Date: 2008-08-02
From: Great Barrington MA

To: Housatonic River Dam
Miles today: 0.0

I have created a shelter out of my canoe and my small tarp. I found some clear, flat ground off of a trail in the woods. I tilted the canoe on its side and extended my tarp over the canoe as a canopy. The tarp is securely tied off and I am set up snuggly underneath. Cubby had intended to sleep in his hammock but could not create a wet proof shelter to stay under. There is a loud, dark thunder storm rolling in and I offered for him to stay in my shelter. It is tight with 2 people but also wet proof. Mango and Grettle are in the woods somewhere in their hammock and Spoon the same.This morning worked out as planned. My parents treated the crew to breakfast at a diner in Great Barrington and then said their goodbyes. I had a great time with them and let them know of my appreciation for all that they did for me and the group. I promised to be home by Thanksgiving.Today we canoed over 25 miles. Most of the river water was moving pretty good but we worked hard all day. I am excited to work my upper body for a couple of days. I am trying to focus on maximizing my back and shoulder muscles.It rained for a couple of hours on the river. Everyone lined their packs with extra thick construction trash bags that we picked up in Great Barrington. I stayed in only running shorts for the entire day. It remained hot even while it rained and I expected to continue getting wet when we hit rapids.There was one spot half way through the day where we had to get out of our canoes and scout a route through some class 2+ rapids. We all agreed on a safe route through the white water. There were large jagged rocks with powerful amounts of water blasting over and around them. We scoped the flow of the river and chose a plan of action to get us all of the way through the 200+ yards of heavy rapids.Spoon and I went first. It was a huge rush to get sucked in to the quick water and thrown down the river. We accomplished our route and quickly turned back around to watch the others come through. Spoon and I hit the white water head on and took on lot's of water. We bailed the water out of our canoe and got out to video tape the others.Mango was at the stern, Cubby at the bow and Grettle in the middle with gear. They made it through the first set of rapids fine but ran in to issues later down. When they hit some white water walls the canoe filled up completely with water and flipped over in and area with fast water and exposed rocks. Grettle was sucked under the canoe, Mango was swimming and Cubby was standing up in the rapids.Spoon and I collected ourselves and ran to our canoe incase they needed assistance. Once I saw that everyone was above the water and laughing... I began to crack up. They gathered a couple of items that were not securely strapped in to the boat and dragged themselves to shore. This was all three of their first white water experiences in a canoe. Once they bailed the boat and got it floating again we began to recount the event and had a blast exchanging everyone's different perspectives on how it all happened. Spoon and I video taped it and took pictures as well. Grettle was dragged pretty good on some rocks and has a ugly cut on her lower back. Cubby also got beat up pretty good and has some scrapes and bruises on his hip and arms... battle wounds I say... a great way to get broken in fast!We hit some smaller class 1 and 2 rapids throughout the day. Everyone made it through with no issues. We had a great time.Another 27 miles or so for tomorrow and many more rapids to hit. I am literally sleeping under the canoe. When I turn my head lamp on I can see hundreds of mosquitos inside the canoe. They seem to enjoy the moisture in the boat. I have already been bit many times. I hope my sleeping bag is now light enough where I can pull it over my entire body and face without suffocating myself... it's my only defense against these bugs. ~Santana~ "by myself but not alone"