 |
| Approaching Suwannee River State park at 1:43pm Sunday, March 20 |
 |
| Forecast for temperatures falling to 40 F |
Sunday, March 20, 2016
Day 16 -- the long and winding road in the Suwannee River
By the end of Day 16, SOS is aiming to reach the half-way point of the 220 miles from Fargo to the Gulf. Based on when they passed a landmark at Suwannee River State Park, SOS is 4 hours behind the boat of LRock and CrazyRussion.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Day 15 -- SOS paddling and rapids-portaging down the Suwannee River
 |
| river paddler. photo from Day 12 |
 |
| Suwannee River put-in at Fargo, GA |
 |
| arriving by bike |
 |
| leaving by boat |
 |
| SOS track as of 9:25am on Saturday. Red star marks the position of LRock and Crazy Russian. |
 |
| portage around Big Shoals rapids near White Springs, FL |
 |
| Aerial view by John Moran |
SOS reached the Big Shoals area at about 6:00pm Saturday.
At 7:00pm he texted about the portage around the rapids...
"OMG it was so hard. Fortunately there was a group of kids camping there and one of them helped me get the boat over the cliff at the beginning then I had to belay the boat down at the end. The hardest part was probably getting back in the boat on the other side I got my pants all wet. I'm going to have to pull off and switch into night clothes and do some better boat packing because I had to assemble the cart."
 |
| By the end of the day, SOS had paddled 60+ miles |
 |
| Campsite Saturday night |
Friday, March 18, 2016
LRock and CrazyRussian
LRock and Crazy Russian are now on the Suwannee River, just a few miles ahead of SOS.
 |
| LRock and CrazyRussian with the I-20 catamaran photo by RidgeRunner or Chief |
 |
| Switched to aluminum canoe for the rivers |
 |
| Exiting the St Marys River at St. George |
 |
| beginning of the 40 mile portage |
 |
| portage |
 |
| portage |
 |
| portage |
 |
| Portage finished! Now into the Suwannee River at Fargo, GA. Only 220 miles to the Gulf. |
MicroTom's trip report on Day 14
WaterTribe friends are the best. Check it out ...
Here's another outstanding video report from MicroTom;
it's a really great summary of everything that has happened.
 |
| MicroTom's 3-day track |
 |
| It turns out Tom has friends in every port |
 |
| MicroTom |
Here's another outstanding video report from MicroTom;
it's a really great summary of everything that has happened.
Posted by MicroTom 2016 Ultimate Florida Challenge on Friday, March 18, 2016
SandyBottom off the water, time with great friends
WaterTribe friends are the best. Check it out ....
 |
| Dr. Kayak, SandDollar, Sandybottom in St. Petersburg, FL |
 |
| PaddleDancer kindly transported SandyBottom back to Ft. DeSoto |
 |
| unloading the boat |
 |
| time to clean and dry gear |
Day 14 -- packing the boat
In the past 2 days this guy just paddled 50 miles
and biked 40 miles towing a loaded boat.
How did you feel the last time you did that?
On arrival at the Suwannee River in Fargo, GA, Friday evening at 6:07pm, SOS had dinner and then spent considerable time re-organizing and re-packing the bike in the boat along with other provisions in preparation for an early morning departure on Saturday. Then early to sleep.and biked 40 miles towing a loaded boat.
How did you feel the last time you did that?
 |
| Dinner! Mmmmm |
 |
| Resupply. Repack. photos by SandyBottom |
 |
| GoPro video report recording |
 |
| GoPro video report recording |
 |
| Suwannee River in the background |
 |
| GoPro video report recording |
 |
| Fargo, Georgia |
 |
| more packing |
 |
| late evening packing for a morning departure |
Day 14 -- per usual on the portage
Ten miles to Fargo, GA, SOS said it sounded like gunfire. It was the left cart wheel. The tube blew out and there is a big hole in the tire. SOS patched the tube, reinflated it, and reinforced the tire.
Plan A --hope it holds up the remaining 10 miles to Fargo. Plan B -- run on the rim if necessary. Plan C --substitute the bike's tires onto the cart and walk it.
SOS has been averaging a fairly steady 5 to 6 mph today, Friday March 18.
Over the years a substantial number of Ultimate Florida Challenge tribers have experienced tire problems on the portage. Just a few hours ago, LRock and CrazyRussian had to run on a rim for the last mile or so approaching Fargo. A few years ago in the UFC, Wizard came this way and had to MacGyver a roadside piece of road-kill truck tire onto one of his cart wheels as a substitute for the original tire.
The repair held up. SOS arrived in Fargo at the put-in on the Suwannee River at 6:07pm Friday.
Plan A --hope it holds up the remaining 10 miles to Fargo. Plan B -- run on the rim if necessary. Plan C --substitute the bike's tires onto the cart and walk it.
SOS has been averaging a fairly steady 5 to 6 mph today, Friday March 18.
The repair held up. SOS arrived in Fargo at the put-in on the Suwannee River at 6:07pm Friday.
 |
| Some 'duck tape' was involved |
 |
| hoping for the best |
 |
| reinflated |
 |
| repair with yellow dyneema line |
 |
| 24-hour SPOT track as of 5:42pm Friday |
 |
| photo by SandyBottom |
 |
| photo by SandyBottom |
 |
| On the road |
 |
| On the road |
 |
| Coming to end of portage in Fargo, GA photo by Chief |
 |
| I just paddled 90 miles and biked 40 photo by Chief |
 |
| the wheel repair held up --photo by Chief |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)