Spend the Night in a Canoe? 2-Day River Canoe Trip!

OVERVIEW

You know what I love? Rivers. You know what I love even more? River canoe trips. So brace yourself for the most undeniably epic 2-day pre-finals canoe trip ODC has ever seen.

It’s been years since I got to go on an overnight canoe trip, and I’ve been absolutely *itching* to get back out! And lucky for us, the Upper James Water Trail is less than 2 hours away promising beautiful views and fun canoeing. Starting on Friday April 25, we’ll spend 2 days paddling approximately 30 miles of what’s supposedly one of the prettiest sections of the James, with a night of camping and group bonding at a site in Gala in between.

Because the club only has 2 canoes, I’m planning on bringing 3 people (maybe 4, if someone sits duff in one of the boats), though if you have access to another canoe, you get priority and I can then expand the trip a little further! I’m also looking for another driver (particularly if your car has a roof rack/crossbars), and you’ll of course get priority and gas reimbursement + tip. I’ve set the trip fee at $4 to cover the non-reimbursed cost of camping ($14 per person, the club covers $10), though if we want to do a group dinner on Friday, it may be a little more to cover ingredients—I’ll make a text group chat to discuss once we’ve settled who’s on the trip.

Show up with all (or at least most) of your stuff packed in a trash bag! If you have your own dry bag(s), bring it, but I’ll plan on grabbing all of the ones we have/need from the gear room. *If anyone knows where to laminate a map (especially if it’s for free), let me know!*

The Plan:
Friday
9:30am – Meet at corner of Echols Dorm, head to the Shrack to put boats on cars
10am – On the road, drive an hour and a half to the put-in at Iron Gate
12:30/1pm – Get on the river after packing boats! Paddle 10 miles from Iron Gate to Gala through a handful of class 1 and 2 rapids.
Late afternoon – Get to camp, set up and hang out for the evening! Make a group dinner plus dessert?
Saturday
Wake up with the sun, make breakfast and pack up then paddle 17 miles downstream to Horseshoe Bend. After grabbing the other car, we’ll head home and hopefully get back to Charlottesville by 8pm at the latest (though no promises).

I’ll Provide:
Dry bags & extra trash bags for your gear
Canoes, paddles, & pfds
Friday dinner and dessert?
Crazy Creek chairs
Maps
Water jugs
Camp stoves & fuel + necessary cooking supplies
Tarp(s) & paracord
First aid kit
Backup water purification supplies

Packing list:
River-appropriate shoes + at least one pair of wool socks
Camp shoes (crocs, flip flops, whatever you want)
A swimsuit & towel if you desire
A tent or hammock
Sleeping bag + sleeping pad
Lunch for Friday & Saturday + Breakfast for Saturday
Bug spray/sunscreen
A rain jacket and rain pants if you have them
Bowl & utensils + any supplementary cooking supplies
A headlamp
Cards? A book? A camera?
Toiletries & medications
1-2 water bottles that you can clip a carabiner to
Clothes for Friday and Saturday (remember cotton kills! wear dry-fit clothes and bring wool base layers if you have them)
Sunglasses/hat
Carabiners galore (we can never have too many)

For more details on our trip, visit these links:
Float descriptions (we’re paddling the first 4 sections, from Iron Gate to Horseshoe Bend): https://upperjamesriverwatertrail.com/plan-a-trip/suggested-floats/
Full map overview: https://upperjamesriverwatertrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/ujrwt-map-2017.pdf
Section 1-3 map: https://upperjamesriverwatertrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/section1-2-3.pdf
Section 4-5 map: https://upperjamesriverwatertrail.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/section4.pdf

If you have any questions at all, please text me at 678-579-4727! I’m happy to chat about canoeing, packing, timelines, or anything else you may be wondering/concerned about.