Today started off quite early. We all agreed to meet at Chris’s at 6:00 am, and by 6:30 were off to Giant Eagle to get some ice to cool off our produce for the trip. After getting ice we hopped into Chris’s tiny red car and headed off to Warren, PA. During our breakfast stop at McDonald’s we saw our first taste of the vicious thunderstorm to come. This was mixed news. On the one hand it promised for quite a rafting trip, on the other hand it meant the river would be nice and high, something that proved to be quite a blessing.
When we arrived at the Starbrick launch area the weather was beautiful. By the time we finished loading our raft it had gotten cloudy, and rain had started falling by the time we pushed off. We decided to press on nevertheless, and tempt fate with a call to lunch. Bad idea. The weather got progressively worse until we found ourselves, 3 rafters in the middle of a meal, stuck in the eye of a ferocious thunderstorm. Lightning was striking all around us, and far too close for comfort. At one point I saw a flash of light that was far too bright and immediately afterward thunder far too loud. These lightning bolts were hitting within a kilometer. As we were trying to battle the storm and keep the tuna from falling overboard, we began drifting far too close to shore and some trees waiting to snag our boat up and turn it over. We were unable to avoid the trees near shore, and plowed straight into one backwards, nearly toppling our boat. Luckily, we made it out alive. Finally, the storm ended and the sun came out. We spent the rest of the day appreciating the sun, clouds and rain sans thunder. Surprisingly enough, rafting wasn’t as boring as Chris had feared. There were moments when you could relax, but these only lasted about 15 minutes before yuou’d need to get up to steer or decide which side of an island to travel down.
We ended up camping on an island near Steward’s island about 10 miles from our starting point (near Tidioute). The island we picked was quite wild. Chris had to chop out the overgrown vegetation with his paddle. Nevertheless, the pebbled shore provided a great place for cooking and a campfire, and after a little while we had chicken Fajitas and a fire going. The fajitas were delicious. Since we had so much space to store food we were really able to take some rather fancy meals with us. After some s’mores, it was time to face the long, wet night ahead. We could already see the lightning flashing in the distance. We could only hope that the weather would clear up the next day.
Today started off quite early. We all agreed to meet at Chris’s at 6:00 am, and by 6:30 were off to Giant Eagle to get some ice to cool off our produce for the trip. After getting ice we hopped into Chris’s tiny red car and headed off to Warren, PA. During our breakfast stop at McDonald’s we saw our first taste of the vicious thunderstorm to come. This was mixed news. On the one hand it promised for quite a rafting trip, on the other hand it meant the river would be nice and high, something that proved to be quite a blessing.
When we arrived at the Starbrick launch area the weather was beautiful. By the time we finished loading our raft it had gotten cloudy, and rain had started falling by the time we pushed off. We decided to press on nevertheless, and tempt fate with a call to lunch. Bad idea. The weather got progressively worse until we found ourselves, 3 rafters in the middle of a meal, stuck in the eye of a ferocious thunderstorm. Lightning was striking all around us, and far too close for comfort. At one point I saw a flash of light that was far too bright and immediately afterward thunder far too loud. These lightning bolts were hitting within a kilometer. As we were trying to battle the storm and keep the tuna from falling overboard, we began drifting far too close to shore and some trees waiting to snag our boat up and turn it over. We were unable to avoid the trees near shore, and plowed straight into one backwards, nearly toppling our boat. Luckily, we made it out alive. Finally, the storm ended and the sun came out. We spent the rest of the day appreciating the sun, clouds and rain sans thunder. Surprisingly enough, rafting wasn’t as boring as Chris had feared. There were moments when you could relax, but these only lasted about 15 minutes before yuou’d need to get up to steer or decide which side of an island to travel down.
We ended up camping on an island near Steward’s island about 10 miles from our starting point (near Tidioute). The island we picked was quite wild. Chris had to chop out the overgrown vegetation with his paddle. Nevertheless, the pebbled shore provided a great place for cooking and a campfire, and after a little while we had chicken Fajitas and a fire going. The fajitas were delicious. Since we had so much space to store food we were really able to take some rather fancy meals with us. After some s’mores, it was time to face the long, wet night ahead. We could already see the lightning flashing in the distance. We could only hope that the weather would clear up the next day.
1 comment:
Very Cool! Check that out:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26436974/wid/18298287/?GT1=45002
May be you can shoot for the ocean next?:-)
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