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September 25, 2019 - 4 comments

River hitchhiking

In May of 2013, my oldest son Will and I drove early one Saturday morning to the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge. We were joining the Cahaba River Society for one of its guided trips to Hargrove Shoals to see the world’s largest collection of Shoal (Cahaba) Lilies. Going down early allowed us to do some fishing prior to meeting the rest of the group. As we were getting on the river we met a Boy Scout troop from Huntsville who were putting in at the Refuge and canoeing down to Pratt’s Ferry (the location of the next road crossing). We talked a bit with their leaders before shoving off.

My son and I had seen the lilies before with the CRS. In fact, this trip to see the lilies has become a family tradition. On different occasions my wife and all three children have made the float. Highlights have included seeing a bald eagle fly down to catch a fish from the river and getting to sip (“suck” sounded too undignified) nectar from a lily as you might from a honeysuckle flower- thanks Dr. Haddock!. As our children married, their new spouses were figuratively baptized into the family by canoeing to Hargrove Shoals. On each of our previous trips we got out at the shoals, and after a time for eating lunch and investigating the lilies, snails and other fauna, the group canoed back upstream to our starting point. The trip back is always a challenge. In the deeper areas, paddling against the slow flow is not difficult. However, you must work to get by the rocky shoals which are shallow and the current fast. Here at least one canoer must get out, walk against the flow while pulling the canoe behind, while trying not to fall on the uneven and slippery rocks. This is a full-body challenge- testing balance, strength and stamina.
Our reason for coming this day was because the water levels were high enough to make possible a float on downstream. This was significant to me because canoeing all of the sections of the Cahaba- from Trussville to the Alabama River- is something I want to accomplish (see “My Cahaba Quest” story) and I had only done the first two miles of this six mile section.

Once on the river, I was encouraged the water level allowed us to navigate the shoals easily. During our stop for lunch I realized, however, that the group was not going to be able to go further. This is where the Boy Scouts re-enter the story. I knew their plan was what I wanted to do. As I saw their group round the bend up-river I told our trip leader what I was thinking- half asking for his okay, and half telling him what we were going to do. With his assent my son and I got into our red OldTown, St Charles River canoe and paddled to intercept the scout leader. In my thinking the main obstacle (other than the Scout leader’s potential concerns about two random guys joining the group of kids for whom he was responsible) was whether they had a spot in their vehicle to shuttle me back to my truck. After a moments hesitation and consideration, he decided to allow us in as part of his flotilla. As we prepared to navigate Hargrove Shoals, I gave an “OK, we are changing groups” wave to the CRS.
We had a great float down this picturesque part of the Cahaba. The trip included a rest stop during which we practiced fly fishing. No fish were harmed (that’s right, we caught nothing). The most memorable part of the trip occurred as we went down a section of shoals which dropped a couple feet over a few yards. In front of us was a canoe with 2 or 3 middle-school aged scouts. We watched them jostle through the run successfully and chose to follow their line. Somehow we didn’t fare as well. Things went bad quickly and we were in the water. Unfortunately, I had failed to secure my binoculars and they were tossed in when the canoe capsized. Surprisingly, I felt its strap around my leg. This allowed me to grab them before they were lost in the river. (The purchase of these binoculars was made carefully. I wanted a pair which was strong, yet not too big or heavy to prevent me from bringing it on my outdoor adventures. They also needed to be rugged and waterproof. My choice was the Nikon Action EX 8x40. They cost over one hundred dollars, but have worked well many times and this trip proved their worth. Despite going down a shoal and being three feet deep in the Cahaba, they continue to work like new.) Well, we were the only ones of this young group that fell out. Wet and bruised- mentally and physically-we regrouped and continued to the take-out without further humiliation.

Thanks to hitchhiking with the Huntsville scouts this was another adventure with great memories.

September 20, 2019 - 9 comments

My Cahaba Quest

My Cahaba Quest

I am not sure what causes the desire to number things and to accomplish feats. But it is apparently part of our human nature (at least for many men).

One thing I enjoy most about the Cahaba River is its complexity. For me it was first a place that connected with memories of my adolescence and that could help my children begin to enjoy the untamed parts of nature. But as I learned about the Cahaba, I saw it had many different things that I wanted to experience, and in a sense, to conquer.

So, my Cahaba Quest first consisted of just three items:

1. Snare a river redhorse,
2. find a fossilized shark tooth, and
3. canoe each section of the river (from Trussville to Old Cahawba).

It has been several years since this daunting list formulated in my mind, and I have not accomplished any of them. To be sure, these are not easy things to do- but it really wouldn’t be a quest if they were. Each presents a unique challenge.

1. Those familiar with the Cahaba know that the river redhorse is a fish. Seeing the red fins or tail of a red horse is one of the random surprises I enjoy when on the river. So why would I want to snare a fish? Mainly because it is a Cahaba River tradition. If you desire to catch a red horse, you cannot use a regular hook and line, because they are sucker fish and feed on insect larvae. So, the technique employed is to snare them with a wire loop on the end of a long pole. Timing is important. Red horse are too quick to catch at most times of the year. So spring, during spawning, is the window during which snaring is possible. It has been my intention to go the last few years, but schedules or high water levels have stopped me. I have had conversations with some experienced in this art, and have even made plans to join them on the river. But as of the writing of this piece, I haven’t yet been.

2. Fossilized shark teeth can only be found in the sections of the river which were under the ocean in prehistoric times. For the Cahaba River this is first possible in Perry County. I have canoed these areas and even spent a little time looking over sand/gravel bars for shark teeth. But I was unprepared (not really knowing their exact appearance, other than being a bigger- this was an assumption- version of a regular shark’s tooth. Although I don’t know for sure, my feeling now is that I should have been searching in the deeper water channels. This is also where the items in my quest have at times competed against each other. The drive to fulfill item 3, means my focus is on sections of the river I haven’t floated. Therefor, I haven’t been able to go back to the “prehistoric ocean” regions for some purposeful searching.

3. Canoeing the entire river was not something I even considered until a few years ago when I realized that I had completed over half of the sections. This occurred in large part through our participation in trips with the Cahaba River Society. They introduced my family to places that are unknown to most- Heiberger, Sprott, and Jericho, to name a few. These trips also helped me gain the confidence to lead my own trips with family and friends. I made another discovery about the same time I learned of the CRS. I was in the Hoover Library one day around 2003 when I came across Foshee’s Alabama Canoe Rides and Float Trips. I was intrigued, and quickly bought a copy for myself. It has provided a detailed outline of sections of the river I haven’t floated. It has also served as my trip record. I have logged the date and participants in every trip I have made on the Cahaba since that time. Also included are brief descriptions of wildlife we have seen along the way.

I have expanded my quest in recent years as I have learned new things related to the Cahaba:

4. Canoeing beside an alligator. (This is the only item on my list I have accomplished. It was an unplanned part of an overnight trip from US 80 to the Alabama River in the Spring of 2016. The description of it is in my “Alligator encounter” story.)

5. Being among the Cahaba lilies at night to smell their nectar.

So, there is much to experience on the Cahaba. If my list continues to grow, at some point my age-related limitations may make my quest impossible. For now, however, the challenges are still possibilities that inspire me.