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Trip Report - A gaggle...a herd...a flock...
....what is the proper term for a large group of paddlers? Something
alliterative - a pod or pack of paddlers? Or something more boating related - a drift or a brace of paddlers? Maybe a clutter, or an infestation? No, wait; I think "infestation" has already been adopted by Jet-skiers. Whatever the term, we had clutter. Twenty-seven paddlers in twenty-three boats. For a trip that met at 8:00am. And people calling about the trip wondered why I was starting so early; gee, won't that cut down on the number of participants? Uh huh! K1 - Stephen Forian, Markus Uilpert, Eric Simball, Jan Koppelman, Kathy Resch, Ken Berg, Chris Davis, Dave Rogoza, Kara Brown, Lindsey Bramwell, Kathleen Sengstock, Lee Plate, Markus Sheffield, Deletta Scopel, Kathy Brown, Vic Chenowith OC1 - Stuart Foote, Theresa Alexander, Mike McCrea OC2 - Frank Rochowiak, Mary Beth Rochowiak, Zach Rochowiak, Rebecca Rochowiak, Matthew Mahan, Sara Jean Mahan, Larry Zeafla, Laura Zeafla Meeting at the Mt. Carmel Park & Ride the boat-loaded vehicles just kept coming and coming. And, wonder of wonders, pretty much all on time too. We off loaded boats and gear at Masemore Rd for a trip down the Gunpowder and then shuffled half of the vehicles down to the Blue Mount take out, trying to distribute the cars at both put in and take out so that we wouldn't occupy every parking space at either location. Arriving back at Masemore with the drivers we noticed a loaded canoe trailer, and lo and behold one of the guides from this Oregon Ridge Nature Center outing was our young friend Ben Porter, who was the recipient of a shop rebuilt Probe 12 just a few years ago. From novice to guide in a few short years. I attribute this to the proficiency of Ben's instructor on his first outing in the Probe 12 - Larry Zeafla. And, speaking of Larry, I once again imposed upon him to take charge of a group of paddlers from our clutch of canoeists, our klatch of kayakers. Twenty-three boats is at least one more that I can count, even if I use my fingers and toes, and I asked Larry to take the first group of 7 or 8 boats down. Ken and Vic took charge of the second bevy and I took the third and last. Once again, having a selection of experienced boaters along willing to be shanghaied into leading on the spur of the moment raises my comfort level dramatically on large group trips. Thanks again guys. A brief safety spiel, a check to make sure I had everyone's name written down, a few photocopies of the river map distributed and we were off. Leaving five minutes or so spacing between each group we made plans to stop and meet at predetermined locations en route downstream. My group included two tandem canoe pairs on their first moving water trip and, while their skills improved as the day progressed, the first few miles were, um, interesting. A couple of innocuous pins in narrow spots required me to wade upstream, seize the stern of the canoe and physically aim it at the opening before sending it through. The remainder of the day's float was quite pleasant, our planned stop-and-regoup spots worked perfectly. My novice open boaters ran the final stretches with aplomb, including the quarry rapid (where I was heartened to see Larry and Laura parked as safety in a mini-eddy half way down). Even the take out and back shuttle want smoothly. Not bad, not bad at all for such a large parcel of paddlers. Or is that a rabble? Or a rout? |
#2
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Trip Report - A gaggle...a herd...a flock...
On 28 Aug 2003 13:41:13 -0700, Mike McCrea wrote:
...what is the proper term for a large group of paddlers? Something alliterative - a pod or pack of paddlers? Or something more boating related - a drift or a brace of paddlers? Maybe a clutter, or an infestation? No, wait; I think "infestation" has already been adopted by Jet-skiers. We had the same discussion a few years ago. It was settled by a fisherperson on a pier as a group paddled out into Lake Huron into some bumpy stuff. The response? "There goes a 'whole bunch of dumb' kayakers. So - around here, it's 'a bunch of dumb' for the collective. |
#3
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Trip Report - A gaggle...a herd...a flock...
I did enjoy the alliterative approach although there is sometimes a notable
lack of wisdom in groups! Ed "TreeMoose" wrote in message news On 28 Aug 2003 13:41:13 -0700, Mike McCrea wrote: ...what is the proper term for a large group of paddlers? Something alliterative - a pod or pack of paddlers? Or something more boating related - a drift or a brace of paddlers? Maybe a clutter, or an infestation? No, wait; I think "infestation" has already been adopted by Jet-skiers. We had the same discussion a few years ago. It was settled by a fisherperson on a pier as a group paddled out into Lake Huron into some bumpy stuff. The response? "There goes a 'whole bunch of dumb' kayakers. So - around here, it's 'a bunch of dumb' for the collective. |
#4
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Trip Report - A gaggle...a herd...a flock...
"Edward Walsh" wrote in message ...
I did enjoy the alliterative approach although there is sometimes a notable lack of wisdom in groups! If anyone ever doubted that all they'd need do is have a look at the incredible furor of a certain group in response to a few visits from a delusional sponson vendor :-) |
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