Sunshine on Cedar Creek
Stephens Fort (Rt. 628) to Route 11
March 18, 2007

Paddlers in OC1:  Mike Martin, Alan Dickerson, John Paul Tolsen, Bob Whiting, Jeff Cessna, Chip.  OC2, Sam Bishop & Walter Featherly   

Water Level:  3.3 on the Cedar Creek, Middleton gauge, 1' on the RC gauge, downstream side of Rt 11 bridge.  This is ample water for this run.

The forecast was for mostly sunny with a high of 47.  I was unable to untie the flag I dangle from the canoe where the stern hangs over the end of my truck.  The flag was encased in a glob of ice.  When we stopped for lunch, it was still a glob of ice.  So if the air temperature climbed above freezing, it wasn't much above freeing.

We had a foot of water and the current was quick.  A foot is plenty of water, and most of us got through the day only scraping a bare minimum of plastic off our boat bottoms.

Icicles hanging from the ceiling of a cave punctuate the weather commentary. It was a lovely, but chilly, day.

Jeff readies a draw after running the low water bridge.  A hard left is mandatory to avoid strainers

Sam and Walt (bow).  Walt was a newbie, visiting from Alaska.  He paddled well under Sam's instruction.  I wonder if he thought it was a cold day.

Alan Dickerson paddled the trip without mishap after some shennanigans while warming up.

The trunk of a large cedar caught my eye, protruding almost upside down from a perch on the limestone.

Much of Cedar Creek is lined with steep rock walls.

Mike Martin and Bob Whiting cruise along some of the rock walls typical on this stretch of Cedar Creek.
Jeff must have been hanging towards the rear of the group.  I notice the paddler who shows up in the most images is usually somebody near the back of the group



The low water bridge was runnable in several spots.  Most took the rightmost channel.

Paddling through the limestone cave was a mandatory tourist attraction.  Jeff made it a round trip, here returning upstream.

That's John, smiling back under his arm.

This image of Bob Whiting is a little blurred, but Bob's trip leadership was crisp.  Thanks Bob!



Mar 20, 2007
Words and pics by Chip Walsh