We had 12 paddlers in 9 boats registered for our Eleven Point Adventure! Most of us stayed at the Greer Crossing campground Friday night, with the exception of 3 who decided to stay at the Alton Motel. A few of us who arrived in time hiked the short distance to Greer Spring Friday after arriving. That was my first time to actually make it to the spring, which was well worth the trip!
We met at the put-in at Greer at 8:30 a.m Saturday morning and were on the water a little after 9:00. We knew the water was high and Rick, who paddled the section from Thomasville to Greer Friday, said that the river was really fast. He wasn't joking! We got to Turner’s Mill, which is our usual lunch spot, before 10:30! Since no one was hungry to early we played around in the spring and hiked the short distance to the old schoolhouse, which I didn’t even know existed. Rick Watkins told us that when the river flooded a couple of years ago the schoolhouse was actually moved several feet off its foundation and had just recently been moved back. We noticed that they had been working on it and put in a new plywood floor.
We made our way on down the river a little way and stopped on river right to enjoy lunch and on a nice sandy beach. The weather was perfect and we were making great time so we played in the water a little here.
There were quite a few large groups on the river that a got a few of the optimal camping spots before we could get there. We stopped to check out White Creek, but it was really overgrown and it was still pretty early so we decided to keep paddling. Since we really weren’t sure what the other campsites would look like, or how accessible they might be, we ended up stopping at a really nice, large sand/gravel beach less than hour past White Creek. It was really nice spot and we had it to ourselves. Due to social distancing we decided to forego our usual potluck. Sandy did cook a huge skillet of chicken stir-fry which she shared and we had all the fixings for s'mores which we enjoyed by the campfire Saturday evening.
We put on the water Sunday morning by 9:00 or so and were making great time as the river was still moving very quickly. We stopped at Boze Mill to swim in the Blue Hole, which was just as cold as I remembered it. We managed to convince our guests, Jim Gallagher and Twix, his awesome four-pawed paddling partner, that they were required to do their obligatory “first swim” in the frigid water. Apparently, it didn’t scare him off and he has now joined the Club! We all look forward to future paddles with Jim and Twix!
We had been forewarned about large waves and a tree down at Hall’s Bay and were told by the outfitter to keep river right. We all made it fine through the rapid but ended up having one canoe turn over when surfing in the waves for fun. We also rescued gear from an overturned canoe that got pinned in the downed tree. Luckily, the paddlers were rescued by other boats in their group, although they had been drinking and were not wearing PFDs - which was very dangerous considering how high and fast the water was.
Since the water was so fast we made it to the take-out before noon! I am so glad that the weather cooperated and we had a gorgeous weekend for a paddle. I look forward to our next fun adventure!