Since we returned from our trip on the Green River life has been an absolute whirlwind. I’ve been in the process of transitioning my website from Shopify to WordPress and it was not a quick or easy task. Although by career I am a teacher, this summer “break” with two active, social, non-driving kids is not feeling very chill! I am certainly cherishing the time we all have together, but lately it’s feeling like much of that time is running the kids from point A to B.
Our parents were each able to take a kid for the three days we were away and do the running for us, for which I am forever grateful. Our 14 year old son tackled a Ragnar Race at Dillon State Park while we were away, which stressed us out but of course he had a great experience. He’s become a dedicated distance runner and this was quite an experience for him. And our youngest had a more restful time (as he would prefer it!), attending an Archery meeting (we still don’t quite know what’s going on) and hanging out with his grandparents.
So with the kids in good hands we quickly transitioned from our trip to Pittsburgh, PA and prepared for a more…rugged experience. I’ve been wanting to take a canoe camping trip for a few years now, but unfortunately Ohio isn’t particularly well suited for that adventure. I had purchased a few new items to make our trip a little smoother, a backpack cooler and a larger dry bag, since wet sleeping bags would be pretty much a disaster if we were to dump. I was also so excited to get my new UPF 50 sun shirt…which I left at the kitchen counter on our way out the door, along with my hat. We stopped at a popular sporting goods store we passed along the way to see if I could find a long sleeve shirt to get me through, but I had sticker shock and couldn’t bear to spend that much on my oversight.
It was an easy drive down, primarily south on I-71, and we were fortunate to not run into traffic like what was headed north in several places because we really didn’t have much cushion time before we needed to meet our shuttle. Hence running out of the house without my hat and sunshirt. Thankfully we didn’t need to load our canoe on the 4Runner, since we were renting one from Green River Canoeing and Kayaking. Nic had talked with them on the phone about trip options, water levels, canoe camping, and boat options, and they were so pleasant and easy to work with! Thankfully Nic had the foresight to mention we weren’t sure we would be able to fit ourselves, our gear, and our large dog into one canoe, so they brought a few options with them.
We arrived at our meeting point which was also our take-out location, Houchin Ferry. There we met two friendly staff members from Green River Canoeing and Kayaking who helped us load all of our gear into their van, which was towing the rack of boats. We noticed they had two canoes and two kayaks with them, and that the canoes were smaller than ours back home, so we were considering our options as they shuttled us to Green River Ferry which was our put-in location.
The drive was beautiful as we entered the park, but I have failed to mention so far in this post that although this adventure was my idea, my anxiety over it had been building for weeks. It was coming to a head as we made our way to Green River Ferry and hauled our gear down quite a long cement staircase with rails for canoes and kayaks to slide down. I knew cell service would be limited at best, and I was particularly stressing over our son at the Ragnar Race, the heat, injury potential, him trail running alone after dark, etc. So we would not only be 5+ hours away but also unreachable. I repeatedly told myself, and Nic reminded me too, that it’s good to disconnect, the kids were in good hands, and our older son is fiercely independent and didn’t mind at all that we weren’t reachable.
It became obvious fairly quickly that it wasn’t practical for our canoe camping gear, Samson, and both of us to be in one canoe. We used our backpacking packs for most of our gear, but then we also had the dry bag with our sleeping bags, the backpack cooler, and fishing gear. The set up we chose ended up being perfect, with Nic, Samson and more than half of the gear in a canoe, and me in a kayak with the rest of the gear.
The first few moments on the water were stressful as the ferry was shuttling a vehicle across the river and we had to navigate around it. I had never seen anything like it, and apparently there are few remaining (because as cool as it was, bridges are probably more practical to most people). The current was pushy there and we circled as we waited for it to be clear to pass. I wish I had a picture but I was paddling hard and there was definitely no stopping for a photo.
With that out of the way we were able to see the nature of the Green River, and it really is green. The foliage was lush everywhere you looked, and it was clear that the water had quite recently been many feet higher than it was. Nic stopped to fish and change tackle and I paddled a little ahead. After a little while I turned to look for him and he was nowhere in sight. I paddled back upriver around the bend I had just navigated and I still couldn’t see him. I tried my best to stay calm and I didn’t even yell for him because it seemed like he wasn’t anywhere near. As a minute passed my heart was racing and then he moved and I saw him. He had been perfectly camouflaged into the riverbank where he was fishing, and he and Samson were both perfectly still. Of course he had no idea I was looking for him.
I began to relax as we paddled and I fished a little, too. This river is DEEP for how wide it is. At least compared to the rivers we’re used to. I kept thinking about how our shuttle driver had mentioned there were caves underneath the whole area. He had also made it a point to tell us that if someone was on the run from the law, the caves would be the perfect place for them to hide. Awesome…😅
We paddled and fished on, and Nic caught a nice sized Smallmouth and a few smaller ones, too. We hoped to catch fish for dinner but it was too early to keep anything at that point. We paused a few miles in to stretch our legs at a gravel bar, and saw what appeared through the water to be an enormous Gar, a prehistoric-looking fish that, frankly, I was thankful not to catch while in my kayak.
Evening was approaching as we hit our 6-mile halfway point and I had noticed a definite shortage of suitable places to camp. The banks were fairly steep, and although they often had ledges none were wide or flat enough for our tent and for Samson to have room to safely walk around. We came across another gravel bar that we considered, but we know how much it hurts Samson’s feet and it wouldn’t have been to comfy for us, either. I was wondering if the lack of suitable camp sites was due to the water level at the time, and wondering if others had been on the river before us to canoe camp since the level had come closer to normal. I thought, maybe there are no sites since the flooding, but we’re the first to find out.
By mile 7 I was remembering our ill-fated backpacking trip to the Lake Vesuvius (southern Ohio) Lakeshore Trail. We had been assured by a ranger that it was perfectly ok to camp along the trip, with some limitations. As we hiked on it became painfully obvious that there simply was nowhere for a tent aside from the area we passed just a short hike in which was quite a few miles back at that point. As daylight faded we decided we had no choice but hike the whole way, unnecessarily having carried our too-heavy packs for the entire perimeter and back to the car. We stopped and had the best pizza of our lives which we ate in the car on the way home, where we finally arrived approaching 1 am.
Nic pointed out potential campsites and I didn’t think we could realistically manage any of them due to the steep banks, lack of flat square footage, or widow-makers (there were trees down EVERYWHERE and we didn’t want to end up under another one). By mile 8 the sun was well behind the trees and I was at the point of praying for a safe campsite to appear soon, because the thought of continuing to paddle in the dark and reaching the car like our hike at Vesuvius was a little hard to imagine. We’d been able to use our GPS for satellite images on our phones, and we could see what looked like it could have been another gravel bar around a mile ahead, and then nothing really from that point to our take-out at Houchin Ferry. If that didn’t work out, we’d either keep going or camp at a spot that would be rather terrifying for one reason or another.
As we cautiously approached the spot we were anticipating, we finally came across an incredible campsite – like nowhere else on the river that we’d passed. It was beautiful. It was sand rather than gravel, there was an abundance of firewood, and Samson could safely get the zoomies before crawling into the tent absolutely covered in sand. We set up camp and I reflecting on how thankful I was for this incredible site, that there were no dead trees or branching lurking above, and that we had a little space to roam. We made naan pizzas for dinner in a skillet over our backpacking stove and got cleaned up for the night. Samson let out a a big bark towards the woods and I was exceedingly thankful for him sounding like a huge, scary dog even though he’s a cuddly sweetheart. He would certainly alert us if anything was out of the ordinary. I was also thankful for the lack of bears in the area, although I’m sure they would have roamed freely here in the past.
I read a little of Bill Bryson’s book A Walk in the Woods before falling asleep and I’m pretty sure I was laughing out loud but thankfully Nic and Samson kept right on snoozing. We were completely exhausted from the day of travel, paddling, and camp set up.
We woke up early the next morning and could tell it was going to be blazing hot. We’d been able to chase the shade the previous day as the sun got lower in the sky, but our campsite was quite exposed in the morning and made us ready to get on our way. We soaked Samson down in the river and had a quick breakfast of yogurt and oatmeal as we broke camp. I was pleased that our cold food was still cold but could tell that the cooler wasn’t going to be able to keep up in direct sun all day. I had frozen one of our 1.3 gallon collapsible water bags to keep food cold (you can shop both of these products below) and I figured by the time we needed the back up water we’d have eaten our cold food anyway. It had thawed but was still quite cold. It worked out just right, and the cooler kept things cold enough in the blazing heat with the frozen water bag for nearly 24 hours. It’s not the same as our Igloo cooler that can go for days, but that one wasn’t coming in the canoe. We were able to have turkey and cheese naan on day 2 for lunch as we paddled.
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The food item of the trip was the Specially Selected Garlic Naan from Aldi. I’d never had it before but it looked promising, and it definitely delivered. It made a good sandwich and the first night at camp we threw it in a skillet over the backpacking stove, covered it with pizza sauce from pouches I hijacked from pizza kits we had at home, shredded mozzarella, and slices of summer sausage. I think it was only second to the late night Vesuvius on the way home pizza. We mostly avoid wheat products because we just feel better, but this was worth it. Definitely not our healthiest meal on the trip, but it sure hit the spot at the time.
The river continued to be as beautiful as the night before as we got back to it and paddled on towards our car at Houchin Ferry. Knowing we only had a few miles to go, we took our time fishing at every eddy that looked tempting. Although it’s deep, the Green River is perfect for novice paddlers as there are no rapids, no portages, and the current is generally around 2 mph, at least at that water level. Although there were dozens of fallen trees over our 12 mile paddle, there were few sweepers or strainers that would cause a threat. Something to note is that lifejackets are required while paddling the river, and anyone caught without one can face a hefty fine. We kept a leisurely pace until we were just too hot to stay in direct sunlight. We were nearing record temperatures for June, and although Samson tolerates the heat well we didn’t want to push it. Shade was hard to come by and by the time we reached our take-out we were wiped out and thankful we had not opted for the 20 mile trip as we’d considered. Sure would have been nice to have a hat and sun shirt!
The last step of our journey on the river was to drag our gear and boats up the steep ramp to the location we agreed upon with Green River Canoeing and Kayaking. Nic, being the chivalrous guy he is, pulled the boats up himself as I climbed up with some gear and kept an eye on Samson. The air conditioning in the car never felt better than it did that day and we stopped at a gas station nearby to grab cold drinks.
We had options at that point – we could have made the drive home but we knew the kids were taken care of and we were really very tired. I was hoping to stretch our adventure out just a little more and we found a few lakeside campgrounds in the area to check out. The first was Nolin Lake State Park, and although it was quite nice there were really no spots open near the lake. We continued our drive to another campground on the same lake but a half hour away, and ended up at this extraordinary lake view site amongst the pine trees…stay tuned for details…
I have to circle back to thoughts from earlier in this post. I was anxious about this trip. I was anxious about being unreachable, concerned that we couldn’t call for help if we needed it ourselves, and I have a tendency to get a little uneasy as night falls while we’re backcountry camping. I share this with you because I believe that it’s healthy to put myself in mostly controlled situations where I may experience fear and hardship. Maybe in some ways I could be content living vicariously through others by reading about or watching their adventures and never have to face that fear of night time in the backcountry, the risk of never finding a suitable campsite and having to paddle the last few miles in the dark, or the anticipation of not knowing for sure what’s around the next bend in the river. Compared to what some do, our adventures are small scale, small budget, and tame. But to me they are life-giving, precious opportunities to practice mindfulness and to live in the moment, chances to soak up nature and vitamin D, and to do something that reminds me that I can do things that require a little endurance and struggle.
So let me take a moment to encourage you to plan something. Anything, really, as long as it’s just a little outside of your comfort zone. Maybe it’s going to a restaurant with a cuisine you’ve never experienced, visiting a town nearby that you’ve never taken the time to visit, taking a guided hike at a metropark on a new trail, or renting a paddleboard at a local marina for an hour. The plans you make today are the memories you’ll carry with you, and in my experience the ones that stretch my limits a little tend to make great memories (and stories, too).
Have you ever been canoe camping? If so, where? If not, is it something you’d try? Have questions? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!
Stay tuned for the rest of the adventure!
Yours in exploration,
Emily
Last update on 2024-09-19 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Sounds like an amazing experience! 💛