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F-Troopers camp out on
wilderness island
That’s why you buy a camp, so you don’t have to sleep
out under a tent, right? But we chose to do it anyway
last weekend, for the first time in F-Troop history, and
we had a great time.
On Saturday the four of us – Todd, Brad, Donna Rai’ and
I – prepped our tons of gear, but we were delayed by
thunderstorms and didn’t hit the waters until 4:00 p.m.
We pushed off near the village of Dunn’s Eddy and headed
down the Allegheny River. D-Rai’ moved quickly
downstream in her sleek new camo-colored kayak, and Brad
followed right behind in his tiny whitewater craft. Todd
and I brought up the rear in my broad and stable 14-foot
canoe, heaped over with gear and pulling an inflated
freight raft behind.
We paddled six miles downstream in two quick hours and
set up camp on Muddy Point (our name, obviously), on one
of the designated wilderness islands of the Allegheny
National Forest. We set up our two dome tents and began
gathering firewood and preparing food: hot dogs,
potatoes, and beans. From 7:00 p.m. until midnight, we
feasted, laughed, and told stories beside the bonfire in
the dark forest night, lively river waters flowing past
us on both sides.
Sunday morning we broke camp and paddled six more
miles, down past the town of Tidioute, at a more
leisurely pace, under clear skies and sunshine. We took
photos of two immature bald eagles perched on an oak
crag above and a mother common merganser leading her
troupe of ducklings along the shoreline. Todd tossed a
line in and caught a smallmouth bass on a crankbait. The
whole overnight experience felt fresh and invigorating,
a new way to experience the outdoors. We plan to try it
again in two weeks.
Good luck out there. And have a great week outdoors.
~ Don Feigert, 6-17-08
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