Troop 4277 Pictures

There was some discussion earlier in the year about doing some kind of high adventure event for the older boys in the troop. We decided to do a 50-mile canoe trip.

We left from Comfort, Texas at 11:00am on August 1, 2008, paddled our way down the Guadalupe River, and returned to the place we rented the canoes from at 1:30pm on August 4, 2008. Everyone enjoyed the trip, although everyone agreed that having the river be about 12" higher would have added to the adventure, as there were a number of places where we had to carry the canoes because the water was too low. Editor's note: I personally feel all of us should get a "Gondola Driver Patch" for our efforts working our canoes through some of the lower water. I spoke with Carson about creating one for us.

The nature of this event meant selecting packing supplies differently than any other campout, as weight and space available in the canoe were constraints to work within. There was also the reality that once the journey began, there would be no opportunity to go to the store for something that was forgotten. Planning thoroughly was very important. Each person purchased and packed their own food, which had to be hiking-style food that did not require refrigeration, could be prepared easily (with just water and heat), and was nutritious. Many chose to get dehydrated food that simply required boiling water to prepare. There was one tent per canoe, no sleeping bags (too big), only a small chair allowed for sitting.

Getting enough water, especially given how high the temperature would be each day, would be very important. Because we could not bring enough water to last 4 days, each person brought a 32oz water bottle (Nalgene was preferred), and we used a water filter to pump river water into the water bottles. On average, each person filled their bottle twice each day.

Note: The small videos on this page require QuickTime. They were captured using a cell phone, so please forgive the quality.

Day 1: Friday, August 1
Distance traveled: 8 miles
Highlights: Jessie caught his first of twelve fish, Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Schuck were the first (and only) ones to swamp their canoe.

Video 1: Jessie and Travis
Video 2: Mr. Grant and Mr. Tomlinson

Day 2: Saturday, August 2
Distance traveled: 17 miles
Highlights: Jessie still catching fish, the campsite for the night was the best of the trip, a wonderful waterfall jacuzzi, stellar performance paddling from everyone

Day 3: Sunday, August 3
Distance traveled: 16 miles
Highlights: Jessie caught more fish and finally was able to cook one as part of his dinner, we found a great rope swing during one of the breaks, another stellar performance paddling

Behold the healing jacuzzi...

Video 3: Rope Swing: Mr Tomlinson
Video 4: Rope Swing: Jessie
Video 5: Rope Swing:

Day 4: Monday, August 4
With only 9 miles left to complete the journey, the pace was a little more relaxed.
Highlights: The finish line! We did it!! No more drinking river water!

Video 6: Mr. Hood and Mr. Moltz on some rapids (trust me, it is them)
Video 7: Tony on the same rapids
Video 8: All the boys jumping off a rock. The last one was Tony. He was OK.

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