River Trash
River Trash 2006 was a victim of Mother Nature on July 21st-22nd. Heavy off and on rains made the journey to Narrowsburg, NY sometimes tricky. The campsite itself was great however, and over 20 ‘trashers’ made the trek once again.
Bretzger struck an early response from the crowd, by nutting a golf ball over the mighty Delaware and into PA. “Just to see if I could do it”, it was an early inspiration to all.
Friday night the weather was good. A roaring campfire setup by rookie trasher Mike was ablaze, stogies burned, beers flowed, and Halv was the last to arrive (prompting a possible “Halv Rule” for 2007).
Saturday morning the troops were on the water bright and early, 11:10. At roughly 11:12 the rains began. At first, just a pleasant drizzle. A half-hour later or roughly fifty yards down river, the rains increased. And increased, and increased, and increased. Just when you thought it couldn’t possibly rain harder, it did.
Everyone with the exception of Halv and Justine were completely soaked. At the 5-Mile escape point, the sun came out. The now drying river trashers decided to venture the additional ten miles. Turned out to be the right move, as the rest of the day was delightful.
With about three miles to go, in the rapids just north of the waterfall, Halv guided the 999 into a large rock formation. The boat abruptly stopped, sending all out. Halv was able to right the ship and get most of the gear back in, but the ‘gay umbrella’ and Whitey’s hat fell victim to the mighty Delaware. Whitey also took a few nice shots to the left wheel, and may have won the ‘most injured guy’ award of the trip.
As the bus delivered the trashers from Minisink back to Landers, the skies opened up again. Rain, rain, and more rain made a mess of the site, although surprizingly didn’t effect the beer. The fire pits became kiddie pools. The wood was wet. Several campers who had planned in advance to leave early, did so. Several others, including Whitey, Halv, and Metzger made late game calls and blew dodge. It was probably the right move.
Loren’s brother Rich was awarded River Trash 2006 for his Friday evening mishaps in his tent, and several slow motion capsizes on the river. He was pleased with the announcement.
Overall, always great to see the gang again each year. Too bad it was cut short by the stanging rain. See you all next year! |
