Allegheny River September 20-22
 

Allegheny River September 20-22

We will be camping at Buckaloons Recreation Area in the Allegheny National Forest and paddling on the Allegheny River in September.
The Allegheny National Forest covers nearly half a million acres and is populated primarily with black cherry, maple and other hardwoods. The Kinzua Dam, built in 1965, impounds the Allegheny River to form the 25-mile-long Allegheny Reservoir.
Buckaloons Campground sits at the confluence of the Allegheny River, Brokenstraw Creek and Irvine Run in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Buckaloons is the beginning of the second designated National Wild and Scenic River segment of the Allegheny River. The second segment runs from Buckaloons campground to Alcorn Island just upstream of Oil City, PA, a distance of nearly 50 miles. In this segment are the 6 islands of the Allegheny Islands Wilderness as well as many other publicly and privately owned islands. Water activities are the biggest draw to Buckaloons Recreation Center, including canoeing, kayaking, rafting and boating.
For those camping you have a choice of sites:
With electric $23.00
Or without: $18.00 per day.
There is also a $5.00 charge if you need to leave a car in the parking lot.
Reservation line (Toll-Free)
(877) 444-6777
10 a.m. – 12 a.m. (Eastern Time Zone)
Buckaloons offers:
· 57 family campsites, two double sites, and one group site, each containing a picnic table(s), fire ring, and grassy tent site.
· Several sites have charcoal grates.
· There are hot showers, flush toilets, a pressurized water system, and a dump station.
· There are electrical hookups on 43 sites. A concrete boat launch, a pavilion, and a picnic area are also available.
· Dead and down wood may be used as firewood. Host has firewood and ice for sale


For those who do not want to camp we will meet in the parking lot of Buckaloons at 10 AM Saturday morning and shuttle from there. There are many different trips that we can do from Buckaloons; we can decide that morning depending on the river conditions.

We usually cook and eat breakfast on Sat. and Sun. and supper Fri. and Sat. as a group (you are on your own for lunch).
If you would like to join us you must contact Pinky by Sept. 13 at the latest,
330-509-4262 so she has a head count for food.
Pinky will get all the food and we will share the cost with the people eating with us.

Getting There:
Buckaloons Recreation Area
1500 National Forge Road, Irvine, Pa. GPS Info. (Latitude, Longitude):
41.83972, -79.25639 41°50'23"N, 79°15'23"W

Call 330-509-4262 with any questions

Allegheny
 

I have a site locked in and will see you all there. Just me again this trip.

Stan what site number do you have?
Trying to get that Saturday off

Hey Mike. I'm reserved for site 30.It's at the far end off that loop. I want to try to shift to a closer 'walkin" site when I check in. They are availableavailable but can't be reserved. This way i have a site locked in. I have it listed for 2 vehicles and 3 or more people. It's just me so I can share. Power site. I plan on being there Thursday thru Monday. Be nice to see you at this one.

Wow
 

the president , Mike is coming !

Your killing me smalls 😁

Buckaloons weekend
 

I will be there early Saturday morning to paddle and then set up camp to stay over to paddle again Sunday. Not sure if my departure will be late Sunday or early Monday morning, (it may be a "weather depending" kinda thing)!
I will bring a check for my DUES and will pay for my share for food - THANKS PINKY!!

Able to make it
 

Planning to be there this weekend. Looking forward to it!

That is awesome that you can make it JP
😁😁😁😁
See ya Saturday afternoon

Good food!
 

Looks like some really happy campers.

Big thanks to the Allens; paddlers gone astray!
 

Huge thanks to Rich and Patty Allen for leading a wonderful car camping and paddling trip on the Allegheny River last weekend. The weather, water, and scenery were terrific; the food was bountiful and delicious; and the paddling and campfire companionship, complete with a lively discussion of the cross bow draw, was great. It had to be a big effort for Rich, Patty and Dee Dee, who helped Patty with meals, to organize and pull off such a successful three-day car camping and paddling excursion. Everyone appreciated their outstanding efforts.

There were river trips on all three days at varying locations, each with a slightly different set of paddlers. The water level at the US Geological Survey gage in Franklin, PA, fell gradually over the weekend from around 3.9 feet on Friday to 3.6 on Sunday.

One trip that may live on in the annals of Trumbull Canoe Trails was the Saturday run. Nine paddlers in five kayaks and two canoes put in at Betts Park in Warren, PA, to run to Buckaloons, a distance of between five and six miles. After that we would see who wanted to paddle another 12 to 13 miles to Bonnie Brae access, a couple miles above Tidioute, PA.

At one point on the lower third of the trip to Buckaloons, Mary and JP, who were in the back of the pack, took a different channel between islands than the rest of the group. They chatted while enjoying the beautiful day and scenery but apparently were oblivious to things like bridges, boat ramps, and take outs! They began to wonder what happened to the other seven paddlers. Soon Mary's cell phone rang. It was Sue saying that the others saw Mary and JP ‘flying by’ the ramp at Buckaloons and that they had MISSED THE TAKE OUT! By this time the wayward paddlers were a mile or so below Buckaloons and fully committed to the run to Bonnie Brae whether they wanted to be or not! (Both later said they would have paddled to Bonnie Brae regardless.)

Not long after, Rich and Stan, in Rich's canoe, showed up to accompany the paddlers-gone-astray the rest of the way for a one-day paddle of close to 20 miles. Needless to say, this was grist for a big dose of good-natured guffaws, ribbing, jokes, and wisecracks when the aimless paddlers returned to camp later that afternoon and for the rest of the weekend and probably for every Buckaloons camper from now on!

Nevertheless, it was a great weekend and a great time on the river!

Wow!
 

So Rich and Stan had to go after these paddlers to make SURE they stopped at the next takeout?

That's what makes TCT such a great club! Someone is always watching out for the less skilled or inattentive members.

No, we had to wait for the slower paddlers to catch up!:3:

Not sure how that went JP about the slower Paddlers. I caught the tail end of it and it was funny.
I got there Saturday afternoon and enjoyed a great rest of the weekend. The food and camp fires were so much fun. We had a great discussion on a Canoe Stroke I keep missing and getting into trouble with. It was so great to have Ron, JP, Rich & Stan go over the stroke with at the fire and even got a canoe paddle to help demonstrate to me.
Sunday was a great 7.39 mile paddle with another great evening afterwards.

It's amazing to see everyone come together and enjoy each company. Great group of paddlers and better friends.
Mike