Brant Grand River Adventure
played
Finally logging this a few weeks after the adventure! After finding thebruce0's 5/5 cache GC22YDQ in early January, he contacted discuskrib to see if we would be interested in another winter canoe excursion to find this Wherigo. It was a challenge to find the perfect (and safe) winter day to get out on the water. Our original target weekend had an overnight cold snap and the Grand was frozen across. One week later, it warmed up nicely and we finalized our plans for pickups and upriver/downriver parking locations. After a slow start that included breakfast, we were at last on the Grand, being carried along through the Wherigo modules by the steady current and the guys paddling. Discuskrib steered, and thebruce0 monitored the Wherigo on his smartphone, reading the modules to us as they popped up. Thanks to a bum shoulder I couldn't help with the paddling, so I made myself comfortable and acted as mid-ship ballast and photographer. For the most part, the journey was very smooth, with only a few small rapids here and there, and no ice floes to contend with. We saw plenty of waterfowl along the way, and a beautiful doe who blended in perfectly with the brown winter vegetation. We took a break to explore an abandoned gypsum mine. The original mine workers would have had a tight fit, it must have been a dirty and dusty job. The damp mine tunnel was about 30ft long and we explored all the way to the end, where thebruce0 discovered a mass of hibernating Mosquitos, yuck. Even as the shortest person in our group, I had to walk crouched over for most of the way, and crawl at the deepest section of the tunnel. While exploring, the sun moved low enough to send a beam of light directly into the mine, giving us a phooning silhouette opportunity. Back on the water, we completed the last few modules and then made our way to GZ just as dusk fell. I spotted the cache, discuskrib made the grab, and then we all signed the log. The portage back to the car was long, but at least it was along a straight flat road. Discuskrib and I drove back upstream to fetch his vehicle while thebruce0 guarded the canoe, and we were shortly ready to head back home .... grabbing a local traditional cache on the way of course! This was a Grand Adventure for sure, and we're looking forward to going for the other ones in this series. TFTC!