Quaker to Batsto September Trip Report

[Lorun]

Saturday September, 29 2007 Trip Report

Quaker Bridge to Batsto paddle.

My brother initiated the idea of a canoe/kayak paddle inviting guys from a group that he belongs to. I previously invited people to join me from about 4 different Catholic churches in my area, advertised in the bulletin and all and only one person responded they were interested. He invites about 20 people and over 10 show up.

On the day of the paddle I arrived in the Batsto area early, at about 9:00. I decided to find the put in spot at Quaker bridge. I found the bridge by turning off of rt 206 on Quaker bridge road, but did not see where exactly the put in spot was. I headed back out to Bel Haven rental. I had a canoe and kayak with me of my own. I met up with my brother and his friend at the rental place. Most people arrived by 11:00 am. Three people from NY were on their way but running late. They arrived at about 12:00pm. We headed out on the bus to the put in.

The put in ended up being right at the bridge. The group all got started with 9 kayaks and two canoes. My brother and I went last in my canoe. In the other canoe was a guy who looked very comfortable and excited about the trip, while the second adventurer was not looking very excited about getting into a canoe, he looked as if he had some trepidations to say the least. Well a short distance from the bridge with the bridge still in sight the second canoe’s occupants where jettisoned into the water. The exact reasons for this will likely be debated for some time; I personally believe many factors played a role in this. The argument about the how and why was cut short by an unwelcome guest who visited us on the trip.

Out of a spontaneous reaction my brother and I jumped out of our canoe to help. We were both immediately surprised to find that the water was very cold. I will admit it was a bad idea to jump in; we could have been a bigger help if we had stayed in the canoe. In any case the water was surprisingly deep, about 8-12 feet I would estimate. We all got to shore, and realized that I lost my glasses, my brother lost his prescription glasses, and one of the guys in the other canoe lost his sunglasses. The guy who looked nervous
at the start made a comment that went something like “My worst case scenario nightmare has come true”. I felt very bad about the whole thing. Meanwhile my brothern was thinking about trying to find his glasses in the water. He was standing in about 2 feet of water when I saw a 4 foot snake about three feet long swimming behind him, I yelled snake, but he thought I was joking. When the others started telling him there was a snake he turned around and realized it was no joke. Maybe the snake knocked the canoe over.

We emptied the canoes of water and headed down stream. We arrived at the pick up spot at about 5:00. Out of concern that I greatly appreciated someone offered to drive my car to my home since I did not have my glasses. I decided that I could make it on my own, so I headed out solo and made it home with no problems.
Ron

 

[bobpbx]

Lorun, I just don't know what to say. What do the kayakers think about how it happened? Was the nervous guy all jerky and twitchy? That would do it.

I would be very surprised that the water was 12 feet, I'm guessing more like 6, 7 at the most. If you don't touch bottom, it can seem deep.

Get back in your canoe with your brother, and do it again yourselves. It will make you feel better.

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Yikes. Sorry to hear about the misadventure. Bob is right, though.

 

[BEHR655]

I would be very surprised that the water was 12 feet, I'm guessing more like 6, 7 at the most. If you don't touch bottom, it can seem deep.

I don't know how deep it is there but I've seen people jumping off of Quaker Bridge. It's got to be deeper than 6-7 feet to do that so 12 feet does not seem unreasonable.

Steve

 

[LARGO]

Man,
Really sorry to hear. I will go with the fact that in high enough water the depths are deceiving but yeah... pretty deep in spots. Cold water, I'll bet.
Pretty much why I did my last one in October on that fine Monday.
The spill you speak of... That first bit imediately after the bridge is a bugger for awhile. I could see it happening. I had a couple close calls.
I'll tell you, go with Bob's advice. Wait for a nice spring day but catch a weekday and only go out with your brother or another friend. I am of sound mind that in canoe or Kayak... crowds just screw it up. I'm not so smart on snakes but man, seems kinda cold out for snake activity now, or am I mistaken. Seems like your trip took quite awhile too.
I really hope somewhere in there you took a few moments to really enjoy your surroundings. With a lot of these late fall colors going on, it has to be spectacular in color out there right now. I will be positive and look forward to a happier post from you on your next time out.
At least you got out. Thanks for the tale just the same.

g.

 

[Teegate]

Sorry to hear you lost your glasses. Not being able to see properly all day is the pits. In the end it seems you had a good day, and that is all that matters.

Nice post.


Guy

 

[woodjin]

when I saw a 4 foot snake about three feet long swimming behind him, Ron

Ah yes, the four foot, three foot long snake. A rarity in the pinebarrens.

Considering this was late September I'm not surprised with the warm weather we were having then. It was most likely a common watersnake, of considerable size apparently. I think 12' deep is highly likely. I recall that we estimated depths of over 15' on the mullica on a recent trip.

Sorry that you had a reluctant canoeist in your group. I was on the basto a few years back with a couple nervous canoeists (canoers, whatever) and sure enough, they went over. It is a self fullfilling prophetcy.

I think you can tell alot about a person's personality by watching them on the river. Here are the catagories:
1)the control freak; wants to concour the river, goes down as fast as possible, gets frustrated alot especially around the bends, makes alot of noise and exerts 90% more energy than necessary to arrive 30 minutes ahead of schedule at the load out, cannot recall anything he saw on the river and believes he is an outdoorsmen ('cause he is so fast)
2)The paranoid; believes the water is acid. Feels out of his/her element and is too worried about getting to the load out in time to appreciate the river.
3)the soon to be divorced couple; we have all seen them on the river. You can hear them arguing a mile away. He can't believe she didn't warn him about the cedar stump that was 2" under the water but mostly he feels that his masculinity is in doubt because he can't properly execute a J stroke.
4) the Dude: I think most of us fall into this catagory, spend most of our time just steering and looking around. Don't really care how long the trip takes. Own a water bag and tie our belongs in. Can laugh if we go over. Basically enjoy the river.
5)the hippie; very similar to the above but does not own a water bag or twine. Is stoned, doesn't know where load out is, and has no idea they are miles from civilazation.

If I left any out, feel free to add.

Jeff

 

[bobpbx]

I think you can tell alot about a person's personality by watching them on the river. Here are the catagories:
1)the control freak; wants to concour the river, goes down as fast as possible, gets frustrated alot especially around the bends, makes alot of noise and exerts 90% more energy than necessary to arrive 30 minutes ahead of schedule at the load out, cannot recall anything he saw on the river and believes he is an outdoorsmen ('cause he is so fast)
2)The paranoid; believes the water is acid. Feels out of his/her element and is too worried about getting to the load out in time to appreciate the river.
3)the soon to be divorced couple; we have all seen them on the river. You can hear them arguing a mile away. He can't believe she didn't warn him about the cedar stump that was 2" under the water but mostly he feels that his masculinity is in doubt because he can't properly execute a J stroke.
4) the Dude: I think most of us fall into this catagory, spend most of our time just steering and looking around. Don't really care how long the trip takes. Own a water bag and tie our belongs in. Can laugh if we go over. Basically enjoy the river.
5)the hippie; very similar to the above but does not own a water bag or twine. Is stoned, doesn't know where load out is, and has no idea they are miles from civilazation.

Good ones Jeff! Here's another.

6. The Pajama Party: Gaggles of girls who shriek hysterically each time the canoe ends up in the bushes on a turn because they can't steer.
7. The Regimentalist: belongs to a large canoe/kayak club. Has all the latest gear, complete with bush hat, life vest, whistle, and suvival kit. Scoffs at newbies those who don't execute their paddle just so. Knows all the rules and regulations of the state forest backwards and fowards. Criticizes any infractions by others.

 

[whippoorbill]

Good ones Jeff! Here's another.

6. The Pajama Party: Gaggles of girls who shriek hysterically each time the canoe ends up in the bushes on a turn because they can't steer.
7. The Regimentalist: belongs to a large canoe/kayak club. Has all the latest gear, complete with bush hat, life vest, whistle, and suvival kit. Scoffs at newbies those who don't execute their paddle just so. Knows all the rules and regulations of the state forest backwards and fowards. Criticizes any infractions by others.

8. The Nocturnal Paddler: Splashes quietly along only at night and can't see where the heck he's going. (This would be me).

 

[pinelandpaddler]

I think you can tell alot about a person's personality by watching them on the river. Here are the catagories:
1)the control freak; wants to concour the river, goes down as fast as possible, gets frustrated alot especially around the bends, makes alot of noise and exerts 90% more energy than necessary to arrive 30 minutes ahead of schedule at the load out, cannot recall anything he saw on the river and believes he is an outdoorsmen ('cause he is so fast)
2)The paranoid; believes the water is acid. Feels out of his/her element and is too worried about getting to the load out in time to appreciate the river.
3)the soon to be divorced couple; we have all seen them on the river. You can hear them arguing a mile away. He can't believe she didn't warn him about the cedar stump that was 2" under the water but mostly he feels that his masculinity is in doubt because he can't properly execute a J stroke.
4) the Dude: I think most of us fall into this catagory, spend most of our time just steering and looking around. Don't really care how long the trip takes. Own a water bag and tie our belongs in. Can laugh if we go over. Basically enjoy the river.
5)the hippie; very similar to the above but does not own a water bag or twine. Is stoned, doesn't know where load out is, and has no idea they are miles from civilazation.

If I left any out, feel free to add.

:rofl:

That's awesome.

 

[Lorun]

Very true and funny Woodjin,


I think it was more of a 2.5ft 4 ft snake, he gets a bit bigger each time I tell the story, so by next year he will be the 5 foot 2.5 ft snake.
The trip likely took about 5x longer than it would usually take me, because of the search for the glasses and getting everyone back in the canoe. After he fell in I had the guy who was nervous sit on the bottom of the canoe instead of the seat, since I thought that would help keep the boat steady. So the other guy had to do all of the paddling. I kept jumping out of my canoe and pushing them over obstacles. The group kept stopping for breaks along the way and I started getting nervous about the time and daylight. Two other guys in kayaks also fell in. One of them seemed to be trying his best the whole trip to fall in the other one seemed a bit shaken up by it.

Overall it was a good trip because I was able to introduce a bunch of guys to the pines and the outdoors. Many of them were New Yorkers who have never tried anything like this before. Many of them commented about the beauty and peacefulness of the place. As mentioned on another thread the outdoors is great for healing and finding peace. That is why I decided to do this trip even though it was uncomfortable for me in some ways.
In the end it was great because I was able to help people, introduce them to the pines, and I got to get out and enjoy the pines also.

I am going to look for ways to integrate these three things again in the future.

 

[long-a-coming]

I would be a 4.25

We had a character a couple years back on one of our canoe trips. It was his first time in the Pines and I think it was his first time off his barstool in Philly. We started the trip at Evans bridge w/ 15 canoes. The water level was up a bit and on the first bend the canoe goes over. This guy's unfortunate partner was Bubba, a family friend and a good guy. The drunk had enough after being hurled into the river. He said something like "That's it for me" and walked back to the bridge and eventually back to Pine Barrens Canoe rental. When he arrived he asked the fine folks to drive him to the ending point and he would just wait for us. They had a good laugh. Bubba spent the remainder of the trip "popping a wheelie" and crashing into the banks repeatedly along with tipping over several times. Bubba is a pretty big dude. I guess you kind of take it granted that people will be able to handle themselves on a relatively calm river.

 

[MarkBNJ]

Haha, I'm 4.5 for sure .