2012 Float Schedule

The Christmas break is a great time for family and friends to gather together and celebrate the passing of another year.  It is also time for the members of the Jackals to begin planning the float trips for the upcoming year.  Busy schedules, families, and the curve balls that life throws us make planning anything difficult, which makes it so important to start six months away.  This years annual planning meeting in the man barn was fueled by Platte Valley corn whiskey and Red Bull, helping the creativity to flow freely like Loko-Bombs on Flat Creek.  As per the Jackal standard, three major trips were scheduled for the summer.  Throughout the last three years we have continued to expand the repertoire of rivers that we float.  It seems like each trip brings something new.  2011 brought us amazing cliff diving, frigged springs, bat caves, and the gauntlet.  2012 has a lot to live up to.

When looking at this year's schedule the Jackals will notice that we are moving away from some of our more traditional dates for trips.  Our first float of the season is scheduled for the weekend of June 2nd through the 4th.  This is in honor of one of the senior Jackals wedding anniversary.  It was a unanimous decision that the Master Motor-Boater should stay married so the first trip got pushed back a week, because its just wouldn't be a float trip without his unique brand of river violence.  The location of this float is one that I'm really pumped up about.  Everyone that I talk to about floating asks me, "Have you floated the Buffalo yet?"  When I tell them the answer is no they inevitably tell me that, "Well you haven't seen anything yet."  My first reaction is to punch them in the mouth and tell them they should stop being faggots and try Flat Creek in May, but I hold back and tell them that its on my list of trips to make.  This year we will have scheduled it early in the year to hopefully catch good water and see if the Buffalo can handle the River Jackals.  Everyone has great things to say about this river so it should mean for a great time.  When thinking about this float make sure you are able to leave on Friday night, the 1st, so that we can get down there and to make camp and shuttle vehicles.

The second trip of the year is a short four weeks after the Buffalo trip on June 30th through July 1.  We tried to avoid the fourth of July so that KC Paul and others might not have to give up family events for the trip.  This trip is on the Jackal staple, Flat Creek, which proves to be one of the best year after year.  Last year was a true test of the Jackal temper but was one of the most memorable for me.  We had a great group on the water last year and I really hope we can get another big group of Jackals out to this one.  And back by popular request the annual Man Barn Crawdad Boil will take place the Friday night before we leave.

The third major for the summer will be on August 18 - 20.  This trip is going to be another new trip for me and many Jackals.  The Gasconade river is another one that I have heard great things about but haven't had the opportunity to try out.  The Dreaded Rear Admiral is the lead for this trip as it coincides with Josh Summers' (aka Sunshine) birthday bash.  While everything isn't set in stone yet for this trip it might include a stop at a riverside cabin and a rendezvous with another group of party goers.  Look for more details on this trip on the blog in the future.

Make a note of the dates on the side of the blog and get them on your calendar, the quicker you mark the dates down the less likely it will be that girlfriends and wives can ruin your trip!  Also it would be great to have an idea of who is planning on making what trips for planning purposes.  Keep an eye on the blog for the RSVP button so that we don't have to haze you, unless you just like it.  Let it be know that I plan on seeing Tug-boat and his Kurt Warner jersey on every trip.

Canoe building 101

As I am sure it is for all Jackals, this winter is dragging on and we are ready to start the next season of floating, so I have decided to start a project in hopes that it will be completed for the first float in June. It is a 16 foot strip canoe that will hopefully be a great addition to the fleet of Jackal canoes.

I have started with paper plans the I have printed off from northwestcanoe.com that I have traced onto 2 sheets of 5/8 plywood to create forms for the shape of the canoe. I then mounted them onto a strongback made out of 2x6 and 5/8 plywood. I have placed each form 1 foot apart and then placed a bow and stern form on each end. For the bow and stern pieces I have steamed and bent pieces approximatly 3/4 by 7/8 out of Ash to strengthen the bow and stern for the abuse they will be put through on the rivers of Missouri. After mounting the forms I had to shape the pieces of ash to accommodate the 1/4" strips that would feathered into them.

The skeleton was now ready for the skin of 1/4" strips to be laminated around the forms. This was the most challenging part of the project so far but after many different techniques I have found the one that is working for me. I am beveling the edge of the strip to allow for the curvature of the boat and then securing it together with Titebond III and tiny brad nails, which Trinity informed me is going to let water into the boat. As soon as I got the technique working for me, Conner, my nephew and I were throwing the strips on at a very good pace and we could really start to see the shape of the boat coming together. So far I have realized that you can never own too many clamps.

Of course I did not get as much time as I would have liked to over the holidays to work on my boat, but I am pleased with the progress soo far. I will get more pics up when I make some more progress.

JACKALS REPEAT!!

Paddlefest 2011 was another success for the River Jackals as their championship title will stand for another year. My new front man, cousin Nick, performed with excellence as this was his first canoe race and to say it was punishing would be an understatement. Water levels were far from ideal as the drought has taken its toll on the river flow. We actually started by dragging our canoe for at least the first 100 yards from the starting line. This gave us an excellent start, as I think it caught everyone off guard, and once again, no one even came close to us by the end of the race. I don't think I would be exaggerating by saying, in total, we probably had to pull our boat for a full mile, which was definitely reflective in our finishing time of 1hr. 45 min. We both knew the course was going to be difficult but no where near as strenuous as it turned out to be. It seemed like every time we would build up a head of steam we would have to jump out once again. Alas, we did prevail and had the second place team beat by nearly 10 minutes. A hard fought victory for sure which turned out to be a test of who could really endure the physical and mental strain the longest. At the finish line, when the second place team showed up and we were congratulating each other, they made mention that "we were animals". The way I see it that goes right in line with being "too hard core". Either way if feels good to be a Jackal. Another quality end to an amazing floating season.

The Current River Trip

What a float, this trip had it all and then some.  51 miles of cold water and beautiful scenery provided the fuel that we needed to have one hell of a float trip.  Our 8 man crew was a slightly modified band of River Jackals but each one brought their A-game to the Current.  This trip started off better than anyone could have imagined thanks to the wonderful hospitality of Stacie Gresham and her husband.  They not only shuttled us to the river but also put up with and fed a rowdy group the night before.  A big thank you to them!

From start to finish the view from the back of the mad river could not have been any better.  The sweet smell of Tug-Boat's pipe and the hills of Shannon county were the perfect setting for an August float trip.  

While there was only really one rope swing to be had there were numerous cliffs that were perfect jumping spots and caves for exploring.  One of my favorite memories has got to be the "Rave in the Cave."  But when everyone comes ready for an amazing time there are so many exiting or hilarious events that they become hard to remember.  That's were the pictures and videos really shine.  The pictures are all posted on the Jackal Photo tab and the videos will be soon to follow.  To end out the float season for 2011 I hope all the Jackals post a good story or event to the blog to keep the fire going through the winter.  If you don't have author privileges or don't remember how send me an email or give me a call and I'll fix you up.

Pics are Up

Pictures and videos from the North Fork trip are now available on the Jackal Photos page.  Look through and enjoy because its only 4 short weeks until we hit the Current River.

Is 20% a Bad Thing?

I think this was the first time in my life that someone told me I was "too hard core."  I mean we have all done some crazy stuff but I had never put our float trips into that category.  But apparently not everyone is cut out for our particular brand of river excitement, which is too bad because we are always on the lookout for new River Jackals.

On Monday we finished our first trip on the North Fork of the White River.  Even though low water forced us to put in another 6 miles down river it was still one of the prettiest floats I have ever done.  We ended up covering 48 miles of river which ended in lake water at Tecumseh.  The constant flow of spring water into the river quickly helped increase the flow of the river and provided an eerie fog over the water in the mornings.

Regardless of the beauty of the river and the quality of the Jackal Hoard, four of the five guests who started the trip with us only made it through the first half and walked out on day two of our trip.  Proof that not everyone is cut out for River Jackal style float trips.  However, one of the newbies was quickly accepted by the Jackals because of his skill with a canoe and relentless pipe smoking.  "Tugboat" will always be welcome on the Jackal floats.

The remaining Jackal 7 at Blue Spring

Just for fun.

Its been a while since the last post and our next float is comming up so I figured I needed to get a post up to start getting excited about the July 4th weekend.  I felt compelled to share some of the whitewater kayaking pics from the trip that I took to the Texas hill country during Halloween last fall.  The conditions were chilly at best but the fall produces some good water and decent boating conditions.  This was my first time being strapped and sealed into a kayak and it was a little intimidating but the water was tame and there was a group of 15 people watching out for everybody. 

Unlike the river jackals we didn't cover a lot of water miles, we just looked for stretches of river with decent gradient to create some exciting opportunities.  This picutre is one of my favoriets because you cand see how much drop there is in the water over a very short strech.  If you look in the center of the pic you can see one of the boaters getting ready for his turn at the chute. 

We spent two days on the Guadalupe and the San Marcos rivers exploring some pretty country and cold water.  There was even an area they call a "Play Park" where they created a sweet series of falls that we attempted to run.  I say attempted because on the first drop I got flipped and the crap beat out of me (it was a good thing they made us wear those helmets).  I didn't end up with any pics of the park because I was a little water logged and not thinking clearly at the end. 

This pic is another good one of some of the water we got to run on the Guad. 

Overall it was a really great trip.  We have got a long way to go, but when we conquer our Missouri rivers the Jackals cans start working our way down into some Texas water or possibly Colorado to start branching out.  So many possibilities and so little time.

The river givith

Our second Shoal Creek float of the year turned out to be more than expected, as most of our adventures usually are. After a hard afternoon's work of hoisting junk cars out of my ditch, in efforts to make some floating money at the scrap metal yard, the Rear Admiral and I decided to cool off in the familiar waters of our closest river. The water was up and the sun was hot, so how could we pass up an opportunity? We quickly loaded up GhostRider, not nearly enough beer, and headed out. Being the first float since the last two weeks of flooding, I had hopes of doing some sweet scavenging of goods stranded by the flood. About a 1/3 of the way, through what I believe to be the finest shoal creek floating waters I have experienced, my eagle eyed scout discovered this silver beauty hanging half in a tree, half in the water. It really was unbelievable, this being my first canoe find and the Admirals second. Certainly overjoyed, the Admiral captained our new vessel, which made for some exciting navigating through the twists and turns that were ahead. Later on, after running out of beer, I found the sweet blue cooler in a brush pile. There was no beer in it. To cap of the afternoon, on the last leg of the float, in prime Jackal style we floated through an eerie fog so thick it was difficult to breath. I think it was the river mysteriously speaking farewell, yet beckoning us back for another adventure. Never will it be too soon.

The Ragin' Cajun

We have mentioned numerous times on the blog how much we love the man barn and for good reason.  It is such a great place to be loud, rough, and dirty (everything that is great about being a man).  It is home to many different events like the ever popular Friday Night Meat Munch (a topic for a different post), Catan sessions, tomahawk making, and frequent gatherings of the River Jackals.  The pre-float gatherings that it is home to provide anyone that shows up a little early for a float trip, an outlet for all that energy.  This past trip was taken to the to new heights with a Crawdad feast organized by the newly appointed social chair, Dustin.  Now if you want to talk about a guy that gets excited for float trips this guy is it.  Sporting the flannel jacked and a Rebel Recycling hat he is always prepared for a float trip.

The inspiration for a Man Barn crawdad boil was one of the best things that could have ever happened to the Flat Creek trip.  Nathan, Dustin, and I were able to brave the freezing temperatures of Joyce Creek to catch several pounds of beautiful southwest Missouri crayfish while the Jackalski, who served as head chef, acquired some giants from Louisiana as well.  Cooking under the shelter of the man barn on a rainy afternoon was quite the site to see.  The whole evening was made even better with the addition of many friends who showed up to partake in the evening festivities.  I happened to bring a video camera along for the trip, which probably shouldn't have been operated by me because of my love for narration, and was able to capture some of the fun from that night.  I didn't ever bring the camera out for the crawdad boil so for right now this is the only images I have of that night.  The second video is from much later in the evening after the rest of the crew started to roll in, when I get it uploaded to youtube I'll put it on the blog.

Requesting a walk out...

This year the Flat Creek trip threw us for a loop.  Cloudy skies and cold weather threatened  the resolve of the Jackal hoard early, while eating pancakes and drinking coffee.  But when the boats finally hit the water everyone knew it would be a great trip.  All but one of the 12 man crew had floated with us on previous occasions so it was great to have them all back and to welcome Tim to the group.  He and Scott W. were a solid addition to the group as they piloted Soundwave with great skill.

Many good memories made on the river, and one of the best came at a gravel bar during the first day.  The Jackal hawk made an appearance and two of the Jackals had a new pair of jorts for the rest of the trip.  I have no recollection of many of the events that happened on that gravel bar but thanks to the magic of photography I found out what was taking place.  Be sure to check out Zepp performing his tomahawk tricks with tamale wrappers in the photo pages.  Day two provided an equally interesting gravel bar with a little different attire to be donned for the remainder of the trip.  Both Tom and I ended up wearing beach towel Sarapes, although some contend that Tom's was a bath mat, and Dustin nearly lost his second pair of underwear for the weekend.  Much of this was caught on camera but not by me.  I hope to acquire all those pictures soon and add them to the photo pages.

Overall what could have been a rough float, with contingency take out points, ended up being a trip for the record books.  Neither cold weather or cloudy skies could shake us and all saw it through to the end.  One thing is for certain, Flat Creek is the Jackals' river.  Each time we float it there are many new experiences, and no two trips are the same.  A different take out point shortened the float by a few miles but we still logged 29.4 miles of good times and planted our flag to prove it.