T Minus 6 Hours...

I am at work right now. It is 3:17 am according to the computer I am on. In 4 hours and 13 minutes I get off work and will ride my Vespa home, where B.I.L. is comfortably asleep at the moment, and we will somehow get the yaks down to the river and begin the most anticipated event of the season.

C.R.A.K. is getting off to a rough start, thus far. With all the planning, charting, checking and rechecking of gear, practice and scouting trips, we forgot one minor detail. We don't have a car. My wife has to be at work at 7:00 am; taking our only car. When 4 hours and 13 minutes is added to 3:17, the sum is 7:30. B.I.L.s wife had to go back to Richmond yesterday because she, too, has to be at work this morning. Uh-oh.

Never to fear! B.I.L. is here! B.I.L. is one of those people you can always count on to pull through in any situation. That is why I am so pleased he is going on this trip. At the last moment, he whipped out a nifty set of wheels that strap onto the kayak so it can be pulled around, rather than carried. We may have to do this in two trips, but we are going to be able to wheel the kayaks down to the river-no car needed! Our put in is only a couple of blocks from my house, farther than we want to carry the yaks, but close enough to wheel them down there with his contraption.

As I was getting ready for work, B.I.L. made the last run for food, water and hopefully, beer. On my way out the door I bid my wife goodbye and goodnight, being as I won't see her again until our return. Everything is set. B.I.L. has his camera packed (mine is still lost), and all the gear we need including food, water and shelter. What a swell guy that B.I.L. is.

Just as predicted, I didn't get much sleep yesterday, so the first day should be a pretty good grump fest on my part. We hope to make it to the James in one day, we'll see how I fare throughout the first leg of our journey. A public campground is conveniently located at the halfway point of the Rivanna to the James. We intend on going all the way to the James today, but we do have the option of stopping short at this campground if I can't hack it.

I will be keeping a daily log and calling home when we have cell service so my wife can update the blog. B.I.L. might include his two cents as well, so that should add an interesting two person perspective on the daily events. Check in every evening or morning for updates. Also, keep an eye out for sound bites from the field. I have set up a system on the blog that will allow me to call and leave voice mail type messages for you to listen to. That should work out really well with my non-Ted Coppell voice. It'll probably sound more like Don Gay or Willie Shoemaker. No offense to either of these extraordinary gentlemen, they just happen to be short Texans, such as myself, with no voice for commentary.

Weather: Weather.com is predicting partly sunny skies all week with the exception of Tuesday, when thunderstorms are expected. Highs today will be 89! Dropping to the mid 70s for the rest of the week. Looks like the nights will be a little brisk, dipping into the low 50s and 48 on Wednesday. That'll be nice after a day of rain...

Rain is ok, but lightning is a show stopper. If the rain becomes torrential or lightning strikes, we will have to stop and set up camp. That weather is just too dangerous to be on the water. We'd like to survive this trip, if at all possible.

River Conditions: The Rivanna River, leg one, is at 2.85 ft. That is pretty good, we should be able to paddle the length of the Rivanna without bottoming out and having to walk. The Cartersville gage on the James river, leg 2, has dropped drastically over the weekend. This morning, it is standing at 2.04 ft, which is fairly low for that area of the river. The James River at Richmond Westham is at 4.61 ft this morning. Again, another area with good flow. We should be able to make up for any lost time with that amount of water under us. And finally, the last gage on our route, which is in an area of locks known as Richmond Locks, is reading 2.21 ft right now. This gage is constantly changing as the locks empty and fill, so it is a good estimate of the river through this area, not a reading of actual conditions.

With the exception of predicted thunderstorms for Tuesday, the weather and river look promising for the coming week. The low water at Cartersville should fill up from Tuesday's showers before we get there, so that should not pose a problem. Now the only threats we face are snakes in sleeping bags (my worst fear), and getting shot at for camping in the wrong spot. All in all, it should be a good trip!



Fair winds and following seas...