore.

I'd like to suggest a book that you would enjoy. "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat Moon. In fact, any of his books are good.

 

[Jimmy W]

I figger pirogues set on the top of the heap when it comes ta swamps. I dont think they are yer best choice anywhere else.....but I got a dollar sez some here will disagree. :mrgreen:

Friend Bear
Having built and paddled my Touring Pirogue-T, I can say that it is a fine paddling boat and think that a pirogue would be a fine choice for many of the waters over yonder in L. A.
So far my pirogue has only been used in local lakes and hasn't yet been in a swamp.
Once I get my Southwind 15-30 built, I imagine that I will think that it is a better all around boat, but I enjoyed building the pirogue and figger that the experience of building it will allow me to do a better job on the Southwind. I do like swamps and skinny water and as you say the pirogue should excel at that.
Heck, I've been known to have a good time paddling my Bluehole OCA in the marshes down south of New Orleans and my first times down the Nantahala wuz in my Sears aluminium square stern canoe.
Jimmy

 

[Commodore]

Some good info for Clare

Take it from the Commodore that your best bet is a (Pardon the expression) Grumman canoe. I have had the same one for fifty years and as yet have not had a drop of water in it. Let me explain: Except for paddling the quiet river that the Bear picked out for us. Buffalo in Ark. I now have a capsize to talk about. As Bear said we pack everything but the kitchen sink on our outings, however, the trips generally last about a week. I have a reputation for packing all, but I can assure you the big aluminum table is covered by the time the tents are put up. Also the Commodores chair gets a lot of use. As I am not to swift at posting pictures so maybe we can prevail on Chuck to post a couple of pictures to clarify my points. Commodore

 

[bearridge]

Re: Some good info for Clare

maybe we can prevail on Chuck to post a couple of pictures to clarify my points.

He iz too busy tryin' ta git Miz Sparkey ta "pull my finger". What a joker! 43 years with him. If she kin hold on fer a few more years they gotta build a statue of her.....part Flo Nightengale 'n part Nurse Rached. :mrgreen:

regards
bearridge

ps I truly enjoyed all the gear the Commodore took on the expedishuns....includin' the fine vittles he shared with everbody.

You're never too old to do a thing until you say you are. Harry McDonald

 

[bearridge]

and my first times down the Nantahala wuz in my Sears aluminium square stern canoe.

never too late fer a trip report......

 

[Jimmy W]

never too late fer a trip report......

Me thinks that it iz too late, I don't remember a whole lot about it, don't remember doing any swimming though. I do remember that I enjoyed it and sprung for the Bluehole sometime later.
That canoe iz still down the road from you at my father's house and I'm sure that some of its battle scars came from the Nantahala.
I haven't paddled it in years, but some of my relatives and their friends sometimes do. I did give it a new paint job last summer. It haz a bullet hole that I figger came from my late brother-in-law, but it iz up near the gunnell.

 

[bearridge]

Friend Jimmy,

Nice backyard. On here we see a lotta folks backyards. That iz a fine backyard yer Dad haz.

regards
bearridge

When a thing defies physical law, there's usually politics involved. P. J. O'Rourke