Day Three - Sunday, April 20, 2008

Day Three – Sunday, April 20, 2008
Maidens to Richmond (island between Boshers Dam and Huguenot Woods), 22 miles


Sunday’s forecast was for scattered showers – showers, yes; scattered, not so much. It was pouring by the time I loaded the boat on Kate’s truck. I figured that the trip up from the ramp proved that I could do it and there was no need to be masochistic. Before leaving I screwed the tire back onto the wheel with drywall screws. As we were driving to the ramp it dawned on me that I should have probably put some screws in the other tire just in case, but did not turn back. Despite the smile in the picture, I was in a pretty foul mood trying to get gear in the boat and push off. It was almost 9:00am by the time I was paddling east again.




It alternated between hard rain and drizzle all morning. Despite, or perhaps because of, the weather the miles really flew by. I did not get out of the boat until Watkin’s Landing where I pulled in a little past noon and ate my lunch.











Taken from the bridge at Maidens


The rain kept all the powerboats off the river today, although I did see four canoes about a mile from Watkins Landing. The canoes were being paddled by a group of college age kids that had camped in the rain along the river the prior night. I spoke to the two guys in one of the canoes as I paddled past. A few minutes later I heard a splash. Looked around and sure enough the bow paddler had fallen out of the canoe. He was struggling to shore against the weight of his cotton sweatshirt and shorts, so I told his buddy to stay with him and I would collect their gear that had fallen out in the near capsize. After making sure they were okay I paddled down to Watkins and told the rest of their group what happened. While eating my sandwiches and some trail mix I visited with one of the paddlers who was from Virginia Beach. We discussed my trip and the ultimate take out as well as surfing sea kayaks.

Before leaving, I noticed that the glassed seam between the bottom of the seat and the inside of the hull had cracked and separated. This crack was allowing any water that got into the cockpit to leak back into the dayhatch and resulted in more wet gear. I rolled the kayak on its side and noted two chunks of gel coat knocked off under this area. It is possible that I hit a rock and flexed the hull enough to crack the seam, but it is more likely that when either getting in or out of the boat, I put my weight near this joint and forced it down on a rock.

The afternoon cleared up just a little and there were a few periods of no rain, although the sun never made an appearance. The afternoon miles went much more slowly, particularly once I was in the backwaters from Boshers Dam. A headwind kicked up the last four miles and added a little extra resistance to my progress. The waters had been very calm up to this point and it was nice to see the six inch chop that the wind kicked up.

There were beautiful homes on the south bank of the river as I got closer to Richmond. Three of them sitting together stood out for their beautiful lawns and gardens – Japanese Maples, Dogwoods in bloom. I arrived at Bosher Dam and paddled to the portage takeout. The portage trail looked pretty soft with not too many rocks so decided to save some time and just drag the boat along the trail instead of using the cart. It worked well until I got about 40 feet from the water below the dam where the trail yielded to a rocky area. I crab walked the boat (bow, stern, bow, stern) over the rocks to the put in.

After the portage it was a short two miles down to my camp spot. I was able to see the Huguenot Bridge from the island on which I camped and houses across the river. There was a little break in the rain when I got to the island so I set up camp first thing. Even though it was early, I also went ahead and made dinner and put it in my tent. This turned out to be a wise move because no sooner had I gotten the gear put away, the skies opened and lightning started. I ate dinner in my tent and hunkered down to listen to the rain. My tent was only 18 to 24 inches above the river level so I had some concern that the river would rise rapidly. I called Kate and had her check the gauge forecast and everything looked good. There was higher ground on the island, but I did not relish the thought of moving camp during the storms. The Westham gauge was at 4.93’ as of 1:30 pm and was forecast to be at 5.3 the next morning. I had wished for a little more water during the first day of the trip and boy did I get it. The river level would be perfect for Monday’s run through the Richmond Fall Line. I spent the first part of the evening in the tent, studying my written notes about the lines through the various rapids that I would face the next day.

Three days into the trip and I was pleased with my paddling and staying found (navigation) skills. While there had been several hiccups with equipment, I was pleased to have adapted and persevered.

Later in the evening I climbed out of the tent despite the rain and while it felt good to be outside, I would have needed heavier clothes to be comfortable and did not want to dig into my hatches and drybags to secure them. The thunder and lightning seemed to be trailing off when there was an exceptionally bright flash of lightning followed by one of the loudest thunderclaps I have ever heard. The initial clap was followed by long rolls of thunder that seemed to continue for a minute or more. The next day Kate let me know that some friends of Greg V’s that lived across the river from my island camp site had been keeping an eye on me and reported back that I had made camp and then made it through the night.