Buffalo River-Nov 14-16 Hwy14-Rush - PICTURES UPDATE

[painterbob]

OH,YES... another fine canoe camping trip!!.. thats for sure. we had some new faces and that always good! and..yes it was as cold .(cold~ cold) but everyone was geared-up, and the 5 foot bon-fire sure did the trick! seeing the moon top the hill was a true highlite..along with the surfin' loaded canoes. sorry some of you all missed out but hey! there is always next time!! thanks for the great time!

[Susan Tinker]

Wanted to also say how much I really enjoyed paddling with all you new friends, and old
friends (!) or should I say repeat paddling friends!

Gut-It: I'm really glad I got to shuttle with you so that I got the story on your name! Would have slept better Friday night had I known earlier!

Richard: Thanks so much for inviting all of us to join you on your weekend vacations!

And thanks to Eric for making sugar cookies! It helped me in the last stretch, Against the Wind (I should have been singing that song while paddling).

Glad I could help some of you with your tents on the riverbank before I paddled on down to Rush ... Oh, I started to check out the canoes left on the banks, thinking maybe I'd found me an abandoned canoe .... till we saw the rental name on the side. Turns out, it was deer hunters in the woods. They didn't kill any deer!!! Just as soon as they showed up at the take out, and left, we saw 3 big deer come out to play!

Really enjoyed hanging with all of you! I don't have any complaints ... except did you all know the bathrooms at Buffalo Point were open for one last weekend???

See you again!
Susan T

[CapnTom]

Wish I was there with all you good River-People.
Maybee next time...
Best Wishes...,
CapnTom...

[sugarmtngal]

AWESOME trip as usual. Eagles were sighted every day..........Weather was constantly changing..............

Richard- the Geographer/Historian- thanks so much for letting me tandum with ya - enjoyed catching some rays Sunday morning at the bow - what a beautiful 60 degree day! Learned lots as usual and especially enjoyed the dancing show of refractory light on the bluffs and cliffs...............hope the pics come out.

Eric - Chef and Supplier- of anything and everything needed........I know the new paddler that got his sleeping bag drenched was happy you were there! I do appreciate you lending me those 3 finger gloves - the cuisine was delicious............yummmmyyyy

Randy - Performer - Sorry you had to leave Sat morning......thanks for playing guitar.....Oh, and that was great when you went to help that woman lost on the bluff at night - 'great rescue'

Painter Bob- Safety Coordinator- Thanks for the ideas with the flat rocks and assisting with whatever.....I was laughing so much

Terry Price - Our Film Producer from Missouri- Nice to meet you and did enjoy your company I'm glad your wife is a class 5 paddler because she'll definitely keep you in line! Please edit some of the footage with that documentary !

Susan T. (our Pschologist) thanks for calming me down and assisting with my tent Saturday; the tent wanted to escape into the wind, GOSH IT WAS WINDY - who would think that 5+ hours later the sky would open up to all those beautiful stars and moon.

Mike Bebe (our Governor 'just kidding') thanks for being there with your sense of humor and helpful traits.........................

Carl (Quiet guitar player) - nice to see you again, thanks for playing guitar.

Ryan Center (Woodsman of sheer strength) - Great to see you there and gosh you sure are strong taking apart those trees, etc..........Your breakfeast burritos were a hit! Great roll with the touring kayak!

Bea and Nick Cross (Naturalist couple ) Thank you so much for the hummus and delicious fresh bread, you make a great couple and surely enjoyed our discussions around the camp fire!!!!!

Kyle and Darren (new faces and paddlers) great to meet you and hope to see you again on the river.

I'm going to try and write a little story for the newsletter and will send it to you all first.

I lost my pink knife...........DID ANYONE FIND IT? Eric my water jug is at your house also....................

Another fine McFadden Trip; look forward to the next one.............See you all on the Buffalo River next time!!!!!

[nikbeaoutdoor]

Hello to everyone

We really did enjoy meeting you all and it was a very enjoyable trip cold weather and all.

Hope to be able to take another trip will you all in the future as a group of just a couple of you all.

surgermountaingal cant waite till we hit the trail.

Thanks for inviting us

Nik and Bea Cross

P. S.
I will post pics that we took soon plz give me a week or so ... they will be posted to
( http://picasaweb.google.com/buzzybeabug" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )
under Nov 2008 float trip

[GutIt]

Sooner or later, there comes a time in everyone’s Journey when they reach a decision that involves a Leap of Faith.

For me, that I decided to make the Leap right into the Big Middle of you guys for this Run was one of these times. And by allowing me to do so was one of these times for the people on this Run. Especially for the Esteemed Group Leaders and those who regularly boat together.

I asked for the Strength to help out any way I could, the Judgment to stay the heck out of everybody’s way, and the Wisdom the know the difference! Seems like I never fail to fail!

From the moment I blew into camp Friday night until the last piece of gear was loaded at the Take-out on Sunday, I was made to feel welcome and a part. I felt that I had known you guys for all of my Life. And in a way, I guess I have, even though we had never met.

This bunch represents All That is Good about the Boating Community and why I’m so happy to be a member of it. There were multiple boaters who “gunneled” their open boats (and a few, I might add, piloted solo in a brisk blow) to the gills with equipment for the sole purpose of making sure everybody was well-fed, comfy, and safe. I’m talking about 6” of freeboard (and “Freeboard” ain’t just another Lynyrd Skynyrd tune, baby!). I personally know a couple of instances where there were a couple of Happier Campers because of this selflessness. It was obvious to me what kind of Personal Character this represents.

So? I would like to say to each one of you: “thank you”. I know its not much, but I guess it will have to do for now. To the Fearless Leaders? You put on one World Class Act and your Passion speaks for itself. Eric’s Famous Cookies are Internationally Famous as well as Known the World over! I have heard the Myth of this Legend even way up here in MO and now I can pass the Legend on to the next generation of Boaters! Along with your Passion & Outdoor savvy! Richard’s Love for his Beloved River and boating skills in general blew me away! I had actually been on the water with one of the Boaters before! Brother Man (and I know you know who I'm talking about!)? As always? It was a honkin’ pleasure! I have only one Friend on the entire Planet and she presented me with a Friendship Rock! Hugely cool Traditional Custom (or is that Customary Tradition!). Guess if you can only have one? May as well have the best one ever! The Rock resides in the Boating Medicine Bag and in my Heart where it will always be remembered and never forgotten!

My only hope is that someday I can return the Favor! I doubt that I can, but that won’t keep me from trying!

My Heart Soared with the Eagles that were with us!

[MikeBeebe]

It was a great pleasure to meet all the new faces and be able to paddle with some old friends. Here are a few shots that were taken of the trip.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mikevbeebe/ ... -xFHdNGr8#

[Eric Esche]

Well folks, I had a great time. Thank you all for going on this trip. Every single person on our trip did great, and made the trip a sucess. Nice to see so many talented individuals all come together and mesh so well by pooling their strengths so selflessly. I was really pleased to see so many new faces on the Buffalo as well as a few of the older ones. Hope y'all will come back on future trips and let me come along.

If you have any suggestions as to how we could do it better, please drop me a message offline or by PM so we can trade thoughts.

Nice to see so many folks who are great cooks on the trip. Ryan - those sausage barritos were great. and I've got to find out where Painter Bob got that freeze dried Raspberry Crumble. It was wonderful on those biscuits Richard made.

Hope y'all will pass on the word to folks that did not go, that winter canoe camping is all right and you can be warm and comfortable both on land and on the water if you dress for it, and that the Buffalo is a place to go back to.

I may be setting a bad example by hauling along the kitchen sink at times on these trips. You don't have to take as much junk as I do, but there are some things you can carry when you have a large or small group that make things go easier, like my coals tongs. You don't have to have them to poke around with a fire, but they sure are handy if they are there. I thought our kayak campers this time were setting a very good example of how you can "do it". They were self contained and could have stayed that way with some improvisation, but it is stupid to work hard to dry a sleeping bag in weather like that when you may damage it, when there is a spare right there waiting to be used. When you are with us, never hesitate to ask - we don't as you may have noticed.

Sometimes I carry things just because I can, but most of that I carried, you never saw unloaded because we didn't need it and it fell into the just in case catagory. The more you paddle, the more you tend to add things here and there of your own that aren't necessarily just for yourself. Like most safety gear, you don't carry it for yourself, you carry it for others or so you won't feel guilty about what you might have done if you had just......

Everyone on the trip found there own niche of helping out a tad to make the trip more than it would have been without them. Thank you again.

Eric

[Ryan Center]

Now THAT is a pretty cool trick. Thanks for the pics Governor.

[Richard]

Well, we started out with 14. Randy rescued a lost hunter in the dark then had to leave the next day because of stomach problems. We missed you Randy. Hope you are doing well. Mike and Susan day tripped. We are grateful for the time they spent with us. Eleven of us were smoked from the shifting wind as we huddled around the campfire Saturday night. Watching the Moon appear and bath the area with its light was pretty amazing. Sunday morning it was below freezing. By noon Gretchen was running around barefoot. Nik is a goat. You don't realize how big the bluff is until you see a tiny speck of someone near the top. Eagles soaring above is always a special treat.

Randy, Susan, Mike, Terry, Ryan, Bea, Nik, Darren, Kyle, Carl, P Bob, Eric and Gretchen, thank you so much for making it a memorable trip for me. The Buffalo has a special magic. I am very grateful for this wonderful treasure and for those I had the privilege of sharing it with.
My new camera is very frustrated with its owner right now. Here are a few pictures. Someday I hope they will be in focus. http://good-times.webshots.com/slidesho ... 9864CpfGVa" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[lbaker]

Hey all, thanks for sharing pics and allowing me to once more live vicariously thru them and the trip report. I wussed out because of the cold and wind, but I appreciated the offers for gear. As a newbie, I'm probably more cautious than is necessary, especially considering all the pros that were there. The Buffalo is truly wonderful and I hope to do a trip with you guys in the future.

Leigh

[Louiscov]

Great reporting!! I always love reading about the trips & have bigtime admiration for the hardy paddlers who made this one. You've inspired me to work on restoring my 14 1/2 ft. Mad River Courier (1984 model) to join ya'll sometime. Replacing the wood Thanksgiving.

Thanks for taking time to share your the stories with us. Y'all really tough!

[KAYAKN]

Richard
The spot on the river called Devils Tea Table, Is there a gravel bar island just below it( not down stream) it with a pool thats about 40 feet wide and around 200' or so long and the gravel bar also has a tree on it that has a limb thats about 4 feet off the ground that is horizontal to the tree. The river also makes a hard left at the top of the gravel bar and at the bottom the river turns back right and hits the rock wall thats underneath Devils Tea Table. Does this sound right for that spot?? Just wondering, ive been camping there for years and thought it would have to have a name for the big rock up on the bluff.
Thanks Adam

[Richard]

Adam, that is the place.
My memory may be bad but I believe that tree use to be on river left then in 2007 it was on river right. This year II may have been preoccupied but I don't remember seeing the tree. Having lunch at the tree was an Ozark Society tradition.

[Eric Esche]

Until Kyle posts his pictures here, You can go to the Lewis and Clark site, http://www.gooutandplay.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; , click on their message board, and then go to the kayak section, and look for the Buffalo trip posts to get the link to Kyles photos. He got some good shots, particularly from on top of the ridge.

Eric