Current River: 2014 Labor Day Float

[Waterman]

Here is a video from a float last weekend on the Current River:

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This trip was my first on the Current, and it is such a gem. Plan to go back many times. We had a blast, and it is such a great stream for beginners and kids. Another bonus was that not many people were on the river last weekend, especially on Saturday, as an errant forecast of steady rain did not pan out but it scared away a lot of traffic.

We did have one mishap. When I arrived at the Pulltite access on Saturday morning, I learned that the bearings had gone out on my canoe trailer, and the trailer was unusable for the rest of the weekend. I could not find anyone to work on it during Labor Day weekend (no doubt), but Bob’s Garage in Eminence got me fixed up this week. Thank you Bob.

In the video, you will see clips from the 1st Annual Rock Skipping Contest on the Current River over Labor Day Weekend. As is the case with all rock skipping contests, the first prize was eternal bragging rights. If you are curious, the scoring was 1 point per skip PLUS 5 points for hitting the opposite bank. The judges claim that Paul Smith’s first attempt (not on film) hit the other side and scored a 21. A protest has been filed.

I cannot wait for my next float on one of the Current/Jacks Fork/11 Point rivers. Thanks to Paul for organizing a great weekend.

John

[Deuce]

Great job Fletch! Thanks for capturing such a fun day on the water. I may be partial, but my fave is the parting shot. Little Deuce's mama will love it. Sure glad you guys joined us. Oh, and by the way, I was trying to execute a Capistrano flip. I did manage to get under the boat and flip it back over but couldn't manage to re-enter without Paul holding it for me. Oh well. It was fun to try.

[AR-Nimrod]

Looks like grand time was had by all. Sorry I missed it. Have to make one of the next ones.

[Jetlab67]

Protest, schmotest! Sir Fletch’s unreasonable questioning of the results of the “First Annual Rock Skipping Contest on the Current River over Labor Day Weekend” almost doesn’t merit comment…but here I go anyway. What Fletch has failed to disclose is that a member of the “House of Fletch” served as one of the two judges. While math may not be the family strong-suit, arguing apparently is. My math skills are pretty poor too considering the minor river mileage miscalculation that put us into Two Rivers after dark. The moon was pretty though, wasn’t it? So, I think the winner of the FARSCOTCROLDW remains undisputable. As for ramming those poor kids….guilty as charged….and I’d rammed ‘em some more if they weren’t so fast. They were absolutely a menace to everyone on the river with their spraying people in the eye with those dad-blamed water cannons and waving those “snake-beater” paddles around like little heathens. This was the first trip where my own boats were used against me. Go figure. I’d do it all again though!

[Waterman]

Paul – You nailed it. I was just mad about my own son scoring you higher in the FARSCOTCROLDW. Oh well. As for ramming Alex's kayak, you taught him an important lesson: Rafts always have the right-away over a kayak. That will serve him well when we hit the Ocoee someday and he has to navigate through all the commercial rafts. Cheers. John