Fly Fish Chick

They bill The Texas Water Safari as “The World’s Toughest Boat Race” and frankly, I think they nailed the tagline. This was the hardest thing I have ever done.

I am feeling pretty good after the race, my hands are achy and still a bit swollen, my legs are covered in poison ivy, I am eating like a ravenous beast, and I am super sleepy tired. So bear with me as I try to encapsulate a complex and dense adventure into a shorthand highlight reel. (If you want to cut to the chase, there is a slideshow at the end of this post.) Yall have been with me every step of the way for the past year so I want to give you a flavor of this wild expedition…

SATURDAY – DAY #1

I did not enjoy the first day. There were just so many damn boats to avoid and navigate. Everything was so amped up, I tweaked my back at the second portage literally 15 minutes into the race so that was stressing me out.

The first day on the upper San Marcos River is the hairiest section with fast narrow turns, tree limbs and stumps coming at you in rapid fire pace, and more portages than the law allows. Combat paddling at its finest. We had to portage a little island just after the start, Rio Vista rapids, Cummings Dam which is at least 24 feet high and was a total backlog of stressed out amped up racers and boats. Chaos.

We navigated the old broken down mill rapids seamlessly having scouted it during training. I was pretty proud of our execution there. Then we had Cottonseed Rapids which we also had a plan…that went so-so. I wasn’t at the top of my game there. But hey, we made it through unscathed so that’s the most important thing. We also stayed upright at Broken Bone rapids which has tumped Phil and me (and Banning and me!) the last four or five training runs.

We portaged both Martindale Dam and the low water bridge at the same time. That felt like a long haul. I was cursing every ounce of food and gear we brought. Phil estimates our 45lb boat was about 125lb fully loaded. And we packed lean. Things just add up…ounces turn into pounds fast.

The first checkpoint was at Staples Dam which was another weighty portage.

Things went smoothly until our second checkpoint at the Luling 90 Bridge which was a chaotic handoff. There were just so many spectators and recreational crowds and tubers. It was a nutty blur.

We plowed ahead to Zedler Mill and the Luling Dam which we portaged really well. We had a plan, communicated efficiently. It’s a pretty narly takout without much bank, then up and over a low concrete wall, push through the spectators to get the 24-foot boat lined up just right. And then we worked the boat down the 30ft rocky slope. This was our last major obstacle in daylight hours.

I was very glad the first day and the upper section was over. I did not enjoy the intensity of it all, I was worried about my back, and Seadrift seemed like a faint dream way too far away.

SATURDAY – NITE #1

I had been pretty nervous about night paddling. There are just so many obstacles that jump out during the day, I couldn’t imagine how it would go.

It was dusk at the Son of Ottine Dam which we awkwardly portaged river right. In retrospect with the high water we could have run the dam, but it wasn’t too bad. We had to swim the boat awhile down the right bank to find a place to get back in. I nailed a few rocks and tree branches which beat me up a little but that’s okay since it was my poor call to portage right.

We reached Ottine Dam at dark with a backlog of about three boats trying to portage up the hill. While waiting our turn we put away sunglasses and hats and rigged the boat for night travel, mounting the bow light and getting headlamps out. Or did we do the bow light after the portage? At any rate, the 6-man aluminum boat that was blocking the portage path had to move aside to let others get by. We actually portaged Ottine – usually a beast – very well. We worked the boat up the 40- foot dirt bank, dragged it across the grassy field up top and then lowered it down the narrow cut on the other side back down to the river.

Here was a surprise for me…I liked running at night. I felt reinvigorated and for the first time in the race, a little bit more on my game. The sun wasn’t beating down on us which was relief. Since I was in the bow I had to focus keenly on the potential stumps in the beam of our light, which actually gave me something to zone in on as paddling became monotonous.

The next checkpoint was Palmetto low water bridge. Again we talked through a strategy and executed well. It’s a dangerous spot with a sweeper on one side and the water level just inches under the bridge which means the boat could easily get sucked under. There is a bend in the river so without a straightaway view, the bridge comes up very fast.

But we were on the ready, I jumped out on the right and scurried to the bank which gave me leverage to get up on the bridge while Phil got the boat lined up closer to the bridge. Then he jumped out and we hoisted it up and over….and we were on our way.

It was a long eerie night. From Palmetto to the Gonzales Dam the river calms down quite a bit. Just a stump here and there – I felt like the sailors on the Titanic on lookout for icebergs. It was somewhat relaxing paddling at night, the stars were gorgeous, the frogs were loud.

I’d say relaxing…until about 1:30 am when it went past relaxing right into soporific. We had to pull over for a rest. We found what we thought was a nice dirt-packed ledge above a bank where we could pull out. We grabbed out Ridgerest pads, took off shoes to dry feet, set watch alarm for an hour, and turned the lights off.

Unfortunately your body starts dumping heat, your clothes are wet and it’s freezing. Mosquitoes were vile. I think we only slept about 15 or 20 minutes so we picked it up after about 45 minutes rest and paddled on.

We reached the confluence where the San Marcos flows into the Guadalupe. I was happy to reach this landmark. About three more miles to the Gonzales Dam…

We were getting low on steam and a little bored so we started singing. Different musical tastes and lack of brain cells made it hard to think of songs we could both sing…but somehow we stumbled on the genre ‘Soft Rock of the 70s’ and made some progress.

We made it though with rounds of ‘Bye Bye Miss American Pie’, ‘Country Roads’, ‘Take It Easy’, ‘Life’s Been Good To Me So Far’, and ‘You Are The Woman That I’ve Always Dreamed Of’…let me save you a trip to Google…Firefall sang it.

We reached the Gonzales Dam around 4:30ish am? You may remember the Gonzales Dam from the post about the dead cow. We were keen not to follow the hefer over this fatal fall so we paddled carefully looking for the best path up. We saw the safety light and a solo racer trying to hoist his boat up the dirt bank.

This was a tough portage. Phil got up on land and tied the the bow rope around a tree. I climbed my way out of the water onto land and we inched the boat up the hill. Then we scouted around for the best way down. Nothing popped out. Argh. So begrudgingly we began to work the boat down these awkward rocks and boulders.

Whew. Another mile or so to the Gonazales checkpoint where we napped for almost an hour until sunrise.

SUNDAY – DAY #2

Groggy. Wow. Didn’t I got to college? Wasn’t I well trained in all-nighters? The sun was bright enough to lull me to nodding off and the stretch toward the Hocheim checkpoint is about as boring as it gets. No bridges, no spectators, no other racers – the boats has spread out by this point.

It was a long 38-mile grind to the next checkpoint. We had to dip in the water often to wake up. We reached the Hocheim pretty whipped. My back no longer hurt, but my knee ached and my fanny was starting to hurt. We were almost to the halfway mileage point and got a little testy with each other. We had to set the reset button on the team demeanor and grabbed a 30-45 minute nap before pressing on.

We finally started to run with a few other boats as we neared the Cheapside checkpoint. At this point in the race I started to get into a groove.

SUNDAY – NITE #2

We geared the boat for night at Cheapside and made way short leg to Cuero checkpoint. I think this is what they call Hallucination Alley – and it did not disappoint.

Pretty much everything looked like Mardi Gras floats or Carnival costumes coming at me. I also saw a herd of Jack Russells, a deer corpse pierced through a stump, several mini mt rushmores, and a washing machine.

After the Cuero checkpoint we were on the prelim course which Phil and I both recognized fairly well at the start. Then it started to seem different. And it was a WILD ride. In the dark of night in high water we came up fast on the series of Nursery Rapids which were hairy. Am thrilled we didn’t tump. Whew.

I think it was about 4am when we really needed sleep. I could tell when Phil nodded off in the back because the boat jiggy-jagged. He could tell the same. It’s a miracle we didn’t fall asleep and jerk and tump the boat. Once we decided to sleep, it took ONE LONG GRUELING HOUR to find a slice of the bank where we could pull over. That was tedious.

MONDAY – DAY #3

It was a good nap – about an hour? We woke at dawn excited to have two days and two night behind us. The end was in sight….it was possible that we could reach Seadrift without another full night on the water.

We reached the Victoria checkpoint about 8am in great spirit and super focused. We ditched trash, reapplied Desitin, unloaded unnecessary items, and were paddling by 8:29.

Another brutally boring hot long stretch to the Dupont checkpoint.

Our upbeat euphoria in Victoria wore off after a few hours. We took breaks to dunk in water but a lot faster – Seadrift was a real carrot at this point. We had opportunity to hit the finish line before midnite.

Luckily we finally paddle up to our friends Max & Mike and ran with them over ten miles which was fun and took our minds off the monotony and pain. My fanny was killing me in that seat. My shoulders were really aching.

Without question this was the most mind-bending, boring, hot, achy, un-scenic stretch of the race. But we were making headway. We reached the Dupont checkpoint and our bank crew was excited at our pace. Our team captain was taking food orders to have waiting for us in Seadrift since we’d arrive middle of the night. The thought of a pile of pasta, a dry bed, and the cool sensation of an ice sock around my neck made me feel a ton better.

Just two more legs until the finish line! That was pretty exciting.

Of course we also had two of the our biggest obstacles: the logjams below Dupont and the bay, which is always a wild card.

Luckily we hit the logjams during the day as they were gnarly. They weren’t as bad as the tales from previous years. The first logjam was the toughest, and we fouled up our approach which added some extra work for us. In retrospect we think our original plan was probably sound but who knows. We went conservative. We were dragging that boat through brambles and tall weeds and bushes and fire ants and poison ivy and mosquitoes. It was pretty nasty.

I guess the logjam created about a 500 yard portage for us? I’m not great judging distances so who knows. I will get Phil to weigh in on that.

But we made it through!

The next two logjams were cupcakes compared to that. We actually rammed through them at their weak points and were able to jump some logs and/or push up on over them so we didn’t have to carry the boat again.

My body was wearing down. Shoulders ached. Bottom ached. Knees sore. Sleep deprivation was getting to me. I knew we were racing the clock for a good finish but I needed a minute at the Saltwater Barrier checkpoint. I laid down for 5 minutes. Then I just walked around to get the blood flowing and stretched my arms. It helped. As did the positive vibe from Phil and the team and crowd at the Barrier. It was our last checkpoint! Next stop, Seadrift!!

MONDAY – NITE #3

It was pretty exciting to think the next time my head hit the pillow would be a nice bed in a hotel with AC. That said, my body still ached and we had to cross the bay at night.

There were about ten more river miles until the mouth of the bay. It was hard to stay awake when it got dark. The trees all looked like wacky paper mache. My legs were itching like mad from the nastiess of the logjam portage. Phil and I discussed our strategy for the bay. We agreed on where we wanted to cross and our route up the marshy island and across the barge canal. He was very clear that for our fast but tippy boat to make the bay crossing upright I would need to paddle hard, strong arms, vertical catch with the paddle, perfect form.

I assured him I could do it despite the fact my arms were withering and my paddle was barely dipping sideways into the water. But I knew the challenge of the bay would lift me up into action. We decided we would wait to put on our spray skirt and life vests until the mouth of the bay where there is a grassy patch around the right side of the mouth. If we tumped in the spray skirt it would be nearly impossible to wiggle back into our tippy boat without a bank and terra firma.

It was a long slow dark eerie grind down river and the banks closed in on us. It gets very narrow down there. Fish camps and river houses disappeared and the land turned marshy on either side.

I thought I was hallucinating again when the water looked like it had a tide to it. I looked again, “Is it my imagination or are there waves in this river?”

Whoa! In a nanosecond the waves became bigger and we were on a roller coaster. Boom! We were at the mouth of the bay and trying to paddle upright in 3 foot rolling waves!

Phil steered us to the right point of the mouth of the bay where we hopped out and clung to a scraggly dead tree in the water. The boat went sideways and we couldn’t get turned around. Crisis. Immediate need was life vests. He got mine undone in a flash and handed it to me.

I hopped out of the boat while the waves were lifting us up and down dramatically. I clung to a branch which broke in my hand, I grabbed another one which broke, then finally grabbed a solid one. I wrapped my knees around the branch and awkwardly bobbed in water putting on my life vest. Then it was Phil’s turn.

The waves just kept undulating us up and down. Just as we had our life vests on and we were going to try and decide what to do next we saw the light of another boat rocking toward us in the waves.

Turns out as we were clinging to this tree trying to keep our boat from swamping, the grassy knoll was about a foot or two behind us in the dark.

We pulled the boat up as did our fellow racers, Gary and Kristen, a father-daughter team. Soon another boat came, Jamie and his son Brian. And then our friend Max and Mike arrived as the rollers were about 4 feet.

We all gathered with our boats on this grassy point at the mouth of the bay, clearly not getting to cross that night.

We kicked around for about an hour, looking for a spot of dry grass that wasn’t six inches deep in water. Max/Mike and Jamie/Brian decided to sleep there as they could stay in their boats. We couldn’t sleep in our boat so we decided to paddle back upstream a few miles to solid ground and a few hours sleep, hoping the bay would be calm at daylight.

Ugh. No hotel room. No decent food. No finish line Monday night. Just more paddling, wet clothes, sore body and a violent attack of poison ivy itchy like mad.

We slept until just before dawn. Mosquitoes were bad which had me hopeful the winds were dying down. No such luck, winds were howling, trees blowing. My poison ivy was burning and I was scratching like a junkyard dog.

I took some Motrin, slathered the last of the Desitin on my poison ivy, and we labored over the map of the bay again. We decided to go for it.

We paddle the same few miles back to the mouth. Waves again inside the river but not quite as bad. We decided to tackle the bay and not retreat which meant to get out of the mouth upright we had to paddle as hard as possible and not stop until we crossed over.

It was nuts! Winds were sustained 25mph with gusts that almost took us down. The angle of the wind and waves were favorable though, save the initial crossing. We made it to the marshy island in the middle and traveled along it as long as we could.

When we reached the tip and made the turn across the barge canal the wind and waves were too much and we tumped. But we managed to get back in the boat and paddle across the barge canal. Then we were on the seawall and Seadrift was in sight!

We knew we would be walking and/or swimming the boat at some point but we wanted to paddle as long as possible. I gave it all I had. I literally was paddling as hard as I physically could, with my best form and best stroke possible. I couldn’t take me eyes off the waves directly in line in front of me for fear I would shift my weight and tip us. I was breathing deeply and controlled like a yoga class to keep my hips loose and one with the boat so we could move with the waves.

There was the pavilion in sight! There was the flagpole at the finish line! There was my family and our team captain who driven up to the top of the seawall to look for us. They scrambled back in their truck to get back to the finish line and we paddled as the bay got rougher.

As we closed in on the finish line we tumped, but it was shallow and we walked the final yards in. It was exhilarating. Crossing that finish line and walking up those steps to meet my family was one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever experienced.

Whew. Sorry to type so fast and use such poor syntax but I am a little short on energy and time at the moment. That said I have been dying to share the quick story with you…there’s more to tell but that will come. For now, all I have to say is THANK YOU to Phil, Monica, my family, my friends, and all of you for cheering so hard!

We did it. 39th place out of 92 boats. Finished in 73 hours and 21 minutes. My first Safari finish.

It’s been an interesting and chaotic few weeks. I am writing to you on my phone from the minneapolis airport so bear with me as I share the cliff note version of the recent roller coaster.

Fifteen days ago we were geared up and ready for the texas water safari to take off. My dining room was buried in supplies and Clif Shot Bloks, we had a lot to do but were chomping at the bit to get the race underway

Unfortunately Mother Nature blocked our shot.

Extreme flash floods spiked on the Guadalupe River forcing the water safari board to postpone the race which has only happened two other times in the 47 year history of the race. The race was delayed one month, the new start date: July 10th

Trigger chaos mode. That is the day Little Chick gets out of camp. What to do about family travel schedules. My three week fishing trip in montana was blown to bits including my girls trip and the Professor’s MT birthday celebration

But the news got worse. Tosh had a major family trip planned in July and would not be able to serve as team captain– a critical and difficult role

That’s not all…

Banning announced he has a work trip conflict in july and would not be able to race

Devastating.

I promptly began eating my way through the race snack food that was piled on the dining room floor. Let’s just say there are significantly fewer Clif cookies and cream body builder bars than there were two weeks ago.

By the way, the margarita flavored Clif shot bloks do not ease pain the same way ‘traditional rocks no salt’ gets the job done

I will spare you the agonizing detail of the emotional roller coaster but I will tell you I became borderline crazed in my determination to get back in this race.

Long long long story short…a miracle happened and I was able to find another race partner.

Phil Meyer is an experienced whitewater paddler and racer who has done the Safari and for reasons unknown to me that we are no longer going to question for fear he might wise up…he has agreed to take me on as a partner despite my true novice capabilities.

Phil wasn’t interested in paddling the aluminum beast so I am madly learning to paddle a carbon tandem safari race boat. Yikes! It’s pretty fun–i actually get to steer with a rudder.

While I am trying to up my paddling skills (hello draw stroke which needs work) Phil is madly patching up the boat and getting the rudder system tweaked.

We have two+ weeks to train, put together the boat, the gear and get Team Paddlefish v 2.0 to the starting line. We have been hard at work for over a week.

And now? Furlow. Sanity. Recharge. I am headed to MT for 3 days of fishing before we start to seal a meal our clif bars and apply Desitin to our nether regions

Hope everyone is having a great summer! Cheers for now…

Meet my new best friend and sidekick, Fitty.

No not that Fitty, this one:

“Fitty” is a piece of luggage loaded with books and hand weights so it weighs exactly fifty pounds. And for the next couple of weeks I am going to be hauling it back and forth around my house to train for the race.

Once we load the aluminum beast with all our gear, we estimate it will weigh at least 100 pounds. In order to prepare to portage dams and logjams – not to mention carry the canoe to the starting line – we figure we should each get use to carrying the weight of fifty pounds.

I’m gonna be cut like Fitty.

I was going to load it with weights but decided to save the extra coin and use books instead – after all, there is a book deal at the end of this odyssey so it seemed practically poetic.

So what books are in there? I handpicked a few choice titles that capture the spirit of the cause…

The Last Girls by Lee Smith (A book about a river adventure on the Mississippi that I was re-reading last year when this whole idea of racing in the Water Safari sprung to life)

Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. Think the title speaks for itself in this situation.

Borderland by Bud Shrake (I read this tale about the Texas Revolution and the settling of Austin when I moved back to Texas ten years ago…seems relevant as I embark on a Texas-size adventure right through the heart of Texas)

Perma Red by Debra Magpie Earling. Coming of age story about a girl in Montana who is an underdog and an outsider

Souls Raised From The Dead by Doris Betts, my college writing professor. She was working on this novel when I was studying with her my senior year, I’ve always felt a connection to it.

Get Fit Or Die Tryin….In Da Book Club.

Since I haven’t posted in awhile I thought I would cover a good bit of ground by bringing back the Triple Entendre. This post we’re looking at various meanings for the phrase Run Off.

RUN OFF – As in Run Off and Join The Witness Protection Program or Maybe Even The Circus

So if you’ve been around FFC for awhile you know I tend to disappear in the month of May. End of school brings a frenzy of activities, PTA forms, field trips, tests, sleepovers, camp prep, track and field, computer pageants, etc etc. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, May is the new December. Throw in a broken computer and car repairs and I am ripe for a nervous breakdown.

Of course this May has been extra dense with action. Mother’s Day Weekend I did a presentation at Sportsmans Finest flyshop here in Austin. It was a treat to break from training and errands and work and spend half a day talking with fellow anglers about fishing in Montana. Here I am with my mom who was visiting, Little Chick, and good friend Ted from Sportsmans:

And of course I’ve been just a wee bit busy preparing for this little race…The Texas Water Safari. You may have heard of it. It’s less than THREE WEEKS AWAY!! Can you believe it? I apologize if any of you have emailed me in the past few months and I haven’t replied, I am literally at capacity. I really did have a mini nervous breakdown last weekend trying to figure out how to get everything accomplished and considered running off to join the circus or the witness protection program.

(Then again maybe I’m already in the witness protection program and this whole Fly Fish Chick gig is my cover.)

At any rate, there was no time for a mental health breakdown and frankly my todo list couldn’t handle picking a circus or contacting the FBI for witness protection, much less dream up a mafia crime I would have witnessed, so I decided to put my head down and plow through it.

Last week was another milestone for Team Paddelfish. We did a three-day training run. 45 miles the first day, 38 the next, and 26 on the third. All in all it went well, though the 26 miles was definitely on the hardest part of the race route. Lots of twists and turns and rapids and branches to dodge. But we did it, 3 days. Now can we do 262 in 100 hours?

Here’s a picture of Banning – I sort of left him hanging in the middle of portaging this dam because I had to snap this photo:

And here’s our streamside boat repair. I was in charge of bringing the duct tape…as you can probably surmise, I borrowed some from Little Chick.

RUN OFF – As in Run Off the Treadmill and Almost Break My Neck

I am not a runner. I am simply not built for it. And I really do not enjoy it. Frankly I abhor it.

When we decided to do this race last June, we were talking about all the training that would be required. Banning suggested we’d have to be able to run three or four miles. Ha! I about fell off my chair. I could barely run three songs on the ipod. Literally, I could run one mile and I did it slower than I could walk it. (I am an oddly fast walker, who knows why?) I can do two hours on the rowing machine… I am going to paddle 262 miles…but I cringe at the idea of running one mile.

Well, as of this morning I can run three miles. I still despise it. But I can do it. I’m not fast at it. But I can do it.

I think I’ve been able to get from one mile to three miles in the last few weeks because I’ve had so much on my mind to distract me. Today I was about 2.5 miles into my 3-mile run and I was completely consumed with thoughts of my todo list: getting race numbers for the boat, figuring out the GPS, do we have enough battery life for the lights, a tinge of fear about paddling at night on the San Marcos, kicking myself because I forgot to get one of these at REI yesterday so now I have to go back (I’m obviously not excited about having to use one), etc, etc, etc.

I was so rattled by thoughts of my to do list that I had a misstep on the treadmill, fell forward, knocked into the display and almost broke my neck and twisted my ankle. I was unnerved at the thought of ‘what if’…..what if after all of this training I hurt myself three weeks out by falling on the treadmill. Ugh!

Clearly I need to relax, stay healthy, avoid injuries, and take some things off this todo list. On that note, here are three things that I can knock out right now because they involve keeping yall in the loop:

#1 – Remind yall that Tosh will be posting updates during the race on our Team Paddlefish facebook page. Please bookmark this page, or better yet, hit the LIKE button and join our facebook page so you can see the real time updates during the race. He might even have pictures.

#2 – FYI. The Professor is going to do less frequent blogposts here on FFC during the race. Once again, the Team Paddlefish facebook page is going to be the place for real time updates as we pass viewing points and checkpoints, but hopefully The Professor will be able to give a daily update here as well.

#3 – It’s not to late to contribute to my charity! I have already raised $3,174 toward finding a cure for Rett Syndrome. THANK YOU to everyone who has donated, I literally tear up every time someone makes a pledge. But my goal is $5000 so I am not done yet! Racing for this worthy cause has been an invaluable inspiration on tough training days. And it has been a beautiful message and learning experience for Little Chick who has taken fundraising and service to a new level for a ten-year old. So if you have $10 to spare, there are some Rett families who would deeply appreciate your effort and sacrifice. Click here if you are so inspired.

RUN OFF – As in Spring Fishing While Snow is Melting and Run Off Swells Western Rivers

In the spirit of relaxation and calming my frayed nerves, I am going to run off to Montana for Memorial Day for a few days. Run off will likely be in full force so I’m not sure how the fishing will be, but I really don’t care. A little fishing, grilling out, watching movies. Of course I will keep up the training and healthy nutrition, but it will be a nice reprieve from errands galore.

So that’s the report friends. Even if they are quick bursts, I will try to update here on FFC more regularly as the race nears because I cherish your comments and messages – I have the best crowd of cheerleaders on the planet and I am eternally grateful for all of your support! So stayed tuned…hopefully I will have a fish to talk about in the near future.

Banning and I paddled the San Marcos today and had an absolute blast. Lots of obstacles and tricks & turns. The main theme of the day was trees. Hanging down in our faces, jutting up straight from the bottom of the river, growing horizontally across the river, fallen down and totally blocking our path. Log jams, branches, twigs, bark, leaves…we encountered it all day.

Highlights Reel? Well, we got stuck on a rock and deftly unstuck ourselves before tumping, navigated a few rapids (quite nicely I am pleased to allow), portaged two dams, limboed below two low water crossings, chased some cattle out of the way, lost my shoe in some soft mud while scouting a portage, almost stepped on a rotting raccoon carcass, saw an owl, heard a turkey gobble, and got tangled up in some fishing line that was hanging from a tree.

Arguably the diciest (and most comedic) event of our day was getting stuck on a tree. That’s right, stuck on a tree. Just above the water. In between a few other tree trunks and limbs and all sorts of leafy chaos. I really don’t have the words to describe the cluster that landed us stuck like a seesaw atop a tree trunk that was growing straight out from the steep bank, but the highlight was when I wiggled carefully from the boat in attempt to dislodge it, slipped, and wound up wrapped around the horizontal tree trunk like a koala bear clinging to it with my arms and legs, desperately trying to avoid falling in the river.

What’s our Team Paddlefish tagline again? “Ain’t Nothin’ Pretty About It.” Truer words…

Somehow I regained composure and we both exercised some balance-beam circus-acts on the tree trunks, unwedged the canoe, and made our way safely onward — laughing hysterically.

59 days until The Texas Water Safari…

Feel free to spread this nugget through the rumor mill because it’s 100% true and it’s 100% good news.

I am thrilled to announce that good friend Colleen Harvey with Heart Of Texas Kayaks has recently become a Team Paddlefish sponsor. But the fun doesn’t stop there! This Saturday April 10th Heart of Texas Kayaks is hosting a free Demo Day at their store in Grapevine, TX.

Honey, honey yeah!

That’s right, it’s a chance to paddle around and test out over 30 different types of kayaks, including Wilderness Systems, Native, Heritage, Ocean Kayak, Perception, Liquid Logic, and Freedom Hawk. Plus, there will be special discounts for anyone who attends the Demo Day.

For more information about HOT Kayaks and their Grapevine Demo Day, visit their website or feel free to contact them directly.

Marvin Gaye may have soul but Colleen Harvey is all heart — Heart of Texas Kayak, that is. We are very grateful she is sharing it with Team Paddlefish and our charities.

Many thanks Colleen! Sing it Marvin!

Yesterday Banning and I did our first long training run, paddling just under 30 miles. To this point we’d only paddled on Town Lake, and seven or eight miles was our maximum. We joined Safari veteran and adventure racer, Debbie Richardson, who is in the middle of a seventeen day paddle journey covering the Colorado River from San Saba to Matagorda. A few Austin paddlers teamed up to join her Colorado River Expedition for the day, traveling from Town Lake in downtown Austin, east on the Colorado to the town of Webberville.

To get things started this morning, Banning and I ran our own shuttle, traveling to the Big Webberville boat ramp, only to learn the park was closed until 8 am. Why does my life so often track with Clark Griswold? No matter, we decided to cruise back up to the Little Webberville takeout instead. From there, we drove back to Austin to begin our paddle from our regular point at the boathouse near the Four Seasons Hotel. We experienced many firsts today, not the least of which was carrying the aluminum beast with actual gear. For the first time we had our water jugs, life jackets, firstaid kit, and food. And it was all heavy. We are researching dehydrated food and powdered meals as we speak. Wow, that canoe was heavy.

We were on our own for the familiar Town Lake stretch, assuming the rest of the crew would catch up with us soon. (Trust me, we saw them paddle in the Town Lake race series. They are fast.) We reached the Longhorn dam and had to walk around a bit to determine the best way to portage. That’s when we ran into Marilyn and her husband Tom. Marilyn was rejoining Deb’s expedition after a few days break, and would journey all the way to Matagorda from this point. We struggled with our heavier-than-ever canoe, and Tom insisted we use their wheels to portage along the bike path.

Wheels. Oh my heavenly invention. The wheel cart made all the difference. Unfortunately there won’t be any flat, clear cutaways on the Safari where wheels will work. Hence we probably need to stick to carrying the canoe while training and start counting ounces on our gear. Did I mention how heavy that canoe was yesterday?

We scaled the canoe down a steepish rocky slope and put on the water – our first time off Town Lake! Hoo-yah!! I felt like a teenager who was ditching the learner’s permit and hitting the open road for the first time. And guess what? There was actual current. Moving water! I was in heaven.

The river was clear, the sun was bright. We saw big schools of white bass and carp and spotted gar. I paddled my little guts out and for the first time actually felt what it was like to move the aluminum beast. She rode like she was on rails. I saw a few caddis flutter by as if to say, “Don’t worry, you may be taking on a completely new sport but a river is still a river and it is always familiar territory for you.” Then I saw this mayfly on top of the water and decided to give him a lift on my knee for awhile. I know we weren’t supposed to be adding weight to the boat, but I paddled a little harder with him there, my own personal figurehead.

It didn’t take long for Deb and her crew to catch up with us. Suddenly we had a flotilla of six other boats and lots of cool, experienced paddlers to get to know. We learned so much today, it’s hard to quantify.

We had one more portage which was more good Safari training. There were a few spots with current, but most of the river miles were wide and slow. It was a great backdrop to work out the kinks on our drinking tubes, both literally and figuratively. I learned a good lesson about not eating too much at one snack break…indigestion. Apparently all the blood is in your arms and since you are seated for hours on end, digestion is not as prolific as normal.

It was a gorgeous day and a beautiful section of water I am thrilled to have experienced. We covered almost 30 miles in six-and-a-half hours, made some new friends, and learned so much. Many thanks to Debbie, Mike, Janie, Curt, Ginsie, Stephanie and Marilyn for inviting us to tag along and sharing lots of advice and plenty of laughs on the water. Enjoy the slideshow and GOOD LUCK to Debbie on the rest of her journey!

I am traveling to Mobile tomorrow and working on my packing list:

Now as yall know, I’ve had more than just a wee bit of bad luck with the weather getting in the way of recent winter redfishing attempts in Louisiana. But we are all set, once again, to fish in Hopedale this Sunday with Travis Holeman. Catching a Louisiana redfish has become a little bit like looking for the holy grail, but I am undeterred. Although one could argue I’ve lost all reasonable perspective on this topic. So I’m curious what you think…

Should I pack fishing clothes or church clothes for Sunday?

Either way I must remember to take my flash drive because it has my power point presentation on it. Anyone in the Mobile area is welcome to come see my slideshow at the Bay Area Fly Fishers monthly meeting – but no heckling. It is next Tuesday March 9th at 5:30pm at Dreamland BBQ.

Am I forgetting anything?

Well, Team Paddlefish participated in another 10K race this past weekend on Town Lake. You may recall we completed the first Town Lake race in gusting winds in 1 hour 36 minutes. This time we invited friends and family to cheer us on so we could beat our time, but more importantly, so we could pass the hat for our two charities: The International Rett Syndrome Foundation and Project Healing Waters.

A few days before the race I was interviewed by Bettie Cross for KEYE, our local CBS affiliate. A portion of the interview is available to view here.

Race day was magical on all fronts. Plenty of sunshine and our friends were out in full force. I had the chance to meet two Austin-area families that I befriended online whose daughters both live with Rett Syndrome. It was so fun to meet them in person!

Meanwhile Banning and I are getting to know more paddlers at these races and events – which means we are learning more and more from all these Safari veterans. Plus, our friends provided food and drinks and various items that we were able to sell for our charities. MANY THANKS goes to:

• Nueva Onda – the best breakfast taco in ATX — donated four dozen breakfast tacos
• My sweet friend Shawn who brought these adorable (and delicious!) paddlefish cookies
• My equally sweet friend Hillary brought water and coffee
• Ted Mendrick from Sportsmans Finest handmade fish refrigerator magnets that we sold
• Eric from Eric’s Hired Hands who was on hand to offer chair massage
• Kevin Hutchison was offering flycasting lessons and donated Team Paddlefish boat towels
• 1379 brought a big cheerleading contingency and surprised us with 1379 Team Paddlefish shirts; we have lots of kids sizes that we will be able to sell as well
• Fire In The Gut outfitted us in hats and most importantly these super high-tech performance shirts – I am practically living in these FITG shirts these days. Training, running, rowing machine, paddling, carpool. They are my new uniform, so I was very proud to debut the new FITG logo on the canoe. Pssst…check out who is on the homepage
• Tim Cole, who works with Costa del Mar, generously provided new shades and visors and shirts
• John Baltzell and all the volunteers organized The Town Lake Race Series and were very gracious to include our friends, charities and cheerleaders in Sunday’s race

Little Chick was a machine manning the Paddlefish Bazaar, and since it never crossed her mind to make change, we ended up with a whopping $225 for our charities! And all the cheering really made a difference because despite the fact that there was wind again, we managed to beat our previous time: Tosh clocked us finishing at 1 hour and 29 minutes.

Many Thanks to all who came out to wave the Team Paddlefish flag!! Onward to the Safari…

The Headhunters episode of ‘Adventure Guides’ airs this weekend on the Outdoor Channel with a brief fishing cameo from your truly.

Actually, it first aired this morning but I missed it because I was busy hoisting my canoe down to the water about to do an interview on Team Paddlefish for our local CBS affiliate. Can you believe I had my first ever television debut twice in one day? What are the odds?

No matter if you missed Adventure Guides this morning, because it airs again two more times this weekend on the Outdoor Channel. Here are few nuggets of info to keep in mind:

• If you have Direct TV, The Outdoor Channel is 606
• The episode airs FRIDAY Feb 26th at 11pm est / 10pm cst
• It airs again SATURDAY Feb 27th at 11.30am est / 10.30am cst
• My good buddy Mark Raisler of Headhunters in Craig MT is the total star of the episode along with the fish and the Missouri River itself. We had a good day on the water and caught a few nice fish so hopefully that’s fun to relive onscreen

That’s about it, friends. Set your TIVOs, pop some corn, and enjoy the show!

(Now I just have to find someplace with the Outdoor Channel to watch it.)