My calendar had July 9 - July, 20 2008 scheduled for the July P4C WPC. For those who aren't familiar with the notation, P4C stands for Paddlers for Christ which is a group of Christian Paddlers who desire to find opportunities to share the "Living Water" with others as they paddle and fellowship in various locations. WPC stands for Worship, Paddle, and Camp which are the three major focuses of these P4C fellowships. While most WPCs are only over a weekend, particularly with the increasing gasoline prices, requests had been coming in for longer periods of time to be devoted to these opportunities combined with more unfamiliar rivers. Summer vacations and Tennessee's Duck River seemed like the perfect combination for answering these requests. Also, since the next OWLS outing was tentatively planned to take place on the Duck River, this gave me the chance to scout out the best sections of the river for that trip, locate potential campsites, and discover any river hazards we needed to avoid.
As it turned out, this WPC made the record books in three different categories. It was the longest timewise with 11 days, it was the longest in terms of river mileage at 177 river miles covered from initial launch to final take-out, and it was the smallest turnout of any uncancelled WPC, particularly if you consider the average number of participants per day paddled.
The Lord was my constant companion and encourager along the way and He regularly brought others alongside to make the trip easier and more pleasurable.
The first really neat example of this was, on Day 1, about a mile or so above the first dam I would have to portage, I came upon Brian Wofford, a teacher at The Webb School in Bell Buckle, and a couple of his kids. Brian had heard of OWLS and been studying our programs to see how they might enhance what he is doing with Project WILD, the Webb School's outdoor program. They were a lot of fun to talk with and a great help in negotiating the portage around the Lillard's Mill dam.
Not only did they help carry my heavily loaded canoe around the dam but the following morning Brian met me at a bridge farther downstream and helped me relocate my car in a safer spot farther downstream.
As I landed at the Shelbyville dam, the blessings came in the form of a number of the town's homeless men. They showed lots of interest in my "expedition" and then offered to help me portage around that dam. One of them, which I turned down, even suggested that I should stop over for the night at his campsite under the next bridge.
It wouldn't be right to enter this trip report without mentioning Doug Murphy, Director of the Tennessee Duck River Agency, who helped make this trip possible in numerous ways. He encouraged me time and again by showering accolades on his river. He provided detailed maps and information concerning access points, portages, mileage, and other crucial data. He offered to provide quick response in case of emergencies. After a very expensive and exasperating day including having my car break down and having to have it towed to Columbia, he also bought me lunch and helped me set shuttle in Centerville where I finally took out.
It was a long trip and toward the end my goal turned from enjoying the scenery and marking potential campsites to making more miles each day and getting back home. I was able to accomplish my goal of determining the best section for the upcoming "Odyssey" trip and plotting enough campsites on my maps to offer the kids plenty of flexibility during that trip.
Below are a few of the many photos I took during the WPC. I certainly hope you make the next one with me!
The upper sections of the Duck River were often lined with rocky bluffs.
Some of the riverside bluffs were deeply undercut providing comfortable sheltered campsites.
Other bluffs were pockmarked with cave entrances. Some were dry and others, like this, had small streams of water flowing out of them all the time.
This Great Blue Heron seemed to stay just ahead of me throughout the entire trip. He always saw me coming long before I spotted him, making photographing him a real challenge.
This little fellow and several of his older relatives were my companions during the first few evenings on the Duck River.
Most of the older bridges have been replaced with new concrete structures but, in many locations, the old steel frames of the original bridges remain like giant erector set projects.
The deer were everywhere along the river and I spotted several of them each day.
Spotting a family of Bald Eagles near Williamsport and following the big male for another mile or so downriver was really exciting.
When approaching shoals or one of the dams, the river often took on a mirror-like appearance.
The mussels found in the banks and along the gravel bars grew to 6" or more in size. If the water was a little bit cleaner, each one would be a meal in itself. There must have been lots of chubby Indians living along this river in years gone by.
A week on the river without a mirror and without anyone telling me what I looked like can create some pretty scary results.
At my final takeout, in Centerville, TN, just down the road from Grinders Switch and 177 river miles downstream from Normandy Dam where the trip began, it's just Minnie Pearl and me.
