Another day on the water

We really wanted to spend our last day of vacation on the water.  And we did – as well as in the water, around the water, and through the water.

Res2100 had recently put out a series of geocaches along the Eramosa River, so when our friends Jay (JayJayCache) and Darryl (BugFinders) asked if we had any plans for Sunday, we suggested tackling the water (or lack of water) trail!

Geocache descriptions and previous logs told us that it would not be an easy paddle – at least not for ½ of it.  We knew that the river was pretty much dried up in the 2^nd section, so our plan was to paddle the 1^st ½ and then go from there.

It was a tricky portage to get the canoe and kayaks into the water at put-in, but once we were in the scenery was absolutely breathtaking!  We paddled along beside Camp Everton, where I had camped when I was much younger although I’d forgotten how beautiful that area is. It was just us and the birds, as well as a beaver that swam along beside us at one point.  Paddling until we reached a beaver dam and the river dried up, we decided to get out of our boats and see how far we could go by walking the river.  We realized quickly that we had a shot at FTF (being the first people to find the geocache and sign the log book) on at least a few of them, so we walked along (walked/swam/stumbled/got stuck in thick mud) and found another 5 until we were met by a group coming from the other direction.  It was a unanimous decision to turn around and walk back to our canoe and kayaks that we had stowed on top of the beaver dam, have a snack and a beer, paddle back, and then tackle the rest of the geocaches from the other end.

We had one small problem, though.  Sparky500 has been using an old pair of Gazelle’s as water shoes, and they decided that 12 years of abuse was more than enough.  And since he had no choice but to keep walking in them, they literally fell apart.  With a couple of kilometers left to go, Sparky500 was walking a little bit slower than a snail’s pace as he navigated his way over the rocks, trying not to cut or bruise himself.  

Once we finally got back to the car, I was able to find a single water shoe and some duct tape to bind his other shoe back together.  It’s times like these that my hordiness comes in handy!  While Sarah (li’lspark) and Jay (JayJayCache) splashed in the water and swam through the potholes, slid over the waterfalls, and jumped from the cliffs, we loaded the canoe and kayaks on to the cars and planned out the rest of the day.  Frank and Darryl jumped in together, and the rest of us hung back to enjoy the water for a few more minutes.

We were all hungry, cold, tired, and tanned by the time we finished the 2^nd section and decided to finish our day with some ice cream at our favourite spot – Chocolats Favoris!

We even managed to avenge a DNF (a geocache that we had previously been unable to find) in the parking lot. 

It’s hard not to spend beautiful summer days on the water, even if it means your shoes fall apart, or you sink waist-deep in really disgusting mud.  The memories of days with great friends in beautiful surroundings make it all worthwhile. 

Cheers, and Happy Caching!

Frank (Sparky500) and Julie (Sparkel)