Allegheny River: Roulette, PA to Olean, NY. After several months of internet exploration, correspondence with locals, and a road trip in August to check it out, I decided this was a doable trip. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (still not enough exclaimation points, but you get the idea)
Friday morning spotted Jack's car at the take out in Olean and headed for Roulette. Got on the water shortly after 12 noon and started on what turn out to be a fiasco. Dead fall, sweepers and strainers, shallows, rain, et cetera, the entire trip. Saturday evening it started raining and Jack and I decided to take out ASAP in the morning. We thought we were camped just a few hundred yards from a bridge - wrong again. Just before noon Sunday we got to the Port Allegheny bridge and got out. At best, we covered 8 or 9 river miles of a 50 mile trip. Spent almost as much on-water time out of the canoe as we did in it.
The trip was not a total loss. Believe-it-or-not: I had a good time with Jack, I was never bored.
I'm gonna let Jack fill you in on all the gory details since he can do it in a more colorful manner - JUMP IN HERE JACK (unless this traumatic experience has left you with selective amnesia).
Friday morning spotted Jack's car at the take out in Olean and headed for Roulette. Got on the water shortly after 12 noon and started on what turn out to be a fiasco. Dead fall, sweepers and strainers, shallows, rain, et cetera, the entire trip. Saturday evening it started raining and Jack and I decided to take out ASAP in the morning. We thought we were camped just a few hundred yards from a bridge - wrong again. Just before noon Sunday we got to the Port Allegheny bridge and got out. At best, we covered 8 or 9 river miles of a 50 mile trip. Spent almost as much on-water time out of the canoe as we did in it.
The trip was not a total loss. Believe-it-or-not: I had a good time with Jack, I was never bored.
I'm gonna let Jack fill you in on all the gory details since he can do it in a more colorful manner - JUMP IN HERE JACK (unless this traumatic experience has left you with selective amnesia).