As you can see from the map above, we decided to do a 20 mile canoe trek in two days, which honestly isn't that bad at all. We arrived at the campsite around 10 pm and set up camp right next to the river. The four of us helped set up a camp fire and the tents, we polished off a 30 pack of Miller High Life. I know the the Miller High Life Guy would approve. One bad thing about the campsite was that a group of rednecks were on the other end and we could hear their music almost all night long. I would rather hear their crappy music instead of them making each other "squeal like a pig" Deliverance style. We stayed up until 2 that night and finally went to bed (or pass out, just depends on who is telling the tale) so we could get up early in the morning to get our canoes.
The four of us got up bright and early at 7 am in order to check into the canoe rental company and get our canoes. Once we were ready to go, all of the groups that were canoeing that day got into several trucks to head to the river. Since there were more people than seats in truck, Team Drink Too Many Beers Before Canoing decided to just ride in the back of the truck. In some cold ass weather. With a strong wind. And little alcoholic beverages. I know what you are thinking "OMG, did these people survive? What happened to the brave souls"? Well, obviously we survived because I am writing this whole thing down after the trip.
Before we even got into the Brazos River, a funny thing had happened. The loud backwards rednecks that blasted loud music the night before, were attempting to get into the river with one of their canoes when one tipped over and all three occupants got soaked. I know this sounds stupid and immature but I laughed my ass off.
Anyway since it was a 20 mile trek, we decided to do 10 miles one day and 10 miles the next. It took us way too long to do the first 10 miles the first day because we stopped a lot and checked out the wooded area around. We also brought an iPod cooler and probably spent way too much time having a couple of beers and listening to music.
We also swam alot in the freezing river but you would eventually get use to it after a couple of minutes. Realizing how much time we were wasting, we decided to go full strength on the river and make it half way before setting up camp. And when we did reach the half way point, we found the perfect spot on where to camp for the night.
There was an island that only had a couple groups setting up camp on it, but had plenty of room for more people as well. I think what made alot of people turn away from this camping spot was the fact that there a ton of people on the island, but the majority of them were just taking a break before heading down farther down the river.
There were multiple reasons why this island was the idea campsite. A). We were on an elevated land mass, so we could see anyone that was either coming or going. B). Since every campsite was secluded and surrounded by trees, you could as loud as you wanted without pissing off the people around you. C). Again, tons of trees, which means we had plenty of firewood for the night and the next morning. D). Finally, we didn't have to tie our canoes down to anything and keep them in the water. We could just bring them up near the campsite and not worry about the drifting off in the middle of the night.
We made camp around 3 that afternoon and just relaxed for the rest of the day. Hot dogs were cooked over the fire for dinner and just listened to the iPod cooler and enjoyed a couple of drinks before sleeping in our tents around 11.
The next morning was not that bad but you could tell that everyone was still kind of tired from the day before. We broke down camp and quickly got back on the river by 9. For awhile, the four of us were the only ones on the lake and it was pretty damn cool. We stopped a couple of time to jump off some cliffs or just to take a break from paddling so much.
It actually took us longer to do the first day than the second mainly because we didn't half ass as much and we were adjusting to the constant paddling. The first day it took us about 6 hours to complete 10 miles while it only took us about 4 the second day.
After finally making it to the end of our trip, everyone seemed worn out but willing to go on another trip. And remember those rednecks for the beginning, well as we made it up to shore, so did they and they tipped over again. I am just happy that nobody in my group tipped over at all.
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