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Old 01-08-2021, 09:43 PM   #3
Ambridger
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Join Date: May 2014
Location: Ambridge, PA
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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.
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Last edited by Ambridger; 01-09-2021 at 07:43 AM.
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