Five of my friends and myself left out Friday morning for the Buffalo River. I knew we would have a great time, but it was even better than I thought, minus the near death experiences. On Friday, we travelled about 3-4 miles (maybe more) and stopped to setup camp. While at the campsite, we jumped from some trees, did some swimming, and I almost drowned in the current... along with another friend. Let me give you some tips:
- Don't swim when you are out of breath.
- Don't swim with CROCS on.
- Don't cross a river current without a life jacket.
- Avoid taking a big gulp of water while swimming.
The Buffalo River had some awesome cliffs along the way. Considering that I am not a huge fan of heights and that I almost died on Friday, I chose to "not" jump. One of friends hit almost every cliff and almost every swing along the way.
It's hard to tell from the pictures, but the water was moving swiftly in many locations. The picture below was taken along the banks where we camped. It was impossible to swim across here... The high water made the 17 miles go fast... almost too fast.
When people get on top of huge rocks... they look tiny. Once again, I chose not too jump.
I did make goofy pictures when the water was clam. I quickly learned that it is not a good idea to take pictures in the rapids. The canoe tends to get "turned-around".
Here are some pictures of some of the guys... Meet Grant Maxwell... Peace!
Here's Phillip Greer. We call him "Wheat Grass" these days. In the background, we have the rest of the guys, Grant, Jamie Burk, Jason "Vertigo" Veal, and Jason Branch.
Wheat Grass was the designated cliff jumper...
Branch tried to catch us some fish. Good thing we had some steaks to eat... The fish weren't biting!
We had a great time and I strongly recommend it! For you wives out there... this was a trip given to us for Father's Day. I give it two thumbs up! I'll be going back. I hope you enjoyed the picture!
Take care,
Ryan
8 comments:
I have always wanted to float the Buffalo...send me some more info.
You need to come on up to Current River one weekend for a float trip!
Hey Ryan, Glad you had fun in God's Country!! (I grew up there by the Buffalo). Which points of it did you float? Welcome back and thanks for the pics!!
We went from Woodlum to Grinders... Great trip.
We used to camp at Woolum all the time when I was growing up. I have very fond memories that place. :-)
I think canoeing is one of my favorite summertime activities. We just got back today from canoeing down Spring River. We stay at Spring River Oaks. I think it is just the right length of canoe trip. We've been talking about canoeing down the Buffalo and after these pics, we might try it! Sounds like (and looks like) you had a great time. We did get rained on Saturday night, but it didn't spoil our fun. Plus we needed the rain!!
We still haven't made it to the Buffalo! Oh, and thanks a bunch for not drowning, Ryan. 8-O
Looks like a blast!
Aren't you glad things have quieted down weather wise down there big time? =P
I'm SOOO glad things have calmed down!
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