Voice of the Rivers 2008

May 23. Elizabeth Thompson. I am sitting here writing this blog propped up against a tree looking out over yet another beautiful lake lined with thirteen kayaks. Today marks our seventh day and it was another wonderful day on the water. It was hot and muggy, much more so than any other day but a few dips in the water made things better.
We began the day on Russell Lake at 8:45 a.m. and paddled for a few miles to meet James at Shuck Pen Eddy to portage the dam. On our way around the dam we were surprised with a stop at a neat country store. Ken bought us all snacks! It was such a nice and unexpected treat for all of us. Not only did we have a fun detour but it was also our most efficient portage so far. We were off the water, loaded and back in the water in no time.
By 10:30 we were on Lake Strom Thurmond and were paddling again. We stopped for lunch around 12 where we had the usual, apples and bagel sandwiches, but today we did lunch a little differently. We had class during this time instead of at night. By having class at lunch we more engaged and it gave us a little longer break during the harshest part of the day. Today’s reading was “An Illusion of Plenty” by Sandra Postel. The essay addressed the issue of water shortage across the globe. As Americans we often do not think about the world’s water situation because we have developed a system to where water is almost always available when we want it, leaving us with this illusion of plenty. This was by far one of our most intriguing and informative pieces we have read. It also led us into a discussion about what we could do to lessen the demand for this limited commodity.
We have really picked up our pace and completed our 12-mile day including a portage before 3:00 p.m., leaving us plenty of time to enjoy ourselves. Some people worked on mastering their kayak roll while others laid out on the beach journaling, napped in hammocks or explored the campground.
We had a delicious meal of beans and rice on tortillas for dinner followed by a debrief of the day and a lesson about Lake Strom Thurmond. We learned that the lake we are now on was filled in 1954 making it the oldest lake of all those we have traveled on. Now at 10:00 p.m. people are already off to bed in preparation for the long day that is ahead of us.