East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival – Charleston, SC

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APRIL 20-22, 2012

Twelve OAC members were in Charleston during the weekend of April 20-22 for the East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival.  The weather was good, and the classes were fun.

If I were asked to come up with a theme for this year’s festival, it would have to be “Stand Up Paddleboards (SUP).”  There were lots of opportunities to spend money on everything from boats to all kinds of accessories (stuff you never even thought you’d ever need), and even a square aluminum Dutch oven.  Members of the OAC took advantage of the great prices on new and used items.

As usual, out of the 60 or so on-land classes, there was something for everyone from beginners to the more advanced paddlers and particularly the safety minded ones.  At an additional fee, H2O Outfitters (well known in the paddling industry) taught on-water classes for greatly reduced prices for the festival.

If you’ve never been to the festival in Charleston, and if you like to paddle, you may want to join us next April.  Keep watching for the dates for 2013.

Croatan Trail Bike Ride

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Croatan Bike Ride, April 28th, 2012 Ten peddlers and one vehicle driver (Support and Gear, SAG) rolled into the Croatan National Forest along Old Airport Road at 10 o’clock. There were showers the night before and the temperature was in the sixties with only light winds.

The showers kept the dust on the road down and the temperature was comfortable for the easy pace of the ride.  We continued on to County Line Road and turned left on the less traveled Little Road.

We stopped several times to check out the nest trees of the Red Cockaded Woodpecker marked with white bands.  None were spotted but you could see the nest holes surrounded by fresh tree sap. There was evidence of prescribed burns along the way and much of the ground under the pines was covered with lush green ferns. We continued on and turned right onto Brown Road to Catfish Lake Road looking at the irises in bloom along the way.

We followed Catfish Lake Road to a forest road that cut through to Tebo Road and onto the paved portion of County Line Road to the Presbyterian Church for a lunch/snack break.  At lunch we picked to more riders and headed back to the starting point.

It was an easy and beautiful 3 hour excursion covering 19 miles through the Croatan National Forest. Thanks to Ken Court for supporting the ride and Joanne Somerday for her pictures.

Splash For Trash: Camp Lejeune Earth Day Clean_up

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April 20, 2012  – Camp Lejeune, NC – Leader: Joanne Somerday
It was a beautiful day in Jacksonville for Earth Day.  The Riverkeeper, Casey Davis, lead the cleanup and many bags of trash were collected.  Afterwards the organizers gave box lunches and t-shirts to all the participants.  It was a great event and I would encourage everyone to come out in the future so that we can raise awareness of the blight we put on the planet with trash.  With a few hours of our time in the outdoors we can make a difference in our community.

North Carolina Amateur Sport’s 2012 Cycle North Carolina Spring Retreat

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Washington, NC April 13 thru 15, 2012

The Outdoor Adventure Club had 5 members participating in the event. The members were Joanne Somerday, John Klecker, Tommy Arthur, Joby Arthur and Bill Sadler.  John Klecker did not camp but instead drove back and forth each day.  Joanne camped Friday night and went home Saturday after her bike ride.  Bill is not sure what the Arthur brothers did about accommodations, but did see them on the street during the weekend.  Bill went over Thursday afternoon to get a prime camping spot and to be ready for and early start Friday morning.

This year’s spring retreat offered a large number of rides each day.  The rides ranged from 5 to 59 miles on Friday and a range from 5 to 102 miles on Saturday.  Sunday shortest ride was 5 Miles and longest 87 miles.

John, and Joanne did the longer ride and Bill did a couple of the rides on Friday.   On Saturday John, Joanne, and Bill did the century ride.  Joby Arthur said they did a modified ride that took them across the Pamlico River ferry and returned to Washington by going back across the ferry.

Friday night the Cycle North Carolina provided a shrimp dinner with your choice of Bud Lite, Yuengling, or Fat Tire beers.  On Saturday Night CNC provided Bud Lite, Yungling and Fat Tire beers with cheese as well.

Bill did a casual 30 mile ride with two friends, Cal Hansen and Rick Tollmann on Sunday.  Joanne went home Saturday.   Arthur brothers were there but do not know what distances they rode.

All in All it was a great weekend, however a little windy.

U.S. National Whitewater Center

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Charlotte, NC 

19-20 May 2012

This is a great opportunity to participate in a lot of different activities, all in one location.  My last trip I purchased an AllSport daily pass which gave me access to the following:  Whitewater Rafting, Canyon Crossing, Canyon Zip, Climbing, MegaZip, Mega Jump, Mountain Biking, Adventure Course, Climb 2 Zip, Flatwater Kayaking, War Canoes, Whitewater Kayaking, Stand-Up Paddle Boarding and Eco Trekking.  If you decide to do the biking, they provide a single speed mountain bike.  You can pay for an upgrade and rent a multi-speed bike if you want to.  I would recommend bringing your own if you really get into mountain biking because they have plenty of hills that will require multiple gear changes.  I will be bringing my bike with me this time after dealing with the single speed bike on my last trip.

 

If you plan on doing the whitewater rafting, I would recommend making a reservation ahead of time.  Raft reservations aren’t required, but they recommend purchasing a reservation as it is the only way to guarantee a specific rafting time slot. Without a reservation, rafting is offered on a first come, first served basis. Raft reservations are $5 per person and must be used in conjunction with an AllSport Pass.  You can also download the waiver form and complete it before you get there, or fill one out when you get there.  As we get closer to the actual date you should check the Activity Schedule as activity availability varies by the season.

The main grounds & trails are open from dawn to dusk.  The plan is for the group to meet at the Guest Call Center at 9:00 AM Saturday morning, 19 May 2012.  We can split up and do what we want or hook up as a group and go play.  If you get there early enough on Friday you might want to take time to check out the center.  I would recommend visiting their website to see all of the different activities you have to choose from.  Be sure to read their list of recommended items to bring based on the activity you want to join. http://usnwc.org/plan-a-visit/what-to-bring/

My plan is to drive down Friday, spend the night with my son who lives 30 minutes away, play all day Saturday and drive back Sunday.

Hope to see you there!

Gary Bielejeski   252-675-9922

U.S. National Whitewater Center

5000 Whitewater Center Parkway | Charlotte, NC 28214 | 704.391.3900

http://usnwc.org/

Directions:

From I-485

1.  Head towards the intersection of I-485 and I-85 on the west side of Charlotte

2.  Take exit 12 for Moores Chapel Road and follow signs for USNWC

GPS address to use:

If 5000 Whitewater Parkway does not appear on your GPS or mobile device, use this address instead: 1825 Belmeade Road, Charlotte, NC 28214.

Parking

On-site parking is $5 for a day pass

Camping Information:

For those of you camping, this is a campsite that was recommended to Jody Corum – Aquatic Facilities & Program Supervisor City of New Bern by Cam Earley of the U.S. National Whitewater Center.

McDowell Nature Center

15222 York Road, Charlotte, NC 28278

(704) 583-1284

http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/ParkandRec/Athletics/Outdoors/Pages/Camping.aspx

Come and join us for a fun filled day of water and land sports!