A few questions before the paddle trip…

All the information that I receive from you is for my professional knowledge and not shared with anyone else for any reason. It is up to you to share your information with other trip participants of your choosing, including your telephone number and e-mail address. This assures you that your information doesn’t end up on any lists from me.

I do have a list of people who paddle with me and/or have participated in events that I have promoted. These are the paddlers who get invited to my events first. The decision is yours if you want to be added to that list. Event invitations are sent to this group before they are offered to the public. All members of the the list are bcc’d so the only e-mail address you will see is mine.

Now I have request and a couple of questions for you:

1. I need your telephone number and an emergency contact person and their telephone number.
2. What kind of polyethylene kayak will you be using and how long is it? You don’t have to measure it,  about how long is it?
3. Are you a:
   • non-swimmer
   • fair swimmer
   • good swimmer
4. Rate yourself as a river paddler:
   • A…Beginner
   • B…Fair
   • C…Good
   • D…Experienced
5. Do you have any medical condition that I should be aware of?
6. Are you allergic to any insect bites?

As one who has planned, promoted and organized well over a hundred group river trips, I promise to do everything within my power to make this a GREAT trip for you, but I’m not a mind reader. The only problems I can solve are the ones I know about! Please let me know if something is wrong, or if you need any kind of help.

Richard Grove

404-545-6633

NOTE: Two things have changed on the Aug 21st Wine & Cheese trip!

1. The group will be limited to 10, which is a better number and less crowded.
2. The meeting time has been moved to 3:30pm rather than 4:30pm. Last month we didn’t get to the take out until 11:30pm! It was already dark when we arrived at the party rock which is less than a mile from the take out, but we stayed at the rock too long…

This party is for the participants and y’all know I don’t have a problem with the time, I just thought it would be more fun to get to the rock before dark and be having a good time as the day faded into night.

• Event: Moonlight Wine & Cheese
• Must be 21 years old (at least) Limited to the first 10 registered participants.
• Cost: $40:00 per participant
• Date: Saturday, Aug 21, 2010
• Meeting time: 3:30pm
• Departure time: 4:00pm
• Meeting location: Outside World, 471 Quill Drive, Dawsonville, GA 30534, (706) 265-4500

Click here to register for this event! You must contact the event organizer, Richard Grove, who can answer all of your questions.

Timing for this event has been moved up 1 hour from the previous month. A few people had reservations about this event, but those who attended in July will certainly vouch for the experience.

This is a 9 mile paddle with no time limit… It is for your pleasure to experience a full moon paddle with a Wine and Cheese Party less than a mile from the take-out location. Although we will begin paddling in the late afternoon, a tree canopy and cool water will provide a refreshing trip. After eight (8) miles, we will stop at a unique rock formation for the Wine & Cheese Party. This 9 mile trip will end between 10:00pm & 11:00 pm, so please have an early dinner/supper or make meal plans accordingly. Hopefully the sky will be clear and the last mile will be another special treat as we paddle by moonlight.

Note: Wine & Cheese are provided, however you are invited to bring anything you wish to share with the group.

Chairs of all types are not suitable for use on the rock where we hold the event. Blankets, pads or towels are suggested to sit on. Everyone also needs to wear shoes that will get wet. Water shoes, or old tennis shoes are best, but no flip-flops.

A Port-O-Let is provided at the put-in and take-out locations.

Participants must provide their own kayak; paddle; and PFD. PFD’s are required by Georgia DNR law. For convenience, the organizer has 2 kayaks with paddles and PFD’s available for rent ($35.00 each including delivery & pick up) on a first come, first serve basis.

Sorry but canoes; white water boats; inflatables; sit-on-tops; and pets are NOT permitted. This is a river trip for plastic (polyethylene) recreational kayaks.

You might want to arrive early and look around The Outside World outfitter store but please don’t be late! Punctuality is a must. We will leave Outside World at 4:00pm with or without you.

Another successful and fun trip where all of the money goes for the food, wine and parking and I get to go for FREE.

See you on the river or at the party,

Richard Grove.

E-mail: Richard

404-545-6633

It began several months ago with a phone call from Todd Hobbs, Scoutmaster of Troop 735 in Dallas, Georgia, who was looking for a 3 or 4 day kayak trip down the Etowah River for a small group of Boy Scouts plus several adults.Several months later the plan was to meet at 10:30am Thursday, July 8, 2010, at The Outside World on GA400 . From there it was a 3 mile drive to the Hwy 53 Bridge where the group would start their downriver journey. During their 4 day, 3 nights event, they would paddle 65 miles through Dawson, Forsyth and Cherokee Counties to the Knox Road Bridge Park at the backwaters of Lake Allatoona, for their take-out location on Sunday.

Never knowing how a trip will go, this one couldn’t have gone much better.

• Starting Put-in GPS: N34-22-910, W084-03-812
• Starting time: 11:35am Thursday, July 8, 2010

Starting at Hwy 53 it is always amusing to watch everyone packing their gear into the kayaks for the first time, but they did it like pros. Then they dragged the kayaks down the bank to the river and climbed in. The river was a little murky from the rains and up a couple inches from the normal flow, which would help us out. What you need to know is that natural, small rivers like the Etowah, are full of rocks of all sizes, tree stumps and trees. Trees totally blocking the channel had been mysteriously removed by a good Samaritan, but the other things would be interesting obstacles for them to paddle over, around, or under. A few times, they would cause an unscheduled swim and a laugh from the others or just plain fun. Paddling (kayaking) is a water sport, so getting wet is just one of the things that happens and there were several unscheduled swims. Who was first, who was last and who swam the most will remain a Boy Scout secret.

Let me know if you have any issues.

This is a stub post (empty post ready for the true content to be added soon).

I’ll add the link to the second communal album if the first fills up…

Back in September 2009, there was some flooding in Georgia that set new records for ‘High Water Marks’ all over the various river basins.

Richard and Doc went out after the storms and took these photo’s of the Etowah River/Amicalola Creek areas in Dawson County, GA. This is the area of the Etowah-X Fall 2009 trip the following week…

No doubt, once the flood levels subsided, there would be some flood debris cleanup required…

There is a lot more information in this particular file than the other maps. I have begun experimenting with embedding photographs; multiple path and mile marker layers etc. The best thing to do would be to download the file and manipulate the layers you want to see in Google Earth.

Once I’ve finished all the maps, I will publish them, as usual, to the Google Earth community via our EveryTrail account. You will also be able to download the gpx file for use with your GPS device. If you want an actual track log, email me for a copy. We want this information available to world for free.

The KMZ File (right click to save!)