To follow-up with my post on “Blue Blazing” it seems only fitting to write about my recent adventure Aqua Blazing the Shenandoah River. We heard early on about aqua blazing from past thru-hikers, and many in our group were entranced by the idea. I was on the fence about it and made a last-minute decision to join the others after my amazing experience with the Mau-Har trail. Aqua blazing is the term used for canoeing a section of the trail. In this case the section would be from Waynesboro to Front Royal, causing us to miss hiking the Shenandoahs completely.
I had three issues with the idea of aqua blazing;
1. The cost- we found the least expensive option we could but the canoes were still $230 a piece for a 6 day rental. (We used Front Royal Canoe Company). This rental came with oars and life jackets but dry bags/ boxes were not included and the seats did not have back rests (I have heard other canoe companies offer these add-ons and they are well worth the extra charge). I also ended up spending another $200 on food and beverages over the 6 days, so overall I spent a LOT more money than I would have, had I been hiking.
2. I did not want to skip a 106 mile section of trail. Each persons thru-hike is unique to their own goals and ideals, some consider aqua blazing as an adequate substitute for hiking the miles and this is perfectly fine, “hike your own hike”. For me, the idea of canoeing seemed very appealing and fun but not interchangeable.
3. I wanted to hike the Shenandoahs in memory of my grandmother Evelyn (GG) who passed away this past fall. She grew up in Front Royal and her family (the Boyd’s) have lived there for a few generations. I felt that hiking the Shenandoahs would bring me closer to her and honor her memory.
I decided to aqua blaze so that I would not miss the incredible experience with the close friends I have formed on the trail and also because I will probably never have the opportunity to canoe the Shenandoah again. My personal compromise was that I will return to Virginia and hike the Shenandoahs before I return to Colorado. This will actually work out quite well as my parents and brother should be able to join me for this experience on a family vacation of sorts!
Preparations-
When it comes to planning group trips with friends, I have the type of personality that usually leaves me as “the planner”. Luckily Gravy also has this personality and for once I got to sit back and just enjoy an experience without being in the driver’s seat!
We were fortunate to have use of Novi’s parents car so we were able to fully supply for our trip at Walmart in Waynesboro. We “borrowed” three cooler’s (hiker trash term for purchasing from Walmart and then returning after use- I know- not our proudest moment… but we have no use for three coolers for the next 1000 miles!). We also stocked up on cookout food, snacks, beer & sangria ingredients. Because we did not have to be “weight conscious” about our food (we did not have to carry our packs) we were able to buy all the things we had been craving to eat on trail and we each went a bit overboard!
We camped out in the Waynesboro thru-hikers park (behind the YMCA) and early Thursday morning Novi’s father drove us to the section of the river where we would be starting our trip. The group for aqua blazing consisted of Brooke (PowderPuff/ Cold Pop), PePa, Rob (Tallulah), Gravy, Novi & myself (3 canoes). We tied our packs in contractor bags and strapped them into the canoe, we tied down the coolers, topped off the ice and we were ready to go!
The “Accident”-
The first couple hours on the river were complete bliss, the sun was shining and the river was moving swiftly. I was riding with Rob and he was in the “captains” seat in the back (the person in this seat has the most control over steering and thus the responsibility to get the canoe safely through rocks and rapids). For the most part the river was smooth and calm but we ran across a couple of spots with small rapids or shallow areas where we had to slowly nudge the canoe over the rocks. We were relaxing, little effort involved, when all of a sudden we heard a lot of rushing water. Directly in front of us there were large rapids on either side of a small island. Not knowing the best route (and having no idea how to read the water) we decided to go left. Rob said don’t worry, I can get us through this… 30 seconds later we were sideways, jammed on top of a large rock, our canoe flooding with rushing water and bent in the center to a point where it looked as though it were going to snap at any second. Everything that was loose in the canoe washed away within seconds (including my sandals, shirt, our spare paddle, a life jacket, and our Gatorade bottles filled with fresh water). We were immediately climbing out of the canoe and began untying our gear so that we could move it to dry ground. There was a 8×2 rock island about 5 feet away so I began moving the gear as Rob cut it out of the boat. Within a minute I had a deep cut in my foot and my first trip to the rock brought me face to face with a water snake who also wanted to take refuge on the rock. We finally got everything out of the canoe and at this point Novi & Gravy had parked their canoe past the rapids and walked back upstream to help. Rob wanted me to stand on the rock island as well because if the canoe got loose it was likely to run over and crush anyone who was standing in its path (the water was moving very swift in this area). I got on top of the rock and took my eye off the cooler, so of course the cooler toppled off the rock dumping much of our food into the river, along with about a case of beer. (We spent about an hour after the accident bobbing for beer and food that was floating down river and were actually able to recover most of it!). The boys worked together and pulled the boat free, somehow managing to dump a lot of the water out. By this point Pe-Pa showed up and he helped Rob and I put the gear back in the canoe and pull it over to the shore while Gravy and Novi began the beer recovery mission. Luckily we were able to easily bend the canoe back into its proper shape and at the end of the day our gear was only slightly wet. I can’t say my nerves were as quick to recover- I was not truly comfortable going over rapids again until day five, and even at this point I wore a life jacket! (I have to give Rob credit- by the final day of canoeing his skills had improved ten fold and I let him do all the work while I rode backwards through all the rapids we encountered!)
Camping & Water-
When on the AT, camping is pretty easy to find, typically marked in the guidebook and often located strategically near a good water source. During our canoe trip campsites were picked by locating a clear patch of land on the river bank that did NOT have a Posted sign. I believe that there was only one night that we camped on national forest land, the rest of the time we were most likely trespassing. When speaking with others that have done the aqua blaze we found that this is commonplace. The first night out I did not think much about the fact that we were trespassing, I was used to the land I was on being free to the public so the idea that land was “private” felt almost like a foreign concept. After a couple of days I began to get uncomfortable, always fearing that we were going to get in trouble for being on someone’s land that did not want us there. I think that this aspect of the trip would be the only thing that would make me hesitant to do it again.
Water was also difficult to come by on the river. I had assumed we could just drink the river water, treating it in our typical fashion (for me- aquamira). We found out from the woman who dropped off our canoes that the river was actually polluted with mercury so is not safe to drink. After being on the river the first day we realized that many properties along the river have cattle and the cows come right into the water. At one point we had the pleasure of watching a cow take a poo in the river as well (another reason not to drink the water). The first night out we were incredibly low on water but the next day we came across a property that had a huge water tank right near the shore next to a pavilion. We took our chances that the water was safe to drink and filled up. Over the next few days we were careful to fill up any chance we got. One day we filled up and also purchased a couple of jugs of water from a campground located on the river. Another time we were able to fill up at a man’s house that was located next to one of the portages. *Note- Portage refers to the times that we had to empty our canoes completely and carry them on a path (or down steep boulders) in order to avoid going over dams. But let’s be real, the boys did all the heavy lifting. 😉
Oh Deer- *Note- You many not want to read this if you are an extreme animal lover*
On the fourth day of our trip we woke up and were having a lazy morning, slowly packing up. Out of nowhere we heard a huge crash across the river. I initially thought that a tree had fallen over, this has happened multiple times near me in the woods and it sounded similar. Someone mentioned that they saw movement on the shore and sure enough there was a deer struggling to try and stand. Evidently the deer had fallen off a cliff and broken many of its legs as well as its back. It pulled itself over to the river and plopped in (leading us to believe that it may have been chased off the cliff by a coyote or another predator and was still trying to escape). Rob, being an avid hunter back in Maine (and when I say avid hunter I am pretty sure its one of his favorite things in life, he talks about it with extreme passion), ran down to the canoe, Novi right behind him, and paddled quickly across the river. They herded the deer back to our shore and graphic story avoided- the boys cooked venison for dinner.
I was really upset with the situation at first. I was sad that the deer had fallen and that it was in so much pain, this was not something I had ever thought I would witness. I am pretty sure that taking meat from the deer was illegal because there was no way to prove how the deer had died, however I am glad that the boys ended it’s life quickly rather than letting it suffer and die slowly.
A Trip of Firsts-
Overall, the canoe trip was an unforgettable experience and completely different from any boating I have done in the past. For some reason I decided that I was going to make the trip even more memorable by facing some of my childish fears so I did two things which I have never done before (and you may laugh).
1. I touched a worm!- I realize that it is ridiculous that a person who chooses to spend 6 months backpacking the eastern United States has never touched a worm. I decided it was time and so I did it. I did not like it but I will do it again if I have to.
2. I touched a fish and also removed it from a hook. Growing up on a lake I did some fishing as a child but I always made my brother remove the fish from my rod. Novi was fly fishing and caught TONS of fish so one time I asked him if I could release it and he let me. It was actually a really fun experience releasing it back into the water and watching it swim away. This is something that I would like to do again soon, and maybe even catch the fish myself next time!
Another really cool first for me on the river was seeing a bald eagle. I have always wanted to see one and as I was canoeing with Gravy one day he pointed up to the sky and right above us a huge eagle was soaring. It was an amazing sight.
All Good Things Must End-
Pulling into Front Royal was bittersweet. I was ready to see my family and spend some time in the area where my grandma grew up and my mom spent her summers. I was also looking forward to getting back on the trail, but I knew I would miss my time on the river. Floating down the Shenandoah was an amazing part of my AT Experience and although it may make my thru-hike less technically a thru-hike, it was 6 days I would not trade for the world.
The AT Experience 