Devil's River: Day 2
On day 2 we started out at Finegan Springs between mile marker 14 and 15 (See map below). The plan was to get a seven or eight mile float in before setting up camping.
After the Three Tier Rapids the river opened up into wide slow moving expanse the movement part being completely negated by a strong headwind from the south. We soon began to see houses high up on the cliffs. A tricky part about floating the Devil's River is finding a place to camp. Most of the land around the river is private property and over the years kayakers have made a poor impression on the locals.
I think the relations are getting better since the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) have stepped in to start regulating access to the river. All kayakers have to have permits and the TPWD only allows 12 put ins a day. Still, Darren, the outfitter, told us that recently a group had been photographed trespassing and been met by a game warden at the take out point with $300 fines for everyone. Ouch!
So, we were a tad nervous. From what we understand we could camp on islands in the river or on the shore in river bottom, river bottom being defined as dry area a foot or less in elevation above the surface of the river. After sizing up some pretty undesirable spots we came upon the flat expanse lime stone at the river's edge.
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| Striking camp at Finegan Sprins |
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| We passed back by the put in spot and the last facilities we would see for a while. |
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| Jeremy and Jeff taking their kayaks for a walk |
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| Dolan Falls, a class V rapid (4 for being a torrential ten foot drop and plus one for being really far from medical facilities) |
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| Rapid, shmapid says Steve after portaging around and posing for shot in front of the falls. They don't look so tough from here. |
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| Portaging around Dolan Falls. |
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| Jerry and Bryan jumping off the ledge in front of the falls. |
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| Group jump! |
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| Jeff preparing to make a hard left |
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| Over correcting |
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| And dismounting. Good thing the photographers were ready. |
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| We encountered several rapids throughout the day. On this (Three-Tier Rapid I think) Steve probably had the best run of anyone on the trip. Check out the video below. |
After the Three Tier Rapids the river opened up into wide slow moving expanse the movement part being completely negated by a strong headwind from the south. We soon began to see houses high up on the cliffs. A tricky part about floating the Devil's River is finding a place to camp. Most of the land around the river is private property and over the years kayakers have made a poor impression on the locals.
I think the relations are getting better since the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) have stepped in to start regulating access to the river. All kayakers have to have permits and the TPWD only allows 12 put ins a day. Still, Darren, the outfitter, told us that recently a group had been photographed trespassing and been met by a game warden at the take out point with $300 fines for everyone. Ouch!
So, we were a tad nervous. From what we understand we could camp on islands in the river or on the shore in river bottom, river bottom being defined as dry area a foot or less in elevation above the surface of the river. After sizing up some pretty undesirable spots we came upon the flat expanse lime stone at the river's edge.
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| Dinner time! |
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