Launching after 10 in the morning, we had counted on the Center Hill Dam generation, which purportedly ran from 2 p.m. The last half of the float offered up an eerie, picturesque river often covered in fog. The deluge was short lived, and once we got under way again, we enjoyed a quieter, less populated river. Robert and I, on the other hand, benefited from lingering back a ways and found cover under the I-40 bridge just as the bottom dropped out. Mike and Jimmy sought refuge under some tree canopy and enjoyed a brief shower.
Peaceful it wasn't, but the entertainment value was high.Īt the Happy Hollow area around mile five where most folks were taking out, we noticed a storm brewing behind us, and we made a dash downriver to see how far we could get before it hit. Further downriver, another fellow was apparently practicing his standup act and shouting Little Jimmy Dickens jokes to two victims of proximity in a nearby canoe. My first inclination was that it involves the People of Walmart website, but after more reflection, I'm convinced the line has deeper philosophical significance. One memorable, cryptic line was: "Walmart ain't like Las Vegas." Now I sense that the utterance contains infinite wisdom, but I admit I'm still trying to decipher it. One group of local color raised a continual ruckus in their canoes, and the snatches of conversation we gleaned were priceless. But with the throngs drifting together in one big polymer and aluminum armada, my efforts really didn't matter. I felt sorry for the poor fly fishermen whenever a group of canoes or kayaks plowed right through their casting area, and I tried to be respectful with my boat's line. "Disney on the Fork" is what I kept calling it. Well, maybe it wasn't that crowded, but it was crowded. After a bit of finagling and final rigging, we launched into the Fork. We headed back to camp, taking the shorter route along Betty's Bend Road, and Jimmy timed his rendezvous nicely. The road was a one-lane affair and off the beaten path, but we eventually found a busy parking area just beneath the I-40 overpass where take-out wasn't going to be too difficult.
And despite a local telling me that Kirby Road was hard to find, it was in fact nicely marked with a street sign. On the way, we discovered that the bridge on Betty's Bend Road had been restored just a year earlier, that bridge had been out. Robert and I passed up Betty's Island as a take-out and went in search of the Kirby Road pull-off marked on the Corp of Engineers map. At the same time, Jimmy was driving over to Long Branch, and everyone was to congregate at the campsite by 10 and hit the water by 10:30 or so. The next morning, after we roused ourselves and had some breakfast, the three of us got kayaks rigged and ready, and then Robert and I headed out to drop my truck at the take-out. Still, I managed to hook and land a nice 13.5" rainbow which turned out to be the biggest fish of the weekend. My head lamp didn't help because of the dense fog covering the water visibility was probably three feet or less. Later that night, I walked down to the boat ramp and cast a Rapala minnow blindly into the dark river. The showers/restrooms conveniently sat right across from us, and the site featured a fair amount of shade during the day. We were only about thirty yards from the boat launch, and a short walk down some steps gave us easy access to our put-in.
The spot, campsite number one, was perfectly located. After a stop for supplies and dinner, Mike, Robert, and I got to the campground with enough sun to spare and set up camp. Fortunately, the Lebanon Walmart Supercenter en route carried my favorite Mountain House freeze-dried pouches and a few other items I needed. With my inner Boy Scout shouting "You might need that!" at every turn, I threw way too much stuff into the truck, and of course, I forgot some of the essentials (think food here). On Friday, I experienced the perils of speed packing at the last minute. This past weekend, four of us trekked over to the Long Branch campground alongside the Caney Fork River, the plan being an all-day fish & float on Saturday and a shorter float on Sunday.
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