"Two Boys, One Canoe…." Canoe from Virginia to North Carolina covering 17 miles through North Bay, Shipps Bay, and Back Bay. My first multiday canoe expedition to explore the hidden gems of Southern Virginia and Northern North Carolina. My buddy Alec Temple and I are setting off July 2 for a 3 day expedition with 2 bags, 1 ice chest, and 1 canoe for a trip that has minimal planning and maximum potential of memories. It's a point A and point B trip starting from Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. We are launching the canoe and doing a short day to campsite number 1. We will travel through North Bay, Shipps Bay, and Back Bay, camping along False Cape State Park. We have already staged a truck on Knotts Island North Carolina for our extraction on the 4th of July. This trip should be a blast, a struggle, a memory, and a push through any mental barriers of going on a trip with really no planning. Our goal is to paddle around 5 to 6 miles a day, rest when needed and stop where and when we feel like it. It was a perfect time to combine our Monthly Challenge and the celebration of July 4th! What a true way to experience the land we have fought so hard for. Happy early Birthday America!
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REFLECTION: A journey unlike any other. My buddy Temple and I paddled over 17 miles, mostly because we zig zagged up the river in the canoe and actually crushed our overall 3 day trip in just two days. We paddled much faster than we thought! It was a blast and we're stoked we did it and we learned a ton along the way. First, we brought too much food. We only spent $13 at the store before hand but that was too much. We could have survived on some protein powder, tea, pears and 1 can of chunky soup. And of course some beer. We had a ton of water which I always recommend. We had extra for cleaning, showering, and misc. anything we needed water for. I also brought a life straw just in case. I used about 70% of my gear that I brought, which to me means I can pack lighter next time. We didn't get sunburnt which was awesome, we replaced sun burn however with bug bites. We found some sweet spots along the way that people probably have never stepped foot on. Our own private beach, a great camp spot you can't get to by car in a nature refuge. And then comes our camping spot. It was hardly that. On an island not even on google maps, we found a strip of beach that was maybe 10 ft long in low tide and only about 4 ft wide from the water to the tree line. Our 'campground' was a dead tree stretching out over the water. It was some of the most sketchy camping I've ever done. We hung the hammocks over the water just about 3 feet up. Temple's hammock had a built in mosquito net, apart of ENO's jungle edition, which I highly recommend if you're in a place with bugs, and mine was a jerry rigged skeeter tent hung over my hammock. Both worked. We calculated for high tide and trusted the tree enough not to snap in the middle of the night to prevent wet sleeping arrangements and broken backs from the branches below. We survived obviously and it was one hell of an experience. We had a blast. During the paddling we proudly flew Old Glory high and mighty, crushed some corona's and bud light and took temporary breaks inside of North Carolina supplied duck blinds.
Since the trip was a point A to point B trip, we parked Temple's truck at the exit point. It was help if we remembered the keys however. So we were stranded in North Carolina for a few hours figuring out another ride. Ultimately, we figured it out, made a few more stories and got home around 7 hours later. What a day. Pro tip: Remember to bring the keys.
It was a great monthly challenge and something I'd never done before! Hope you guys have some interesting stories too!