Friday, July 11, 2008

Mayo River Float, July 5, 2008

Mayo River_July 5, 2008
Dan River Basin Association
Saturday outing


I'm not sure at what point a party becomes a procession, but I am sure when it becomes a parade....42 boats! So many canoes and kayaks, it looked like demo days for an outdoor store. The Dan River Basin Association's July "First Saturday" float trip was down the Mayo River, from below Anglin Mill, 9 miles downstream to the 220 access ramp.


The put-in location was on the private land of Ginger and Franklin; long time river lovers and bee-keepers, as we found out, near the ramp. As the crowd grew in size, we actually had a traffic jam getting boats to the river. The trip leaders, Lindley and T, made last minute changes to the plans, and the trip was cut down to 6 miles with the take-out location changed to the 770 bridge.

With this many boaters, it would take a while to get everyone on and off the river, and the weather was threatening as well.





Boats and more boats lined up at the ramp waiting to hit the water.

They just kept coming…

..and coming. What a party, er, parade!









Finally the Flotilla gets underway.











This entire section of the Mayo is quite beautiful... no houses, traffic, 4-wheelers......a couple of Blue Herons did join us for part of the trip, but it was nice to be in such a beautiful place and experience such tranquility.















It's amazing, anywhere else you
had that many people, you would not have
the quiet we experienced on the river...
guess that's just the way paddlers roll.











Boats drift quietly down the river...

The rhododendron blooms were hanging on for one last display of the season.















There were quite a few shallow stretches that made the trip "interesting." Our lunch stop was on a nice sandbar, river right.

We all pulled up and you finally realized just how many boats there were on the river!





























We saddled up and hit the water...off again "like a herd of turtles!"












We had a few spills….a “strainer” in a fast, shallow run caused a few boats to roll and before the carnage was over, were up-righting and draining four boats!















It was a nice day to be wet so no problems, and before long, we were all back on the water and catching up to the pack.














Some native Americn fish weirs and rapids made the trip interesting as well.




























As with all good river trips..they eventually come to an end..or at least a take out point.
Ours was the bridge at 220.














Everyone pitched in to help drag boats up the hill until we had the vehicles loaded and ready to go.















Thanks to T and Lindley Butler for leading another great DRBA outing on the river!


Article and photos by Brian Williams
Edited by Vicky Thomas

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Summer in Rock Castle Gorge

Summer is the perfect time to get out and explore local trails! Rock Castle Gorge Trail is one of those local gems found within the Dan River basin. The lower end of the trail is located in Patrick County on CC Camp Road in Woolwine, Virginia. The 11 mile long trail follows the beautiful Rock Castle Creek for 4.5 miles before climbing up to Rocky Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Floyd. Primitive camping is also available along the trail with a backcountry permit that can be obtained by contacting the Rocky Knob Visitor's Center at 540-745-9662. Darrin Doss, a DRBA member and owner of Doss Nature Photography, enjoys visiting Rock Castle Gorge and shared the photo shown above that was taken during a recent visit. A map showing the trail is shown below. As with any hiking or backpacking trip, always contact local rangers first to check trail conditions.