Best Laid Plans...

When you're a paddler you have to go with the flow (as it were)... The plan was to meet our party at Payne Lake Recreation Area in the Oakmulgee Ranger District of the Talladega National Forest. We arrived mid-afternoon and looked for familiar faces and vehicles with canoes. After exploring all the wrong campground loops, we finally found our trip leader's truck camper with canoe but Bob and Sue were missing. We made camp, built a fire, had happy hour and ate dinner. About dusk our leaders returned with sad news. A big storm passed through the area the night before and they had been out scouting the Cahaba River conditions and accesses. They reported that the river was flooded. In the meantime, the other members of our party had arrived. We had a group meeting to discuss our options. The concensus was that it would not be safe or fun to paddle the Cahaba at that level and we should explore other Alabama paddling options.

This morning, after a chilly but cozy night, and a leisurely breakfast, we packed up and are now on the road for a three hour drive north to plan B. We will camp at Brushy Lake Recreation Area in the William B Bankhead National Forest. We hope to paddle streams and rivers in that area for the next few days.

The group hopes to return to the Cahaba River for the canoe camping trip once the waters have had a few days to receed. We may not be able to catch the Cahaba this trip but plan to continue our journey north to Arkansas and the Buffalo River.

For Matilda, at least, the trip so far has not been a total loss. She had a great time reuniting with her buddy Bric, Bob and Sue's 1 1/2 year old black lab. They played last night and this morning until they dropped.