The Columbus Paddling Trail
I had the pre-trip jitters for this day tour! This was the most advanced water I had put my kids on since the South Llano River. The previous trips on Lake Charlotte and the lower San Bernard River had been "A" type flat waters. Portions of Spring and Cypress creek of the Trifecta run were type "B" or even for a few hundred yards type "C", but these were nontechnical waters.
By nontechnical, I mean there were no features to navigate or maneuver. These things only challenged our stamina and strength when paddling upstream, not our ability to read the water and steer our canoe through.
I knew much of the Columbus Paddling Trail would be a solid type B and that there might be moments where it was a type C. There is a rocky stretch next to Waldo's Camp I call the Waldo Rock Garden. That spot has caused me some consternation in the past. I was also concerned about the man made obstacles under the rail road bridge near the takeout.
Unlike the other trips, this one was an A to B run. I always have a strong sense of commitment once the launch is out of sight on an A to B trip. There is a certain, let's call it inspiration, in being beyond the point of no return. It's not the same as burning a bridge or the ships, but it's a similar feeling.
Long story short, my daughter Rose did great and it was a fantastic trip!
We got an early start, launching from Howell's Waterfront. The Colorado River looked like a pane of antique window glass. The river was staged at 9.2 feet. I had not canoed the river this low. Knowing the river would be bony we took the tough Mad River Journey 167. Due to the low river there were some extra riffles to maneuver.
On river, approaching the more complex features, I would set us up about a hundred yards upstream. I'd tell Rose which side of the canoe to paddle on and where in that feature I wanted her to apply her draw stroke. Rose followed my instructions to a T and we navigated the rifles and class 1 rapids like the team we were.
After the first mile I didn't get any pictures until the trip was nearly over. In the moment I was aware of that, I knew it was more important to be in the now with my daughter. Rose enjoyed seeing the cattle cool themselves in the river as much as the deer we saw. I liked that.
We navigated the feature I call The Waldo Rock Garden. Experience led me to run this obstacle to the right and then move to center right about half way through it. Somewhere beyond this event we discovered a barely submerged ridge that spanned the river. I didn't recognize it until we were past the point of no return. We made a creative and successful effort, but I'd like to study this low river detail the next time on this piece on the Colorado. It didn't exist when the river was staged at 9.5 stage feet.
A little above Cummings Creek I spotted a bald eagle in a tall cottonwood. This was Rose's first time to see an eagle. Holding to a waterlogged stump with my hand I steadied the canoe while she trained the binoculars on the bird.
Below Cummings Creek there were no more riffles in the river.
At 11:00 we stopped on a gravel bar for a break. It was on the right, the next one down from Cummings Creek. Across the river was a tall bluff crowned with majestic pecan trees.
As we landed the canoe on the gravel bar I recognized this was more than a father-daughter trip. We had formed into a team.
We set up a tarp for a sun shelter on this gravel bar.
For this trip I was especially pleased with the adventure picnic. On the earlier Trifecta Tour, though Leif and I had packed the tarp, stove and food, the picnic had been omitted. Between trips we practiced setting the tarp up in the back yard paid. That paid off with a special river experience on the Columbus Paddle Trail. Beneath our manufactured shade we celebratory with a seltzer and a hearty meal.
I was pleased by how comfortable the tarp, some small chairs and refreshments made us.
On this trip, I didn't snack. On the longer Texas Trifecta Tour, I didn't eat lunch. My unintentional self experiment results surprised me. Though I don't advocate skipping lunch, I found that I did better by snacking on peanut butter without lunch, than I did on a shorter, less strenuous trip with a hearty lunch and no snacks. On this Columbus Paddling Trail trip I am confident my lunch was helpful, but it didn't prevent my mild caloric dip. Once it started I could not reverse my condition. I pushed through it. Back in the van, halfway home, I pulled out. Next time I am eating peanut butter every hour or so and, I'm eating a lunch!
The extended break, the shade and the meal were nice, but after a while it was time to go. For this trip there was no drive to either linger or hurry along. It was just time to do the next thing. We went with the moment. Rose pulled more than her share in breaking our adventure picnic gear and repacking the canoe.
Leaving the gravel bar, the stream was shallow except on the fast/bluff side across the river. Instead of paddling upstream to position ourselves in that narrow channel against the bluff, we lined the canoe on the short side. It was only about 100 yards. I found it easier to control the canoe going downstream that it had been going upstream on the earlier Texas Trifecta Tour. This trip, we encountered no quicksand...which was nice.
As I lined the canoe Rose exclaimed "I think its alive!" I turned from my task. She had picked up a shell from the underwater gravel and found it, a live mussel. Casually, I glanced over and confirmed it was indeed a living creature. She immediately put it back in the water. Seizing the moment, I encouraged her that it was safe to study it a little while. She gently retrieved her find and I took some pictures. I think she enjoyed that mussel as much as I did the bald eagle.
We relaunched without issue. Soon we lined a barely submerged sandbar and further down there was a small, rough island. This time I went to the left bank, way upstream of the island. We were able to avoid the shallows of the submerged portions of that island. That was nice! I almost always have a contentious moment with that ugly spot. Through it all Rose maintained the short and rapid paddle strokes as I had taught her; once the paddle blade passes your hip, the effort you exert returns a small and diminishing yield.
There was one spot left on this run that yet bothered me, the 100 year old bridge wreckage left underneath the current railroad bridge. By now my confidence in our team had grown. I also recognized that though the low river level created additional obstacles, its meager flow negated many of my concerns. In the end, we navigated the bridge cadaver like the natural impediments, with excellence and serenity.
We landed at Beason's Park without issue. Staging the gear on the bank is when I wished I had eaten better. Upon retrieving the van, I discovered we had a flat tire. At first I was put off, but I was glad I hadn't known about it before launching at Howell's. I was also grateful for a good spot to work. Doing this on I-10 would have been interesting...or something.
I only mention the flat because it sets the stage for my next statement. After changing the tire and driving down to the cul-de-sac, I went to the bank to retrieve the canoe. Before I could place the canoe atop the van, Rose loaded all the gear into the van. This was done without my asking or instructions. I know it seems trite, but it means a lot to me that my children can see a task and take care of it without immediate guidance.
So now that we are at the end of this serries of four articles, what's my takeaway?
Some of these trips had been on my to do list for a while. Some were new to me, some were not. Exploring the new waters with my children was nice and canoeing the familiar places with them was refreshing.
In closing, I face my own question of, "Why do I canoe?"
My answer is not short, maybe worth another article. For now I end with this...
I am the river guide to my children. These are not far north wilderness trips, neither are they theme parks or shopping mall environments. These day tours have goals and established put ins and take outs. However they often involve getting up early, being a little warm or cold, experiencing a bit of hunger and exhaustion. There are lessons to learn that are meaningful in other arenas of life. Things like knowing the differences between choices and decisions, being able to make an educated guesses of which side of an island to run while comprehending there may be no "best way to navigate this feature." These things, and others, like getting through to the other side are processes I am proud to be involved with my children. I am part of this development of my children. In these moments I am with them, but I am not controlling them, the moment or outcome. I'm not following a lesson plan and "guiding" them to static and foregone conclusions. Being with them through these experiences is my privilege and joy in being their father. Much of what we experience and accomplish is open ended. It is for us to make them what they are, to seize the day.
That's where I land as a father.
On a personal level, in these tours I accidentally found arcs of cohesion and continuity. I hadn't foreseen that these short duration experiences would bead together in such beautiful riviere. As these excursions progressed I found it easier and easier to sluff off the schedules and routines of my daily life. In the past, I marked the time and kept a schedule. I railroaded right through the natural rhythms. Sometimes my canoeing trips were self imposed challenges and dares I had accepted and taken. I was partially correct in figuring that the overnight canoeing/camping trips were the start to a higher existence; that I would segue by and by, and return to the 100 mile, week long trips of my youth. I found myself borrowing and modifying a notion from a Cliff Jacobson article I can no longer find. These canoeing day trips with my children confirmed his notion/my interpretation, that small and medium sized experiences taken consistently and frequently are important and meaningful. The notion Mr. Jacobson shared is that consistent actions and lifestyles lived in sustainable patterns can have a deeper impact than the extravagant and extreme once in a lifetime bucket list adventure. I'll not idle my days away waiting for something someday that may never get here.
There is something of a chip on my shoulder pertaining to self imposed challenges and dares. And I guess those limitations work themselves into making the best of my situation. I still have trips I dream of attempting in distant places, but in the meantime... life is good! You just have to seize that day!
Thanks for reading!
MSM
For further reading click on the links below.
Spring Creek Access & Water Details
I used up the best pictures in the article above, but below are some bonus pictures of the Columbus Paddling Trail.
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