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Another summer has flown by us. In order to escape the heat and humidity, many of us took advantage of the club outings to the beaches on Lake Ontario, or headed up to the Adirondack Mountains. It's great to have so many wonderful weekend escapes so close to home! Even in foul weather, we thoroughly enjoyed hanging out underneath our sturdy tarps.
Stringing up the tarp can become a major form of entertainment for you and your fellow campers. The "tarper" scopes out the surrounding trees, prevailing winds, proximity to the campfire, support line placements, slope angle, optimum tarp height and drip factor. A plan of action is formed and then implemented with the intent of efficiently getting the tarp up before raindrops or darkness falls. "Efficiently" is the key word here.
The "tarper" knows what must be achieved in the end: .a tarp that is high enough to get under easily; support lines that are strategically placed away from paths of travel; and a drip factor that is directed away from any nearby tents or communal gathering areas. The more campers in the campsite at the time of tarp raising dramatically increases the complexity and snafuability of setting the thing up.
Yeah, raising the tarp can be quite comical at times. There have been numerous instances where the tarper has successfully launched the tarp line over an extremely high branch, only to have it get hung up out of reach; necessitating more "rescue" throws from other camp gear that was definitely not designed for the task. Campers have used rocks, water or soda bottles, and tennis balls among other things to get the lead line over those support branches.
When using a rock, some campers have learned the hard way that forgetting to project potential paths of trajectory after the thing flies over the branch can result in damages to both property and person. Naturally, comical mishaps always happen when there is a campsite full of onlookers. As always, everyone seems to offer up sage bits of warning and advice after things go astray.....this adds to the camp entertainment.
Need I mention the entertainment value of a well-timed dump of cold water down a fellow camper's backside (unintentional of course) when attempting to lessen the water build up before it brings down the whole tarp? How about the recurrent "trip factor" from support lines that seem to materialize out of nowhere? Many meals have been sacrificed to the resident chipmunks over the years due to the aggressive nature of those lines.
Comedic entertainment value aside, a well placed tarp can give the tarper a sense of personal victory over the elements. What fellow tarper hasn't experienced the thrill of successfully launching the tarp line over the exact branch that you wanted it to go over? How about the deep sense of personal satisfaction one gets when your tarp stands up to the nasty elements; providing you and your fellow campers a dry spot to hang out and enjoy nature's watershow?
Yep, nothing beats sitting under a tarp during a rainshower, cooking supper in complete comfort. Its just a piece of nylon or canvas strung between trees......yet it has the power to form strong bonds of friendship between the campers who huddle under its protective cover. So, here's to all my fellow tarpers out there: May your lines stay taut, and your trees close enough to use the lines already tied through your grommets!
Happy Camping,
Commodore Colleen
Volunteers are needed for the Nominating Committee. Duties are minimal; record nominations given regarding club officers for 2010. Must have basic knowledge of how to use a phone and jot down names of nominees. Qualified applicants may contact Colleen at 315 - 695 -4573.
General election of officers will be at the January pot-luck. All nominations should be made before Dec 20th in order to be in the January newsletter.
A huge club thanks goes out to Larry Keefe for his many years of service as our Trip Scheduler. Larry is stepping down from this position as of January, 2010. Larry has done a fantastic job in organizing the monthly trip schedule; in addition to leading many paddle and bike trips in the local area. He has done a wonderful job over the years in helping to promote new trips and has increased participation from new members to lead trips. Larry, we raise our paddles to you in a heartfelt Ka-Na-Wa-Ke Salute!!
Trip Reports
St. Regis CanoeArea, June 12 - 14
Though Pat McCooey and Les White arrived early and explored some of the area that the group would traverse; the majority, Denis & Nancy Ten Eyck, Ken and Chris Wolff, and Rick Kulibert got to Rollins on Friday Night. We put in on Saturday morning at Hoel Pond and soon were either carrying over or under the RR tracks into Turtle Pond. The water was very high and there were no beaver dams to contend with. Overall, it was a pleasant outing in a pleasant area, ending with a moderate portage to our waiting vehicles. When we got to our campsites, the crafty rains waited until we were relaxed and in the midst of our dinner preparations (fire going and all that). It then attacked us. It eventually drove most of us to early retirement. Next AM We loaded cars at the takeout at the Fish Creek Campsite and paddled the Rollins ? Floodwood ? Fish Creek route there. Beautiful morning. Beautiful paddle. Most of the marsh flowers were in bloom, and the ducks and loons were there to observe and complain about us.
Lake Lila, July 10 - 12
Most arrived Friday afternoon and evening. The crew consisted of: Colleen Drenckhahn, Betty Fisher, Rick Kulibert (Jr. & Sr), Steve Lunn, Chris Wolff, Pat McCooey & Ben Pierce. Campsite # 18 seemed to expand accordion-like to accommodate seven tents as the need grew. It also seemed to do a fair job of sheltering us from the worst furies of the storm on Saturday afternoon. Saturday AM the group split; as one group wanted to explore Shingle Shanty Creek and the other group wanted to poke around the Nehasane end of the lake and pay our respects to Mt. Frederika. As the Nehasane group wended our way, we passed the Beaver River which was brimming with a lively flow of water. We discussed the "Navigable Waters" court precedents while we noticed that the state land allowed about 2 miles of passage before a major obstruction appeared (at the same time that "POSTED" signs began to decorate the trees). We turned back because we had no other plans, and paddled over to the Frederika Trail landing. The Beaver River, by the way, was lovely in high water.
St. Lawrence River, August 7 th & 8 th
On Friday, Ben Pierce, Dave Hinman, Walt Clark and Pat McCooey eased into a choppy St. Lawrence with stiff side winds, harboring some misgivings about the adventure we had chosen. Though the weather report was generally positive; the sullen clouds suggested nefarious intentions on the part of the River Gods. Four miles downstream, however, we found ourselves to the lee of Galop Island, the side waves waned and we found ourselves sheltered. We poked into various inlets as we moved down the river looking for a nice lunch spot. We lunched at the highly civilized Lisbon Town Beach. We then headed off for the next adventure; the Iroquois Dam. We aimed for the two gates that were open and learned from Ben that the right one was for downstream traffic. As we approached, we could see significant bow- wavelike mounds of water at each pier, indicating that the current was swift and the piers were not to be messed with. I had to hurry to get my kayak as close to the center as I could. It was turbulent and quick. Ben, however, just missed getting to the center, and consequently, just missed getting run over by one of those huge motorboats that are too big and too much in a hurry (and too drunk?) to be bothered looking where they are going. Shortly afterward, we located our transportation... not far from an osprey's nest. The next day, we finished the passage from there up to our campground at Cole's Creek. Great trip! The Weather Gods were sweethearts, after all.
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