Saturday, June 26, 2010

First Night on the River (an Au Sable River story)


I just got back from a two night trip on the Au Sable River. Here’s my account of my first night on the banks of the river. A friend and I paddled the river from Grayling to Parmalee Bridge this week. We didn't catch many fish, but had a great time. There’ll be at least another story or two to come as well as plenty of pictures. Hopefully, over the weekend, I can catch up with all your blogs…

I also think it's time to change my profile picture as it's been a few months since ski season! What about this photo of me sitting on the canoe, catching up in my journal?






The photo below shows my bivy tent, a small one person affair that is only about 18 inches tall. In the photo, take on the second evening of the trip, the rain flap over my head is zipped up. Hopefully the photo will give you an idea of what I'm referring to in the story below.
Distant flashes from lightning could be seen when I crawled into my bivy tent at 11 PM. In this northern latitude, it’d been dark for only an hour. We’d fished till after ten, but with no luck. After enjoying a drink of peppermint schnapps, which Jim had packed in, we each retreated to our tents. The air was heavy and moist and the fly on my tent was wet with perspiration. I zipped myself in, hoping to have kept out most of the mosquitoes, but leaving the fly over my head open. It was too warm to close up the tent. I lay on top of my sleeping bag and fell asleep, listening to the sounds of insects, the rushing of river and the occasional clap of distant thunder. An hour later, I’m back awake. A felt a few drops of rain on my face. The thunder claps are no longer distant and I see a bolt of lightning streak from the sky, striking on the other side of the river, the boom following just a second or so later. The storm is on top of us. I unzipped my screen and pulled the fly over my head, sealing myself inside. Zipping the screen back up, I fall asleep, listening to the rain approaching like a stampede of horses. It pours and beats against the nylon, but I sleep. I wake up an hour later, hot and sticky. The rain has stopped and I am dry. But the air is too warm and I pull the fly from my head and enjoy the night air. It’s a little cooler after the rain, but still warm. I look at my watch. It’s 2 AM.

An hour and a half later, I wake back up to mist of water on my face. It’s beginning to rain again and I once again pull the fly over my head. There’s less lightning in this storm but soon the rain is even more intense. I fall back asleep for a few minutes, only to wake up hot and stuffy. The heavy rain has slowed and I partially opened the fly, letting a little air. Enjoying the fresh air, I fall asleep for a few minutes, then the rain increases, sounding like a drum on the roof just above my head. I zip the fly back tight. This goes on for several cycles, till around 4:30 AM, when the rain completely stops. I then remove the fly and fall back asleep. I’m surprised, for the next time I wake it isn’t to a shower, but a chorus of birds welcoming a bright new morning. The sun is well up and attempting to break through clouds and a light breeze moves the heavy wet air around. I unzipped the netting over my head, stretch my scrunched up muscles, pull on pants and a shirt, stood up and slip on my wet river shoes which had been sitting outside the tent. It’s now 7:15 AM, time for coffee and for getting back to the business of the river.


23 comments:

  1. Looks great!

    Pray for me, BTW, as I'm planning the Official Daughter's graduation/birthday bash, and she wants an overnight float trip for her and 19 of her closest friends.

    Oy.

    Cheers.

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  2. I like the Canoe pic. but you should have used a quill on your journal and then you'd be "period." :)

    The trip looks like fun. Would have enjoyed joining you.

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  3. If I'd had a night like that, I'd have to take a nap!

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  4. The business of the river... I love the sound of that.

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  5. AuSable is a great river! Close to the Pine, and the Little Manistee, that area is beautiful!

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  6. Randall, is this in a canoe or a riverboat? Have fun, my friend.

    Charles, I don't get the quill and period comment, but it would have been fun to have you along to tell some horror stories around the campfire (maybe we'd built a campfire)

    Kenju, I did take a nap the next day!

    Lynn, thanks!

    Buffalo... I've paddled the Pine, but not the Manistee. I enjoyed the Au Sable, but think the Pere Marquette is a nicer river (there are too many cabins and other forms of development along the Au Sable)

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  7. Looks like a gorgeous trip.

    But there really has to be a tent that has active ventilation. How difficult can it be nowadays to put a four inch cell driven fan such as to draw the stale air out.
    I will look up the river in the goo-earth later. But it looks rather wide and deep for late June.

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  8. Vince, i'll stick to complaining about the heat instead of putting a fan in my tent! As for the river, it's mostly shallow and you can wade across it and, if you stay out of the holes, only get wet to your knees. As for water level, we've gotten plenty of rain lately so its up.

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  9. Sounds like you had a lot of fun! And I like your new profile pic.

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  10. I remember those long summer nights up north. It seemed as if I could fish 20 hours a day, all of it in sunlight, when I did my boundary waters trip.

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  11. I'm glad that you enjoyed this trip. Your new pic looks great!

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  12. So if I'm thinking of camping in Mackinac, you're the one to tell me what kind of gear I'm gonna need, right?

    I'm assuming my sub-zero sleeping bag and with pjs, sweatshirt, thick socks should do it.

    That used to be enough for at leas 6 hours in Alaska in July anyway. Surely the UP isn't colder than AK?

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  13. I enjoyed the photos and your account. It looks like a river that I might enjoy.

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  14. Canoes. I'm taking my kayak and a similar bivy, which I hope to plant far, far away from the kids, so I can get some sleep.

    Cheers.

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  15. ahhhh sounds and looks so appealing!!! I grew up in a big city and only went camping in my 30s. No one likes it in my family so my tent is up in the attic.
    What a great way to wake up

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  16. I wouldn't have been able to sleep in that tiny tent!

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  17. Tim, I was and thanks!

    Ed, it is odd to have evening dusk linger till 10:30 or so and then have light returning a little after 5...

    Leni, glad you liked the pic

    TC, a sub-zero sleeping bag? I assume your UP trip is scheduled for January, either that or you're trying to roast yourself.

    Snowbrush, thanks for stopping by.

    Randall, I'm looking forward to your write up on this trip! BTW, you can't stay too far away, she is your daughter, after all!

    Just Because, sounds like you need to get that tent down from the attic.

    Kontan, it's not bad and is lightweight with a great screen to deep out the bugs

    App, or you could keep your old pic and we could start calling you "Machine Gun Kelly" :)

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  18. Nice. Good pic too... have a float planned for August. Nothing like fresh perked coffee after a night or two out like that.

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  19. "A chorus of birds welcoming a bright new morning". Great writing!

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  20. I think I'd be a little claustrophobic in that tent. Still, sleeping outdoors by a river in the rain... Ahhh. Sounds peaceful.

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  21. Is that a wood canvas canoe? We have a blue one that my hubby made. He used to work in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota!

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  22. Michael,thanks

    Bone, the tent is light-weight, and better than sleeping under a tarp with all God's mosquitoes!

    Starrlife, the canoe has wooden gunnels, but it's shell is of Royax, a plastic type construction

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