Fall Ozark Rendezvous???

Going Paddling
#21

@wildernesswebb said:

@pblanc said:
Terry, best of luck with your upcoming surgery. If you and Margaret are able to attend and plan to do so, please let me know as October draws near as it may very well determine what I decide to do.

Thanks, and I certainly will keep you informed, Pete! As for cabins/rooms, Echo Bluff State Park is only minutes away. We both enjoy Mary’s company very much and I know how important a co-pilot and dog wrangler is on long trips (LOL)!
https://echobluffstatepark.com/accommodations/

We are thinking of you both Terry and your wife in this difficult time… Hey Echo Bluff has beautiful accommodations!

#22

Greetings all - just got my computer back and working.

Perhaps if a bunch of us are going to stay at Echo Bluff we might promote a bit more camaraderie by gathering at Round Spring as we did in the very first gatherings? It would mean longer shuttles on many days but if we don’t do as many ~18 milers (always a multiple of 9 bob miles) as we used to - and many of us haven’t been doing that for quite a while now - we’d have time to shuttle and perhaps spend more time together around the fire. And it would give us a jump on the shuttle if we wanted to do the longer Round Spring/Two Rivers stretch, which we’ve neglected in recent years. Just a thought…
Best wishes for those facing operations. Lets hope we’ll all be in shape to paddle even if we need to forgo the long drives until spring. Here’s wishing a speedy recovery to all - and don’t be like me and gain weight while recovering.

#23

O PJC how you tempt me to hold down that canoe in the lobby at Echo Bluff… I can do that… I can even bring a walker to assist in getting in and out.

#24

I have been away for a few days. I am happy to see that some more have responded to this thread.

Thank you, Kim. You don’t know how envious I have been of you being able to paddle all around the North American continent. Between career and family, I was tied down far too much to be able to contemplate any remote trips, or trips of any duration until my joints started to fail.

Terry, I have looked into Echo Bluff and it is not an option for us. Dogs are not allowed in the lodge or even on the lodge decks. There are only three cabins that are available for dogs. They are all multi-bedroom units and they are already unavailable for the third weekend in October. Dogs are not allowed on bedding and there is no way to keep my animals from jumping up on beds or furniture, and damage deposits are quite steep if any evidence was found that they had. Mary would not even be able to eat in the Lodge building unless someone else had the dogs outside. Of course there is the campground, but it is really fairly ugly and rather crowded, and would offer no advantages whatsoever over Round Spring or Pulltite. So unless we had a camper with a kitchenette, Echo Bluff is not a consideration.

Bill, assuming the Ozark Rendezvous is the week of October 14 through the weekend, and I can’t foresee any reason that there would be a consensus to change the date, do you think you would be able to stay through at least part of that week and weekend? If so, I could probably arrange to come early that week, so long as I am confident that there would be at least one other person there to paddle and shuttle with. Between the weather and issues with my wife’s car, we didn’t wind up spending much time together this spring, although the paddle on Sugar Creek was nice.

Pat, I am happy to paddle Round Spring to Two Rivers any time, but I am not sure that many others are, so I don’t see any great advantage for Round Spring over Pulltite. But if other people were interested in staying at Echo Bluff, or wanted to switch to Round Spring for some other reason, I would be more than happy to do so. But my guess is that a lot more people would prefer paddling Cedargrove to Akers and Akers to Pulltite than would the stretch below Round Spring.

Pam, Tom, and Laurel, If you and Rob all make it, and Pat makes it and I come, it sounds as if we would have sufficient critical mass to have a decent group even if others are unable or do not come. And it sounds like Bill might be a possibility. I exchanged a couple of emails with Dick H. and it is my impression that he hopes to attend. I am not sure about Dick W. at this point.

#25

Pete, so glad to see this discussion progressing.

Yes, and the mirror too - and it is still on the truck(!).

I finally got an appointment (yesterday, for Aug 20) with an eye specialist about membrane/cataract surgery, hopefully early enough this winter that I can make next spring’s Rendezvous. There is just one outfit in Alaska that does both procedures, at the same time, so I won’t have to go to Portland or Seattle for a separate procedure, and the after care will be right here in Homer.

Terry, you can call anytime - i DO return missed calls.

Brad

#26

@pblanc said:

Bill, assuming the Ozark Rendezvous is the week of October 14 through the weekend, and I can’t foresee any reason that there would be a consensus to change the date, do you think you would be able to stay through at least part of that week and weekend? If so, I could probably arrange to come early that week, so long as I am confident that there would be at least one other person there to paddle and shuttle with. Between the weather and issues with my wife’s car, we didn’t wind up spending much time together this spring, although the paddle on Sugar Creek was nice.

For rough planning purposes I’ll target trying to get to the Missouri Ozarks somewhere between Oct 14 to Oct 16 (Mon-Wed). Once there staying 4-7 days is certainly possible if there is some paddling to be available. I’ll likely have a composite boat so would prefer water that doesn’t have me bouncing off boulders, the Current comes to mind.

Once you find lodging that meets your needs we could better discuss how we could get on the water together. Neither pets nor a partner complicate where I make my bed so just about anything would work for me. I would NOT camp at Echo Bluff That is an RV Park with no vegetative screeening on the sites.

Thanks for Sugar Creek, that was nice!

#27

Looking forward to paddling with the group. Water levels have been good so far this summer.

#28

Bill, Assuming I attend, and I am more optimistic about that knowing that at least 5 others plan on coming at this point, it will just be me and I will stay at the campground. Presumably, that will be Pulltite, unless for some reason the group elects to stay at Round Spring instead.

In prior years I have brought my dogs even when my wife did not attend, but my dogs are getting up in years now. I am concerned about them getting wet and cold should it rain during a trip and it is just to difficult to look after them by myself while trying to cook, load boats and gear, run shuttle, etc. So unless Mary changes her mind, it will just be me. Echo Bluff is definitely not an option for reasons I mentioned. There is lodging in Eminence but I think that is just a bit too far away.

I have frequently paddled composite canoes on the Current and Jacks Fork. There are a couple of riffles where at lower water levels it is possible to hit a rock, but I have never significantly damaged a composite boat doing so. You can also ground out at lower water levels, but that is usually easily remedied by just getting out of the boat and walking it a few yards. I did but a crack in the Twintex hull that I got from Terry Webb, but that was from trying to run over a “speed bump” log that was sticking up farther out of the water than I thought it was, and was a matter of poor route selection.

#29

This discussion is both encouraging and a bit disheartening. I usually ask myself if going paddling is worth it because of the effort it takes for me to get there. It always is but my beat up body often objects.
It’s sad when groups start to fracture, but there is always someone new who wants to learn and meet new people .

#30

I’m not a fan of Round Spring Campground and still prefer Pulltite, my plan is still to arrive at Pulltite on Wednesday, October 16 until Sunday, October 20. Took some friends to the Current this weekend and we stayed at Pulltite and did Pulltite to Round Spring with 500 of our closest friends. LOL Outfitter said it was the busiest weekend this summer. Should slow down after August 15th as most schools in STL start around that time.

#31

I enjoyed my one day on the river last year, and plan to come again this year and spend more time, arriving on the 16th unless something changes.

#32

Like some others I don’t check these message boards as often since Pnet became Pcom. Back in the Pnet days I would check the boards almost every day. Since the Pcom changes I sometimes go weeks without checking except as Rendezvous time starts to approach. As a matter of fact I would not have known about this thread had Dick not told me about it last night.

I am still very interested in keeping the Rendezvous going and look forward to it every Spring and Fall. I know I have missed a few recently but that was due to some critical work that needed, and still needs, to be done around here. Some health issues also interfered, none very serious yet but just the usual old fart stuff that still needs to be faced. As Simon and Garfunkel sang in their song Old Friends over 50 years ago: “How terribly strange to be seventy.”

I plan on arriving at the Rendezvous Tuesday, Oct 15th, and heading home on Sunday, Oct. 20th. However we are still trying to schedule contractors to do some more work on the house before winter arrives. Right now I don’t see that as a problem but if it becomes one I will let you know as soon as I know. As for Fall Rendezvous location I still vote for Pulltite, but I’ll go wherever the group’s consensus favors.

Regarding sleeping accommodations I’m still a tenter. Going to a larger tent and a good cot about 12 years ago has made a big difference in putting off the cabin years. While a trailer does sound appealing tent camping with a good cot is fine although I still hate putting up and taking down the tent, especially in wet conditions.

So it goes.

#33

Hope you are able to make it, Vic. In an email Dick H. told me he hopes to come.

#34

Leaving Moab, UT Oct 15, . I am planning to swing by to at least spend one evening at Pulltite with group, will take 2.5 days to get to Pulltite. Will not be able to paddle because I will have my Minnesota II with me. My plans are to continue to attend the Spring and Fall Rendezvous.

#35

@scoutpaddle said:
Leaving Moab, UT Oct 15, . I am planning to swing by to at least spend one evening at Pulltite with group, will take 2.5 days to get to Pulltite. Will not be able to paddle because I will have my Minnesota II with me. My plans are to continue to attend the Spring and Fall Rendezvous.

#36

Scoutpaddle - By chance are you going to be in the Grand Gulch the week of Oct 6-12? I’ll be there with a group backpacking and playing tourist.

#37

I am planning on showing up near the end of the week with a couple of friends. Ken and a newbie (Todd) and yes I’ll actually float this year Tom. I might even bring a couple of Dutch Ovens to feed the masses.

#38

I’ll be on the Current River for our Boys of Fall downriver canoe trip the previous week, Sat., Oct. 5 through Sat., Oct 12. I’ll then take a motel room in Salem Sat. night for R&R, a shower, and laundry.

I Expect to be at Pulltite some time Sunday or Monday afternoon, Oct 13 or 14.

#39

I will make every effort to be there. Even if not paddling.

#40

Even tho I haven’t been to a paddle in a long time, I hope to get to the next Spring Rendezvous, please don’t stop. My niece getting married the weekend of Fall trip, otherwise I would have joined.