First Time Outdoors Students Visit the Gates of Narnia

Introduction from John:
As a parent, it's always gratifying to see your kids "give something back". Our son Matt and his wife Rebecca just finished their first year teaching high school in Opelousas. To culminate the year, they gave 8 students the trip of a lifetime. Four days and three night floating the Buffalo National River in Arkansas was the backdrop to an amazing experience for this group of kids. These students had no canoeing, camping or other real outdoor experience before this trip. Matt is my "guest blogger" for this email. I think you'll enjoy experiencing the river through this blog entry.

First Time Outdoors Students Visit the Gates of Narnia

My wife Rebecca and I have been teaching high school at the Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts in Opelousas, LA for the past year and all of our hard work finally paid off with the opportunity to take eight of our students on the Buffalo River in Arkansas. It was their first real outdoor experience and well worth the work we put into it. We spent four days and three nights on the river, and they experienced many of the joys and miseries that make the outdoor experience so special. They slept on the ground, ate food off of rocks, made s’mores (a first for several), paddled until they got blisters, swamped canoes, rescued their swamped canoes, skipped rocks, hiked in their rain gear, jumped off of rocks, swung from ropes, and visited “Narnia”.

Our trip began with the obstacle of finding enough decent gear for eight first time campers. Rebecca and I sent emails and made calls to all of our friends who we thought might have gear to borrow. We had lists of who offered what and who needed what. It was really a big mess to try and figure out. Luckily, my parents have tons of leftover gear from an adventure crew they used to lead, and Rebecca’s brother Loren also had a lot for his group of students at Hope for Opelousas. Before we even left for the trip we had spent many many hours working with organization, planning, and gear.

When we finally got on our way we were definitely ready for a vacation. The river was spectacular, the first two days provided crystal clear water and beautiful warm weather. With all of the trials trying to get eight students onto the Buffalo we were not able to start our first day’s paddle until 5:00 and still had several miles to paddle. By the time we got to camp everyone was tired and hungry. We collected an enormous amount of fire wood and burned it all up to have a bed of coals on which we cooked our first meal. We made pizza inside of pita pockets and cooked them in foil packets. The kids were so hungry they were using rocks as spoons to eat the extra piazza sauce from the can. We then played music, made s’mores, and hung out around the fire. From there it was straight to bed.














Our second day was much more relaxed, we were able to pull out art supplies and skip rocks. Somehow it is just more fun to draw on each other than on paper, oh well. For the students, one of the very frightening things about spending several days away from modern amenities was going to the bathroom. The students coined the term visiting “Narnia”, and in order to insure privacy they went in groups and left several brave friends at “the gates of Narnia”. For each of the challenges of life in the woods they were able to come up with their own unique way of coping.















On the morning of the third day we planed to hike from our camp to a knife edge ridge (a narrow ridge about the width of a sidewalk with cliffs on either side). We woke up to dreary, drizzly weather and contemplated skipping the hike, but it is always the somewhat miserable experiences that you remember the most, so we had them all put on their rain gear and get ready for the hike. To begin you have to walk quite a ways through waist high grass then along a dirt road. We then climbed from the road up the side of a hill and onto the ridge. As it was still rainy most of the kids were not up for walking across. Two of them did though; it really is scary especially in the rain. Afterward when we asked them if they were sacred they said “No you wouldn’t have let us do it if it was dangerous.” It’s a little disconcerting to have that kind of trust from someone.

When we got back from the hike we packed for our longest day of paddling. The weather in the morning was beautiful and we were able to jump off of several rocks into the river and do a couple of rope swings. It was really a fantastic day for a while. After lunch we had an experience which really made the trip memorable. There was a bend in the river where the entire flow passes through a fallen tree. When approaching it you can tell that it will be bad but as hard as you can paddle to get away from it the current is strong enough to overcome. It swept all five of our boats into the tree and flipped three of them, we had gear everywhere, three boats floating down the river and six people trying to swim to shore. By the end of it we were able to recover almost all of the equipment, but everything and everyone was soaking wet, even our dry boxes containing our sleeping pads, stove and cooking equipment, and tents were sloshing with water. To make matters worse it started raining; but even this could not dampen our students' spirits. One of our students confessed, “I wouldn’t want to do it again but it was really exciting.” We finished the last several miles and set up our wet equipment on a wet, sandy gravel bar in the rain then we settled in for our last night. In order to stay warm we had to get everyone dry, so we all sat facing one direction and let the kids dry off and change in the back of the tarp. Finally once everyone was in dry cloths the rain stopped and we cooked our last meal. Needless to say we were all exhausted and we made it an early night.




















We woke up early on the last morning and paddled out 9 miles in the rain to Gilbert. We all changed into car cloths and headed to a restaurant for an early lunch. Even after a real difficult last day and a half, all of the kids were in high spirits. Many said it was the best senior trip they could imagine and all hoped to have more opportunities to do things in the outdoors in the future.

When we returned home at 9:30 p.m. Rebecca and I laid out all of the equipment in our garage to dry. Then headed to bed after deciding to deal with the mess in the morning!
We would like to give a special thanks to Pack & Paddle, John and Becky Williams, Donna and Nathan Carriere, Loren Carriere and Hope for Opelousas, Wes and Kris Franciol, Jason and Jenny Cohen, Ashley Carriere, Jamie Gondron, Jessica Howell, and all of the parents. Without your help our trip and this amazing experience for our students would not have been possible.

Spring 2009 Highlights

It's already almost June, and spring has most certainly slid right into summer. The spring season at P&P has been busy, busy, busy. Over the last few months, we have hosted over 30 events and trips. Early in the season we endured rain, rain, rain. But to the credit of all of our great participants - this didn't seem to dampen spirits. We had so much fun and we as a staff would like to thank all of you for that.
For this blog entry, I decided to hit a few of the highlights: (click the photo if you would like to see more pictures of a certain event)

The season began with a trip to the Backbone trail. Wet weather did not dampen the spirits of the people on this trip.

Our Valentines trip was wet, but memorable. We arrived at Lake Martin in the rain, but undaunted, pressed on. After the paddle tour, we headed back to the shop for beautiful music, fun and amazing food.


Our sunrise paddle at Lake Martin is always special - and this trip was no exception. Cool and misty weather treated the group to a view of Lake Martin that you can only get if you rise early.

In late February, we led a corageous group for an overnight canoe trip down Black Creek. We had rain, cold, sun, and even snow during our time on the river. The group did a great job and had a memorable time on the river together.

March brought us on a great kayak fishing trip down in Grand Isle. We all enjoyed the hospitality of Danny and Kristin Wray as well as the beautiful weather and good fishing.

The spring migration took us out to the northern Atchafalaya Basin to Indian Bayou. We enjoyed a paddle trip and a hike to this unique area on the same weekend. We enjoyed good weather and wildlife watching.

Michael Pears hosted his ever-popular kayak fishing seminars this spring. Both sessions were well attended as Michael gave lots of good fishing advice and gave away his favorite 30 spots to kayak fish across the state.

Our Canoeing 101 class was a lot of fun - as students learned proper technique for forward strokes, back strokes, Draws and J-Strokes. A good time was had by all!


Our marquis event of the spring was a talk and slideshow by Jon Bowermaster. His tales of paddling all over the world allowed everyone to live through the lens of his camera. His photos were awesome. His stories were amazing. Jon commented that this was the largest and most enthusiastic crowd he has spoken to in this type of setting and was very impressed with the outdoor community of Lafayette.

The first ever P&P trip down the Wild Nezpique was a big success. The group was aided by a good current and favorable winds - getting them in to the landing just before the skies opened up.

Buffalo Cove is always an adventure - and this year was no exception. We floated high water, battled through water lilies enjoyed every minute of it. We saw a pair of Osprey on its nest, snakes clinging to trees and even the illusive Prethonotary Warbler.

These are just a few of the trips and memories that we have of the first half of 2009.
If you would like to see photos of all our events and trips, click here.

Yes - it's been a busy time. We are so thankful that we can be part of the Lafayette outdoor community and look forward to the summer and fall!

Jon Bowermaster to Speak at Pack & Paddle Venue

I wanted to give you, my faithful blog readers, the first heads-up on a VERY exciting event coming up in May. Through months of phone calls and emails, we have been able to arrange to bring National Geographic author, adventurer and living legend Jon Bowermaster to Lafayette for a talk and slideshow.


The date for the event is Wednesday, May 6th.

We being with an open house at 6pm where you can meet Jon in person. We'll have food from Great Harvest Bakery and live music with Jane Vidrine. The slidshow and talk begins at 7- but get there early for good food, good friends and a good seat.

This very special event has been made possible through a partnership with Mountain Hardwear. Representatives of Mountain Hardwear will be on hand at the event to answer questions about gear and for give-aways.

This event will benefit the Basinkeeper program which works tirelessly to protect our local wilderness wonderland - the Atchafalaya Basin. (http://www.basinkeeper.org/) In keeping with all events at the Pack & Paddle Venue - this will be a free event. We are asking that all attendees consider donating $10 or more per person that night to this worthy cause. All donations collected will go directly to the Basinkeeper program.

Here's a little background on Jon:

For more than 20 years, writer and filmmaker JON BOWERMASTER has explored the environment and exotic corners of the world for a variety of national and international publications, primarily for the National Geographic Society and the New York Times.

Author of eight books, three with renowned polar explorer Will Steger, his travels have taken him to seven continents and included two-person sledging across Antarctica, sailing a 60-foot sailboat across the Atlantic, and first descents of rivers from Chile to China.

His expeditions have been supported by six grants from National Geographic’s Expeditions Council.

Begun in 1999, Jon’s OCEANS 8 project is a series of expeditions launched to explore the world’s oceans from the seat of a sea kayak. Used as both transportation and as floating ambassadors, sea kayaks allow Bowermaster and his teams— comprised of some of the world’s top photographers, filmmakers, scientists and navigators—to reach corners of the world rarely seen.

To see a full bio on Jon, go to http://jonbowermaster.com/pdf/jb.pdf
For more info on Jon Bowermaster go to: www.jonbowermaster.com

About our event:
Jon will present a slideshow about his Oceans 8 project. This will give you a unique opportunity to hear about his adventures sea-kayaking around the world from the adventurer himself.

These trips have taken him to the Aleutian Islands, Vietnam, French Polynesia, South America’s Altiplano and the wild coasts of Gabon, Croatia and Tasmania and the Antarctic Peninsula. The goal of each expedition was adventure crossed with an assessment of the health of the seas and the lives of the people who live and depend on them. Around the planet more than 4 billion people live within 35 miles of a coast and depend on the seas that surround. Meanwhile, impacts on marine ecosystems have compromised the relationship between the world’s oceans and humanity. The OCEANS 8 project allowed for a unique exploration of this profound connection.

Besides his work for periodicals such as The New York Times and National Geographic, Jon has the following book and film credits:
Books
GOVERNOR,
University of Iowa Press, 1987
SAVING THE EARTH,
Alfred A. Knopf, 1990 (with Will Steger)
CROSSING ANTARCTICA,
Alfred A. Knopf, 1991 (with Will Steger)
THE ADVENTURES AND MISADVENTURES
OF PETER BEARD IN AFRICA,
Bulfinch Press, 1993
OVER THE TOP OF THE WORLD,
Scholastic Press, 1995 (with Will Steger)
BIRTHPLACE OF THE WINDS,
National Geographic Adventure Press, 2001
ALEUTIAN ADVENTURE,
National Geographic Society, 2001
ALONE AGAINST THE SEA,
Lyons Press, 2004
Films
Birthplace of the Winds (Aleutian Islands), 1999
The Dangerous Archipelago (French Polynesia), 2002
A Slowboat to Somewhere (French Polynesia), 2002
Into the Altiplano (Chile/Argentina/Bolivia), 2003
The Lost Coast of Gabon, 2004
Borderland (Croatia), 2005
Around Tasmania, 2006

How to Attach an Umbrella to your Pack

I've been asked a number of times how to attach an umbrella to a backpack. This allows your hands to be free for using trekking poles. Read on to see how simple this is:

1) Get 2 cordlocks and 2 pieces of bungee cord about 6 inches long.
2) Loop the bungee cord through webbing that is mounted on your shoulder strap. Do two bungees - about 3-6 inches apart.
3) Put both ends of the bungee cord through the cordlock and tie an overhand knot to keep the cordlock on.
4) Place the handle of your umbrella through the bungee cords.
5) Tighten the cords.

That's it! The umbrella rests on the top of the pack behind your head and the cords control the umbrella in the front. This system got us through the entire Appalachian Trail and the entire Colorado Trail. We find that it works in almost any weather. If you have a strong crosswind, you may have to hold the handle with your hand and point the umbrella slightly into the wind. If you have any questions - just email me at john@packpaddle.com

Cold Water, Warm Smiles - Our Adventure on Black Creek

Becky and I just returned from a memorable weekend that was shared by 16 hardy souls on Black Creek. Just south of Hattiesburg, Black Creek runs clear and cold through DeSoto National forest. Our route was to take us from the small town of Brooklyn down to the USFS take out called Cypress Creek. This trip was our first time to lead a group down this beautiful section of river.
Our adventure began as we approached DeSoto National Forest and made one last stop in civilization in the small town of Wiggins. With 5 cars following us, Becky and I circled this tiny town several times trying to find the Whistle Stop Cafe where we had planned to eat with the group before hitting the woods. The townsfolk must have thought it a very strange procession to see a car with 7 canoes on a trailer followed by 5 other cars circling over and over again. We finally found the restaurant and enjoyed all you can eat catfish and shrimp.

Thirty minutes later, we were at Moodys launch and our campsite for the night. Thick clouds obscured the sliver of moon above us as the group set their tents up in the dark. A few folks explored down to the edge of the creek, but most decided to turn in.

The next morning everyone was bustling under very threatening skies to pack their gear while the rain held off. We had a quick breakfast and headed for the put in. While on the way, the rains commenced in earnest. We unloaded the boats under the shelter of the bridge as the torrent continued to fall. But luck was with us as the rain had quit before the drivers of the cars returned from running our shuttle down to Cypress Creek.

Once on the river, the group quickly fell into a rhythm. Unfortunately the rhythm was one of those erratic jazz compositions nobody can understand. The upper section of the river is littered with stumps, logs and strainers - all of which are great opportunities to flip your canoe. The group dipped, cut, and dodged its way down the river. We did have one flip over on the first section, but survived it amazingly well.

Six miles down the creek found us having a wonderful lunch on a creek-side gravel bar. We enjoyed wraps with home-made black bean salad, ham, cheese, turkey and hummus. After lunch, we passed several small creeks that flow into Black Creek from either side of the river. Before we knew it, we were at our campsite at the 12 mile mark. Tents were quickly pitched, a kitchen set up and firewood collected. It was getting cold quickly now - but we felt safe and secure on our sandbar along the side of the creek.

That evening, with a fire roaring, we were treated to Becky's hot gumbo and french bread with home-made brownies to top it off. We stayed up till paddlers midnight (8:00pm) telling ghost stories and enjoying each others company. The wind was roaring, making the fire twist and turn in the darkness. That’s when we noticed the tiny snowflakes flying in the flashlight beams.

Right before bed I noticed that the creek had risen a couple of inches. This meant a long night ahead of getting up every couple of hours to check the rise to make sure that camp would be safe. By midnight the creek had risen another 15 inches making our big sandbar quite a bit smaller. By 2am, it had only risen a couple of more inches and I could see the creek had nearly crested and that we would be safe for the night. Back in the tent, we could hear the ice and sleet hitting the top of the tent, driven by the heavy winds. Finally nodding off, I knew that tomorrow would be very interesting - and very cold!

It was a little harder to get everyone out of their warm dens Sunday morning, but we finally got everyone on a roll. After a breakfast of Muesli and Cinnamon bread from Great harvest, we were on the river paddling again. The group resembled the Michelin Man with everyone putting on nearly every layer they had in their bags. Over the last twenty four hours, the group had transformed from an erratic stump dodging jazz improv to a coordinated and smooth symphony. We glided along through forests, bluffs, riffles and gravel bars making amazingly good time with the high water and tailwind. By 11, we were only a few miles from our takeout.

We all enjoyed Rosemary Almond Chicken Salad sandwiches with Kettle chips for lunch. Finally, the sun made its first appearance as we ate. With everyone in great spirits, we headed off to a fine finish. Unfortunately even a symphony can hit a sour note.

I came around a bend to see our group stopped and trying to rescue an overturned canoe. We quickly paddled up to find two of our group swimming in the freezing water. They made it to the shore where Becky helped them with changing to warm clothes while Frank and I headed down to see if we could stop the swamped vagabond canoe. We cornered the canoe against the bank, pulled it partially out of the water and quickly flipped it upright. After bailing it out, we towed it back up to the group where our unfortunate friends were trying to catch their breath from the cold water. Soon we were on our way again and minutes later we had reached the end of our trip.

I would like to say thank you to this group for reminding me of how game a group can be under adverse conditions. We had rain, sleet, snow, cold water and much more. This group always had a great attitude and great smiles - making it all worthwhile. Meagan, Eddie, Grant, Steve, Linda, Jim, Roger, Anthony, Lauren, Emily, Gaye, Danny, Duke and Frank - I want to say - that ya'll are awesome and Becky and I cherished the chance to be with you for this adventurous weekend!

2008 - Outdoor Lafayette Year in Review

The new year is always a time to look forward to things to come. But it’s also a time to look back and reminisce about things past. I find myself particularly nostalgic for the year that was 2008. Over the last year, we've seen the Outdoor Community of Lafayette grow. Lots of new folks are paddling, kayak fishing and hiking. Others are noticing as well. Lafayette (and Pack & Paddle) was mentioned in National Geographic Adventure Magazine as a "50 Best Places to Live for Outdoors" in the country! We have enjoyed being part of this movement. Read on for some of the highlights of the past year.

If you’re not into reading and would like to see a montage of photos from trips and events, Click Here.

Watching students to make their very own alcohol stoves out of beer cans and then going outside and lightning them in the parking lot was a lot of fun. I sharpened my skills by attending our outdoor photography class. The Valentines Romance Paddle was an incredible evening that Becky and I hosted with our son and daughter in law Matt and Rebecca. Wow! What an evening! Other standout events early in the year were our Grand Isle Kayak Fishing Expedition, our Namaste Waterfall Day hike, and Michael Pears teaching Kayak Fishing the Marshes of South Louisiana. Early in the year we also were a venue for the Cinema on the Bayou film festival. The evening with Christina Melton introducing the “Atchafalaya Houseboat” film was particularly memorable.

Early summer found us paddling Buffalo Cove on a memorable high water day, paddling the Virgin Cypress for the first time on a picture perfect late spring afternoon and heading to South Texas for an incredible kayak fishing adventure. Our community screening of “The Real Dirt on Farmer John” co-hosted with Earthshare Gardens was a highlight. Ken Waldman - the Alaskan Fiddling Poet put on a great show for our first ever musical evening at P&P. Captain Danny Wray from Grand Isle captured the kayak fishing community with a great talk on tackle and strategies when fishing from a kayak.

As late summer came and fall began, we had a great kids hike at Fausse Point highlighted with playing in the fountains. One great memory for me was at our kayak fishing trip to Grand Isle, seeing Dan Selph catch a HUGE redfish from the seat of his kayak. During this time, Becky and I were gone for almost two months. The first part of the trip was a trade show. The second part was a 37 day hike of the Colorado Trail. While we were gone, Lafayette hosted 2 near misses on hurricanes. Our Bio-Fuel night was an amazing success with Tim Metcalf and a great film highlighting the night.

Fall brought a wonderful art film called “Rivers and Tides” that got a lot of response from the outdoor community. Author Pete Cooper came to the P&P venue and talked fishing to a rapt crowd that hung on every word (especially me!). We hosted Dean Wilson - the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper for a wonderful program on some of the environmental problems in the Basin.

In addition to all of the events listed above, we had many great Howl at the Moon evenings at Lake Martin, Kayaking and Canoeing 101 classes, Waterfall hikes, Backbone hikes, Indian Bayou birding hikes and paddle trips, Chicot hikes and paddle trips, backpacking clinics, demo days, food drying clinics and canoe camping seminars.

WHEW!!! If you are still reading - thank you! This was a totally amazing year. We have enjoyed sharing time with you and look forward to some incredible adventures in 2009.

Christmas Memories

As some of you may know, I grew up here at Pack & Paddle. The store was founded by my parents in 1974 in a small Acadian shack on the edge of the Vermillion river. I was 13 years old at the time. Since that year, Pack & Paddle has in many ways defined this season for our family. As you might imagine, we've built up a lot of stories over the last 34 Christmas seasons.

Our first year sales were very slow - so it was announced that everyone in the family was getting Christmas presents from Pack & Paddle. The pile grew under the tree until when, a week before Christmas, the shopping madness finally hit. That's when us 5 kids watched our Christmas presents get unwrapped and sold to customers looking for gifts!

There are lots of great memories as well. Ask anyone in our family who the "last customer of the season is" and you'll hear a chorus say "Harold Schoeffler". Harold has a tradition of coming in on Christmas eve and shopping for his whole list. We all look forward to Harold making his appearance and having fun picking out gifts for the whole family.

When Christmas eve finally arrived, we would all take a picture by the front desk and the usually go out to eat and celebrate - having survived another crazy Christmas The photo above is of our family at P&P circa 1978. I am on the upper right). We had made it through together, built some great memories and became closer as a family in spite of (or maybe because of) the hard work.

These days, many of you have become involved in our Pack & Paddle family through our trips and our in-house events. It has been a joy to join you over the last year here at the shop for films and events as well as out on the water and on the trail. These programs have allowed us to get to know all of you so much better.

There are so many memories of the last year: Watching groups struggle though the final miles uphill out of the Waterfall hike - then celebrating on the porch of the Pond General Store. The epic muddy pullover at Buffalo Cove was a huge effort that was rewarded by the beautiful views of Bayou Gravenburg and Buffalo Cove. Likewise, the first tentative strokes of students in a Kayaking or Canoeing 101 class morph into confident paddling skills as we glide through the trees of Lake Martin at sunset.

Experiences like these that you share with your family - especially the struggles - give you a common thread. A common life blood. And memories that last a lifetime.

All of us at Pack & Paddle thank you for joining into our extended family. We look forward to being outdoors with you next year and wish you a very merry Christmas!

John, Becky, Amy, Cheryll, Jamie, Skip, Joe, Kristin, Emily