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

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.

Paddlers Enjoy a Day on the Mayo

DRBA's 1st Saturday outing for the month of July was a huge success as over 50 paddlers showed up to enjoy a float on the Mayo River in Rockingham County, NC. The group paddled six miles from Anglin Mill to the 770 bridge below Stoneville. Along the way, trip coordinators T & Lindley Butler pointed out historic Native American fish wiers dating back over 1,000 years.


Everyone enjoyed lunch on a rocky island in the Mayo before finishing their journey.


DRBA 1st Saturday outings are free and open to the public, additional 3rd Saturday outings are available exclusively for members. For more information on outings and about becoming a DRBA member, visit www.danriver.org.

Hikers Visit Rhododendron Trail

The new Richard P. Gravely, Jr. Nature Preserve in Ridgeway has been open since April and getting quite a bit of use too! Now hikers have another reason to enjoy the preserve. Rhododendron Trail offers a challenging one mile hike down switchbacks and along the Smith River. The narrow path leads visitors through a wide variety of lush ferns and then through a tunnel of Rhododendrons.


Eileen Bourne (below) of the Martinsville-Henry County Master Gardeners shows Rhododendron blooms to a group of hikers.


One of the highlights of the hike is a bench overlooking the Smith River where visitors can relax and listen to the sounds of birds, leaves blowing in the breeze, and flowing water.

The Richard P. Gravely, Jr. Nature Preserve is located on Eggleston Falls Road in Ridgeway Virginia. The preserve, funded partially by a grant from the Harvest Foundation, is open year round and admission is free. For more information on the preserve and other natural areas in Martinsville and Henry County, call Jennifer Doss at 276-634-2545.

Volunteers Needed at Jamison's Mill

Friends of Philpott will host a volunteer workday on July 12th at Jamison's Mill Park in Henry, VA. The group will meet at 9 am.

Work will entail corridor clearing like blowing leaves, cutting saplings, moving fallen trees to make way for the Ditch Witch and then hand finishing work.

Please Wear: work boots, gloves, long pants, and helmet or hard hat (if you have one)

Tools needed include gas powered blowers and loppers. Bring a snack and water too please.

If a large number of volunteers signs up for this workday, Linda Drage will provide hot dogs and drinks for everyone. Please RSVP to Linda Drage at ldrage@comcast.net.

Bike Tour for Great Expectations

Help teenagers in the foster care system move from
the margins to the mainstream!

Join us in welcoming Dr. Glenn DuBois,
Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System,
when he stops at Patrick Henry COmmunity College

during his Great Expectations Summer Bike Tour.

Thursday, July 3, 2 p.m.
Walker Fine Arts/Student Center

Great Expectations is a new transitional
education program for foster care youth.
Learn more at http://www.greatexpectations.vccs.edu/

Geocache Fun

Nearly 30 eager treasure hunters of all ages gathered at the Richard P. Gravely, Jr. Nature Preserve in Ridgeway to participate in the Virginia Museum of Natural History's (VMNH) first Geocache Day. The program was led by Robin Jensen of VMNH, and designed to teach families how to enjoy this fun sport.

Geocaching is an international game played using a hand held Global Positioning System, more commonly known as a GPS. Cache seekers, can simply log onto the website www.geocaching.com to find a cache nearby and go treasure hunting. Over 600,000 caches can be found across the globe, and 1,600 of those are within 50 miles of Martinsville!

After the initial purchase of a GPS unit there is no other cost to participate in the game, which makes it a popular form of entertainment for families. The sport is also good for tourism, as it encorages travelers to visit smaller towns and lesser known communities.

The Calbanese Family has been Geocaching together for several years. Below they are shown reading their first clue of the day.


Others who had never Geocached before recieved instruction on how to operate the GPS unit from Robin Jensen.


I followed the father-son duo: Brad and Connor Kinkema of Henry County as they embarked on their first Geocaching adventure together. It took a little practice to learn how to operate the GPS, but soon they were on their way to the first cache! Connor found a tiny container called a mini-cache. Inside the small aluminum container was a tiny roll of paper listing all the names of people who have found this particular cache. Brad added their names to the list of successful cachers and Connor re-hid the cache making sure to put it back exactly the way he had found it.


For the next cache, Brad and Connor worked with fellow cacher, T Butler of Reidsville. After about 15 minutes of hiking through the beautiful woods of the nature preserve, the group found the next cache. This box was larger and contained an assortment of items including a ring, AAA decal, a key chain, small toys, and a note book. When a cache like this is found the cache seeker can take an item to keep, and leave another treat in the box for others to find. All the cache seekers learned that candy, food and fragrant items are not allowed in caches because it might attract animals and make them sick. Connor did not have a trinket to put in the cache this time, but said that he would visit again another day to make the trade. The cache seekers all signed their names in the note book and Connor hid the cache back in the secret home.


The last cache of the day was a Puzzle Cache and required a little more thinking. Brad, Connor, and other cachers explored the historic Burgess cemetery located on the property to find clues. After answering all the questions they found the last cache. Everyone had a great time exploring the nature preserve and learning the sport of Geocaching. According to Conner, his first Geocaching adventure "was a great experience"!

Geocaching tips:

• Read the section "Getting Started" on www.geocaching.com prior to going caching for the first time.
  
• When Geocaching, please respect the land and dispose of waste properly. Many seekers also participate in "Cache In- Trash Out": after finding your treasure, pick up any trash that you see on the way back.
• Never put food, candy, tobacco, or fragrant items in a cache.
  
• When hiding a cache, make sure to get permission from the land owner first.
• Always travel with a buddy!
  

Photos and Article by: Jennifer Doss