Cheyenne River Float Trip - First of 2022
May 18, 2022 14:04:30 GMT -5
catskillrocks, Rockoonz, and 23 more like this
Post by jasoninsd on May 18, 2022 14:04:30 GMT -5
Well folks...it is that time of year again...finally! I was able to get my raft into the waters of the Cheyenne River this past Monday and Tuesday. Notice how I said I got it in the water...not that it was able to float the whole two days! LOL - For those of you who are unfamiliar with my experiences on the Cheyenne River, the lengthy thread here will give you some good bathroom reading material...and will explain some of the "dangers" associated with this particular stretch of river. This year, I floated the same exact stretch of the river as in that "horror" thread...and thankfully, nothing of any real consequence happened this year. It made for a nice trip...but not so great on the story attached! LOL
I was pretty well prepared this year...thanks to the insistence of my wife. Since last year's cell phone debacle was seemingly fresh in her memory, she decided she needed to buy walkie-talkies. She was very pleased with her purchase because they have a 38 mile range. I tried to explain to her that might be the case if it were on flat land...but hills and trees would diminish the "range" to somewhere near the range of two cans attached with a string! Nevertheless, she came up with a plan on how and when she'd radio me. She said my "handle" would be Rocks...and hers was going to be Butterfly. I figured it would only be one or the other of us using it and the normal "Babe" would work...but apparently she wanted to avoid any confusion.
One of the other major changes from last year, I decided to plan on spending the night...rather than doing it by surprise! LOL - My wife insisted on getting me a tent. She looked for a one-man tent, but couldn't find any. So, she bought a two-person tent at one store, then went looking at another store and bought one there as well...I guess she wanted me to have a choice of some kind in the matter. One weighed 7.5 pounds and the other weighed 3.5 pounds. I chose the lighter as I figured that was one more rock I could handle in the raft! I will admit the tent did come in handy and I was grateful as it did rain Monday night. I will also say, the spot where I set up the tent looked to have softer ground than what it really turned out to be! Maybe I'm just getting older...but the hard ground was NOT comfortable in the least! So, while I kept dry, sleep was limited. One of the other reasons sleep was sporadic was because I setup my tent right next to a beaver pond! Every little bit, there was what sounded like someone throwing a big rock into the water...SPLOOSH! It was not a very considerate beaver! I had no clue there were beaver on the Cheyenne River as they don't build dams...they don't need to as there are naturally occurring "ponds" all along the river. They burrow into the banks as their home. There was also a pack of coyotes that started bellowing about 9pm...just as it was getting dark. I know how far their howls can carry...but I'm pretty sure they were less than a quarter mile away...close enough for me to change my mind on doing any night hounding, since I was alone!
It did rain on and off on Tuesday...not enough to be a bother...at least it wasn't to me as I had a rain coat with me and it got the rocks wet and made them easier to distinguish any fortification patters - since my main focus was finding Fairburn Agates. The other thing I brought with me was a one-gallon garden sprayer. I would fill it up in the river...spray all the rocks until it was empty...then rinse and repeat! I'd make sure it was empty when I got back in the raft, so as not to add any excess weight. It really was invaluable, as I wouldn't have found the "treasures" I did pick up if I hadn't had that sprayer...the fortification areas wouldn't have been visible if the rocks were dry!
Speaking of excess water in the raft...I did some repairs on the raft last week as the trip last year did some damage to the underside. When I say damage...I mean I got holes in the bottom of the raft! Not the inflatable sides...just the "floor" of the raft. The holes are coming from the fact the water has been SO low in the Cheyenne River, there are numerous places where it's only a couple inches deep and the raft drags on the rocks. I used FlexSeal to plug the holes from last year and brought a partial role of FlexSeal tape with me just in case I would happen to need it again. Well, I knew my collection of rocks was not going to be like last years, as I didn't want to weight the raft down...making it easier to damage...and a whole lot heaver to drag when the water was too low to float. The raft did well the first day, but I did start taking on water on Tuesday. I did patch the new holes with the tape...which helped slow down the influx of unwanted H2O!
Somewhere around late morning on Tuesday, I decided to sprint for the finish line. I had made plans for my wife and father to drop of my truck at the exit point on the river around 3:30. I knew if I wasn't there by then, it'd be waiting for me when I got there. My wife was also going to use the walkie-talkie to contact me and find out where I was at. Since there's no cell service, Google Maps doesn't work out there. So, I borrowed my dad's GPS. Problem was...I didn't take my reading glasses, so I couldn't read a dang thing that was on the screen! LOL - I spent a good four hours of straight paddling...and occasionally dragging the raft...and got to the exit point just ahead of the nasty storm that was approaching. I got all my equipment up and over the bank, just as my wife and father were pulling in. Definitely good timing! I was pretty whooped, so I had my dad drive my truck home.
All in all, it was an amazingly fun time! I probably won't do that stretch of the river again for quite awhile...it's starting to get kind of familiar...and where's the excitement in that? LOL
So...here are some pictures from the trip. I'll post some pictures of the "finds" in my next post!
My "food" for the journey...a lot of water...strawberry and apple NutriGrain bars...and beef sticks! LOL
A little raft repair before the trip!
Here's my campsite for the night! I ended up carrying the raft up by the tent...I knew it was going to rain, but didn't know how much...and I didn't want the raft floating away if the water level rose by some miracle! LOL
A good shot of how most of the river looks...
This was one of MANY rock banks along the river.
I knew once I saw this trestle, I was getting near to the finish...and by near, I mean about 4-5 miles still! LOL
A good shot of how the hillsides erode into the river. The Cheyenne River Valley is pretty wide...just a neat shot of natural erosion.
I was pretty well prepared this year...thanks to the insistence of my wife. Since last year's cell phone debacle was seemingly fresh in her memory, she decided she needed to buy walkie-talkies. She was very pleased with her purchase because they have a 38 mile range. I tried to explain to her that might be the case if it were on flat land...but hills and trees would diminish the "range" to somewhere near the range of two cans attached with a string! Nevertheless, she came up with a plan on how and when she'd radio me. She said my "handle" would be Rocks...and hers was going to be Butterfly. I figured it would only be one or the other of us using it and the normal "Babe" would work...but apparently she wanted to avoid any confusion.
One of the other major changes from last year, I decided to plan on spending the night...rather than doing it by surprise! LOL - My wife insisted on getting me a tent. She looked for a one-man tent, but couldn't find any. So, she bought a two-person tent at one store, then went looking at another store and bought one there as well...I guess she wanted me to have a choice of some kind in the matter. One weighed 7.5 pounds and the other weighed 3.5 pounds. I chose the lighter as I figured that was one more rock I could handle in the raft! I will admit the tent did come in handy and I was grateful as it did rain Monday night. I will also say, the spot where I set up the tent looked to have softer ground than what it really turned out to be! Maybe I'm just getting older...but the hard ground was NOT comfortable in the least! So, while I kept dry, sleep was limited. One of the other reasons sleep was sporadic was because I setup my tent right next to a beaver pond! Every little bit, there was what sounded like someone throwing a big rock into the water...SPLOOSH! It was not a very considerate beaver! I had no clue there were beaver on the Cheyenne River as they don't build dams...they don't need to as there are naturally occurring "ponds" all along the river. They burrow into the banks as their home. There was also a pack of coyotes that started bellowing about 9pm...just as it was getting dark. I know how far their howls can carry...but I'm pretty sure they were less than a quarter mile away...close enough for me to change my mind on doing any night hounding, since I was alone!
It did rain on and off on Tuesday...not enough to be a bother...at least it wasn't to me as I had a rain coat with me and it got the rocks wet and made them easier to distinguish any fortification patters - since my main focus was finding Fairburn Agates. The other thing I brought with me was a one-gallon garden sprayer. I would fill it up in the river...spray all the rocks until it was empty...then rinse and repeat! I'd make sure it was empty when I got back in the raft, so as not to add any excess weight. It really was invaluable, as I wouldn't have found the "treasures" I did pick up if I hadn't had that sprayer...the fortification areas wouldn't have been visible if the rocks were dry!
Speaking of excess water in the raft...I did some repairs on the raft last week as the trip last year did some damage to the underside. When I say damage...I mean I got holes in the bottom of the raft! Not the inflatable sides...just the "floor" of the raft. The holes are coming from the fact the water has been SO low in the Cheyenne River, there are numerous places where it's only a couple inches deep and the raft drags on the rocks. I used FlexSeal to plug the holes from last year and brought a partial role of FlexSeal tape with me just in case I would happen to need it again. Well, I knew my collection of rocks was not going to be like last years, as I didn't want to weight the raft down...making it easier to damage...and a whole lot heaver to drag when the water was too low to float. The raft did well the first day, but I did start taking on water on Tuesday. I did patch the new holes with the tape...which helped slow down the influx of unwanted H2O!
Somewhere around late morning on Tuesday, I decided to sprint for the finish line. I had made plans for my wife and father to drop of my truck at the exit point on the river around 3:30. I knew if I wasn't there by then, it'd be waiting for me when I got there. My wife was also going to use the walkie-talkie to contact me and find out where I was at. Since there's no cell service, Google Maps doesn't work out there. So, I borrowed my dad's GPS. Problem was...I didn't take my reading glasses, so I couldn't read a dang thing that was on the screen! LOL - I spent a good four hours of straight paddling...and occasionally dragging the raft...and got to the exit point just ahead of the nasty storm that was approaching. I got all my equipment up and over the bank, just as my wife and father were pulling in. Definitely good timing! I was pretty whooped, so I had my dad drive my truck home.
All in all, it was an amazingly fun time! I probably won't do that stretch of the river again for quite awhile...it's starting to get kind of familiar...and where's the excitement in that? LOL
So...here are some pictures from the trip. I'll post some pictures of the "finds" in my next post!
My "food" for the journey...a lot of water...strawberry and apple NutriGrain bars...and beef sticks! LOL
A little raft repair before the trip!
Here's my campsite for the night! I ended up carrying the raft up by the tent...I knew it was going to rain, but didn't know how much...and I didn't want the raft floating away if the water level rose by some miracle! LOL
A good shot of how most of the river looks...
This was one of MANY rock banks along the river.
I knew once I saw this trestle, I was getting near to the finish...and by near, I mean about 4-5 miles still! LOL
A good shot of how the hillsides erode into the river. The Cheyenne River Valley is pretty wide...just a neat shot of natural erosion.