Varsity Team 448: San Marcos River Kayaking Trip, May 2011

This was a busy weekend for our troop with several different activities going on. For Varsity Team 448 we went on a kayaking trip down the San Marcos River between Fentress and Luling--a distance of about 20 miles.

We started our trip at the Fentress Bridge and went downstream for one hour arriving at the Leisure Resort Campground where we spent the night.

This was another trip to practice our kayaking skills in preparation for our trip to Northern Tier this summer.

A scout named Travis from Luling that is also going with us to Northern Tier came along and his parents had hamburgers and hotdogs waiting for us when we arrived---and we enjoyed our visit with them. Two weeks earlier they gave us a tour of Luling and the Zedler Mill and also treated all of our team members to a delicious BBQ lunch after that day's trip.

On Friday evening a big thunderstorm arrived with rain after we had gone to bed---but we were happy to finally have some rain to help with the area's drought conditions.

On Saturday, Mr. Wilder cooked eggs and pork chops for breakfast---and then we set-off down the river for our eight hour trip.

The first few hours were pleasant---although the kayaks bottomed out in some locations where the water was low.

The wildlife was beautiful including the turtles and fish, and the entire way down we seemed to be following a blue heron as it fished for its food.

Later-on there were more obstacles and debris in the river with many fallen trees in the way. Each kayak wiped out (tipped over) about three times, but the water felt good, and added to the fun. On one of the rapids I was coming around a corner, and didn't see a tree until it was too late. My kayak went into the tree sideways tipping me over---and I lost my glasses. Then my paddle started floating down the river. Fortunately some guys training for the Texas Water Safari retrieved the paddle for me---and I was back in business.

When we got to our stopping place for lunch our sandwiches were wet from the kayak tipping over but still tasted great since we were starving.

Finally around 4:30 PM we reached Luling, near the dam---and we were totally exhausted. It was a great day, the river was pristine and beautiful and we were very impressed with how well the river is being taken care of.

So we're looking forward to our next kayak adventure and also to our Northern Tier trip coming up later in the summer!