I saw an article in the Country Living magazine about a canoe club called The Ohio Historical Canoe Route Association. They were canoeing across Ohio from Lake Erie to the Ohio River by way of the Sandusky and Scioto Rivers. As they were going to camp at Green Camp in May, which is only 15 miles from my home, I thought I would go meet them and check out the club. I liked the people I met, so I joined the club. Unfortunately, the first canoe outing I was free to attend was in September.
September 12th 2003, I was headed for the
village of Vinton in Galla county to canoe Raccoon Creek with members of the
association. My neighbor, Mark, went along as my bow paddler and I was glad to
have the company, not knowing what to expect when I got there. We arrived just
before nightfall at the Vinton city park, got the tent setup and made our
introductions. There were only 4 members of OHCRA present, George, Ted, Paul
and Jock. I was expecting lots more members, (100 or so registered members.)
We sat around the campfire, had a couple drinks and fought off mosquitoes until bedtime. We got up early, had breakfast at a local diner/gas station/whatever else you want to call it and loaded the gear. Our starting point was around 14 miles upstream and we were on our way at 9:00am, sharp. The club has a canoe trailer that hauls 8 canoes. Ted and George were paddling solo, Jock and Paul were in a canoe and Mark and I were in my Old Town Camper. After bushwhacking thru the weeds to the stream, we were on our way.
Raccoon Creek was just the right depth. We only had to portage around one logjam but the real challenge was the logs and sticks just under the water line. The creek was wonderful for turning and practicing our maneuverability. And the water was very clear for an Ohio stream. Our take out point was at the Vinton dam which is at the park. After a nice potluck dinner we relaxed around the fire until bedtime.
Sunday we were up at 6:am (thanks Jock) and on the road at 8:00, to shuttle trucks down to Bob Evans farms. We canoed 12 miles from the park to Bob Evans campground. Just north of the farm was Daniel Boone's cave. That was a nice side trip. We saw lots of beaver signs but little other wildlife for such a secluded area. We averaged 3 to 3.5 mile per hour. All in all a great trip!!
