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mfdanko99 01-04-2021 08:57 PM

Paddllers Year end Review
 
I would love to continue a club tradition started by John Paul.
Paddlers Year End Review

Club High's
1-Lake Author
First paddle of the year and it was great. We had 45 paddlers and it was so nice to see everyone. I didn't realize how much I love our club until that paddle. We have so many great members.

2-Buckaloons
This is always a great weekend on the banks of the Allegheny River. I had to wait until Saturday afternoon to arrive but once I did it was a blast. Thanks again to Stan for letting me crash on his site. It was fun putting heaters in the cap of the truck bed and sleeping in the bed of the truck. It was a very chilly evening but made the morning fire even better with great friends and food. I also had a great bow paddler in Addisen Noel as we had a blast at the rapid in Warren PA.

3-Moonlight Paddle
This is just a great event! Paddling at night, putting lights on your boat, great company; what else do I need to say!!

4-New sections of rivers and reservoirs
We got to do a new section of french creek up by Cambridge Springs PA
At Deer Creek Reservoir we made it a lot farther up deer creek than we ever have in the past. Plus paddling through tunnels is a blast!!

5-Shenango River Color paddle.
The section from westmiddle sex to pulaski is always a great paddle. It was so great to do another river paddle with a regular shuttle and normal set up. So many great friends on this paddle. What sticks out for me was JP, Bob Danko and myself going through the rapid just past the take out and my dad falling as we portaged the boats up the rapid.

Club Low's
1-Cancelling so many great river trips
Grand River, Beaver Creek, Foxburg, Chili Chilly Paddle just to name a few
2-Cancelling so many events.

Personal Paddling Highs
With Covid going on and so many club paddles were cancelled it gave Jessica and myself chances to do more whitewater and other rivers we have wanted to do.
1-ASHTABULA RIVER WHITEWATER SECTION (November)
This is an all time high for me. Getting to solo canoe my favorite whitewater river is a goal I have been working towards. I have made many runs in my kayak in this section but finally able to do it solo canoeing is an ultimate thrill for me. This was my Mount Everest of solo canoeing and I owe alot to John Paul Tolson & Ron Elles for helping to be able to paddle this section of whitewater. THANK YOU JP & RON

2-Connoquenessing Creek Whitewater

Jessica and myself made several trips down the connie whitewater section. Each time I solo canoed it as it helped me prepare for my eventual run down Ashtabula river. Doing Rooster rapid in the canoe is completely different then in a whitewater kayak. Thank god for my airbags

3-Beaver Creek

Jessica and myself made the trip from Sprucevale to Ohioville. This creek is one of my favorites

4-Chagrin River
Just like Ashtabula river it is so hard to hit with enough water. We had several trips to finally do the whole river from Quarry Rock Picnic Area to the lake. It only took us 6 years to make the 27 mile long section.

5-Cuyahoga River Whitewater Kent Section

I was able to make a couple of passes through downtown Kent section after work. Made two good passes in my whitewater Kayak and 1 really fun pass solo canoeing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sa9GQQWXzNI

Low's
Not enough paddling!!
Between canceling club paddles and with Jess and I buying a house we didn't paddle as much as we usually do.
My 2020 paddling review
Mike

Hope to hear from others on there paddlers year end review

JPTolson 01-07-2021 06:00 PM

My paddling high and low points are pretty thin this year. Between COVID and caring for my mother, I only made it out in the boat three times. Nevertheless, here goes:

High Points

1. Shenango River Fall Colors Run. When the paddling trips are few and far between, the ones we do make seem much sweeter and more appreciated. That was the case on the Shenango in October. It was near-perfect weather and water amid the soft glow of autumn leaves. And it felt SO good to be on the river after a year of barely paddling.

2. Lake Milton/Mahoning River Moonlight Run. This trip is always a blast. The weather was near perfect and the moon was gorgeous that evening. It was nice to paddle across the lake to talk to Sue Ramdin, host and leader of the trip for the previous six years, at her dock before heading up-lake toward Berlin Dam.

3. Deer Creek Reservoir. This was my first time on this reservoir, but it was not during the club trip which took place five days earlier in September. Once again, the weather was nearly perfect on a gorgeous late summer day with low humidity, light winds and beautiful puffy clouds. I took a friend whose only previous time in a canoe had not been good, so we went in hopes of a better experience for him. Due to my friend's inexplicable leg discomfort in the bow, we didn't make it as far as the tunnels, but still had a great time being out on such a pretty lake.


Low Point

Updating the calendar and schedule on the club website throughout the year for all the trip cancellations and changes due to COVID.

Hope a few others will chime in on their paddling year.

Ambridger 01-08-2021 09:43 PM

Wow! What a year!

I don’t think any of us got out quite as much as we would have liked, however we were able to cross a few trips off of the “to do” list.

In March, I finally got to paddle Raccoon Creek, right here in Beaver County (PA), only about 15 minutes from our house. Raccoon can be a little technical, and in fact, just a few weeks before we were on it, a man had to be rescued from the creek by local fire and water rescue teams. Bruce and Diane have been on Raccoon a bunch, and if you want an introduction to Raccoon, they are the ones you want to go with. When the opportunity presented itself, I knew I had to go. Raccoon was a great paddle, with plenty of wonderful scenery. It’s hard to imagine the natural beauty that lies just a few minutes from shopping malls and industrial plants of the Beaver Valley.

Jodi and I cajoled my brother and his family to join us and the club at Moraine in early June. This too was a location not far from us, that we had never paddled. By this point in the year, the COVID quarantine had gotten folks a little stir crazy. The parking lot at the McDanels launch was overflowing with folks trying to get out to enjoy a great spring day. I took my nephew out in the tandem kayak, and he loved riding the wakes of passing motor boats.

The club picnic was to be in July, and I had scouted out a new location at Woodcock Lake Park (PA). It seemed too good to be true. There are picnic shelters, restrooms, running water, plentiful parking, and an adjacent campground. Much of the amenities were locked down due to COVID, but things were still doable, that was until thunder storms were predicted for the day of the picnic. I made the difficult decision to cancel the picnic, in light of the predicted weather.

In mid-August, rather than rain, we had been having a drought. Jodi and I wanted to do the Clarion trip, however the Cook Forest face book group had been saying the Clarion was the lowest most people could remember. We decided to head to Fisherman’s Cove on the Allegheny on Saturday, and paddle down to Kennerdell. I had been wanting to check-out the Danner Campground for a future trip, and this provided the perfect opportunity. It was a great trip on the Allegheny, and the heat of the day called for a swim, just to keep from over-heating. We stayed overnight in Clarion, and met-up with the club the next day, and we provided the shuttle for those who braved the low water through Cook Forest.

With the help of a few other club members, we were able to salvage the picnic after an up-and-back float out of Thomas Swift Park. The water was nice, the weather was good, and the food was plentiful.

At the float at Thomas Swift, I also learned that Rich and Patty were going to cancel Buckaloons. Well, I had scheduled time off and reserved a spot for Buckaloons months in advance, so Jodi and I took-on the club’s Buckaloons trip. We were glad to have a handful of folks join us … especially Stan. On Saturday, we paddled Conewango Creek. As luck would have it, my boat got stuck on a piece of rebar sticking out of a small low head damn. The boat spun around on the rebar, and was tilting at about 45 degrees. I was holding the boat upright with a paddle off the bottom of the creek, and couldn’t reach my radio and hold the boat at the same time. I had to whistle for help, and Stan came to the rescue. He was able to steady the boat while I climbed out. It took some doing to get the boat off the rebar, and we both thought there would be a hole, but all was good – no hole. By the time we paddled back to camp, Jodi had a great meal waiting for us. On Sunday, a few brave souls headed up to Kinzua Dam to paddle back to Warren. This meant paddling through the rapids at United Refinery. We all made it through, and a few went back around to take a second shot at it. Thanks to everybody that came to Buckaloons, to help make our fall vacation a great one, especially considering the night time temperatures were below freezing.

For our final paddle of the year, Jodi and I decided to head to Emlenton. I had thought about doing the “Foxburg Run” in the fall for some time. On a sunny October day, we hit the Allegheny in the canoe to take-in the wonderful fall foliage. We COVID dined in Foxburg, and got some great pictures, especially at the mouth of the Clarion.

2020 certainly was a year to forget, but we made some memories along the way. And we’re looking forward to getting back to normal, and seeing everybody on the water in the coming year.

KenM 01-10-2021 09:48 AM

Ken and Cheryl 2020 review
 
The most remarkable 2020 paddling story for Ken and Cheryl was how little we paddled this season. The virus kept us from travelling as freely as we are accustomed too. We stayed a lot closer to home, and to ourselves. We missed getting out with some of our hiking friends and felt especially bad about not being able to paddle much with TCT. The virus will keep us from doing shuttles for the time being.

Still, we got out nine times. Mostly to our familiar nooks in local lakes... Walborn, Deer Creek, Magadore. A trip to the Sugartree Fork end of Salt Fork Lake where we found the beaver dam breached which allowed paddling up the Clear Creek a short distance, and paddled remarkably close to an eagle. One trip to the flooded Upper Cuyahoga to paddle upstream from Eldon Russel about 3 miles and back.

We only got out two times with TCT. At Lake Arthor my boat developed a small crack that leaked faster than I could bail which meant a trip back to the launch for duck tape. The other outing was the tunnel paddle at Deer Creek.

The telling tale was that we logged in only about 38 miles of paddling when our average year has been 150 to 200 miles.

One low point: I like to paddle the upper end of Walborn Res and often go up Deer Creek where it comes into the lake. A tree has fallen straight across the creek about two feet above the water. I would take a saw to it except it is totally covered with thick poison ivy. Groan.

And 2021 ?? Hard to say what the virus/vaccine situation will be like. I am considering a moped or electric bicycle to use as a shuttle vehicle. Also, the big news for Cheryl and I was that, last fall, we bought a used class B camper van. It's a very tall Promaster cargo van. We hope to do some hiking and paddling trips with it. I would prefer not to haul kayaks on a trailer (but might resort to that). I may win the prize for car-topping if I can figure out a way to load two kayaks on an 8' 3" high roof!

Ken and Cheryl 1-10-21

DustinSW1627 01-11-2021 10:06 PM

Noel Family Love of Paddling
 
Well, as I sit here with my 5 daughters reminiscing about the year I am thinking "WOW" that was a way better year than I thought. For starters I got 3 new boats. A 15' wood strip Great Canadian Canoe Company canoe, a 13' solo old town next, and a 15'6" Royalex Bell MorningStar Canoe.

Our first trip out was June 7th to Lake Arthur where we took the Bell and the wooden canoe. My in-laws met us there and took the little girls and my wife to the swim beach. Emeline and I jumped in the bell with Addie, Lena and my niece Deja in the wooden canoe. We are all swimmers so we quickly turned the canoes, abandoned the club and paddled to the swim beach. SORRY

June 21st I got my Fathers Day wish and the whole family did French Creek, Shaw's Landing to Cochranton. This is one of our favorite runs because of an amazing rope swing into the river.

July 11th found us at the Shenango Reservoir with Garrett Newton leading. I had to work that day so knew I would be at least 30 minutes late. Took my 2nd daughter, LenaClaire and the wooden canoe to work all day then raced to the launch. This was the only time I paddled the wooden canoe in 2020 and it was the hardest paddle of the year. Not because of the boat it's great but because we stated 30 minutes late and had to paddle into one heck of a wind. We still caught the group and had a great day.

My wife and I decided that we had not done enough camping to date so July 31st through the 2nd had us trying Pymatuming State Park for the first time. We took all 5 daughters and the canoe trailer. This was a laid back trip hanging out at the campsite, paddling to the swim beach and back to camp. Sunday morning we paddled to a church service with my wife, Amy, myself, and Hope(4) in the Bell. Addisen(13) in the vapor, Lena(11) in the next Emeline(8) & Gracie(7) paddling by themselves for the first time in 8' pelican kayaks.

We though we would miss the Foxburg Run but Aug. 8th joined the Allegheny Canoe club to make the run. We took a retired science teacher/reenactor/blacksmith friend of ours and his wife. He gave the girls a history lesson going down the river as well as naming every plant and tree. As stated we are swimmers so jumping off the bridge was GREAT!

Aug 9th was spent on French Creek with me leading my first trip with the club. I did this section when we lived in Edinboro. It is an easy self shuttle with the road section being 3 miles and the water section about 9 miles. This was the first time I took all 5 of my daughters leaving my wife at home for some alone time. Emeline & Gracie where back in the pelicans for their first trip on moving water with Addie in the vapor, Lena in the next, and 4 year old little Hopie and I in the bell. Nice trip with nice people with an Ice Cream stop on the way home.

I have been spending a week of my life at Cook Forest State Park, staying in Cabin #5 since I was 2 years old. Our trip this year was Aug. 22nd through the 28th. Saturday we invited friends and family to the cabin for BBQ chicken drum sticks and mash potatoes on the fire. Sunday was the club paddle with some lovely Chauffeurs. The water was low but 3 events over shadowed that hardship. One swimming and kayak seal launching off the swimming rock. Two ice cream along the river. Three seeing and swimming at the 1860's sawmill dam. Wow that water is cold.

I spent Sept. 8th, 9th, & 10th with my neighbor paddling the Allegheny from starbrick launch in Warren, PA to Oil City, PA. We camped on Islands paddling his wood canvas canoe for this 57 mile trip. I will be doing this for 5 nights in 2021 with my family.

Sept. 18th, 19th, & 20th was the first time I and my 2 oldest daughters visited Buckaloons. Our chickens donated 108 eggs for this occasion. It was below freezing at night but our Kodiak Canvas tent and big buddy heater was quite nice. The paddling and food was amazing. The girls and I could not miss the opportunity for a last swim of the year even though others looked to be in winter attire. While I was off retrieving my car after the paddle I began receiving text message pictures of Addie and Lena holding ducks. They had bread and the 200 ducks at point park could not resist. Six ducks were held before the shuttle crew returned.

2020 was not that bad looking back at this list. The Noel crew can not wait until the 2021 season. See you on the water.

gar&bear 01-12-2021 06:12 PM

review last years paddles
 
Frist I want to thank everyone Patti and I got to paddle with all ways enjoy your company. Got to paddle racoon creek early spring with the club. Then things went south didn't get to paddle with the culb again till June but still paddled with freinds did Neshannock CK three times. Upper Slippery Rock and lower Slip frist time white water. Got out to a couple night paddles. Patti's girls got out with us on Pymi. I want to Thank Mike Danko and Dustin Noel for their help on French Creek took a bunch of newbies there. All in all not a bad summer but not great. Here's hopeing to see you all on water this year. Side note even when my Patti dumps her boat she gets back in mad at me because I didn't tell her theres a rock here or the waters a little high and fast. Again thank you all for putting up with us.


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