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NOTE 1: the fees above do not include campsite fees or any other accommodation. The campsite costs $10 per person per night, payable in advance by a check made out to TOM GOYNES (he's the owner of the campground) and mailed to Linda Day, 4224 Lehigh Ave, Houston, 77005.*******
Lat-Lon of the campground: 29° 51.517'N, 97° 53.372'W
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NOTE 2: If you sign up for this trip, you must also sign up for the free "trip" to pick out the boat and other equipment you'll be using. That trip is the boat fitting listed for Oct 13.
This is a great opportunity to experience the fun of whitewater kayaking with ACA instruction on a beautiful Texas river. You will enhance your boat handling skills as you learn to eddy turn, peel out, ferry, and surf the waves. You'll also learn about safety on moving water. The trip includes a full day of down-river paddling, and a morning of whitewater play at Rio Vista in downtown San Marcos.
The San Marcos River is spring-fed, 72 degrees year-round, and clear (by Texas standards).
The boats and equipment you pick out on Monday or Tuesday will be transported to the class on Susan Eda’s trailer, so you won’t have to worry about boat schlepping during the weekend.
The San Marcos River Retreat is a beautiful private campground on the San Marcos River that caters to Scouts, churches and family groups. We will have campsites by the river (which are alcohol-free), and we will also have the use of the chapel, a large meeting space up on the hill with some kitchen facilities, where we will be able to enjoy the beverages of our choice. If you want alcohol at your campsite, you can camp on the grounds near the chapel. Bring comfortable camp chairs to sit in!
The whitewater class will be taught by Susan Eda, an ACA Instructor Trainer, who has been teaching canoeing and kayaking for about 20 years. She will be assisted by her staff, most of them ACA Instructors, and the student/teacher ratio will be around 1:3. The emphasis is on safety, boat handling, comfort and fun. Please complete the HASK BRK Registration Formand email to Susan at susaneda@mac.com as soon as you register.
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This is an ACA sanctioned event. Every participant must wear a PFD and sign a HASK/ACA Waiver. Click on link below to print out the waiver. Please complete prior to the trip so we can all get on the water a little quicker. HASK members who have provided a waiver to the HASK Membership Director within the last year do not need to complete a waiver.
HASK/ACA Waiver - Adult
HASK/ACA Waiver - Minor
Non-ACA Participants: You must purchase an ACA membership. Select the ACA menu item to join the ACA in advance or pay $5 for a single event membership at the put-in. Checks made out to the ACA are preferred to cash but HASK will comp this fee for first-time guests.
Non-HASK ACA Participants: You must provide your ACA number.
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Agenda:
Friday evening: Time to drive from Houston (about 2.5-3 hours, depending on traffic), set up camp, meet and hang out at the meeting center. Check in any time after 3 pm.
Saturday, 10:30am. Meet at the camp put-in on the river, ready to run shuttle to the take-out. The class will start at the river pool upstream of the put-in and continue down-river, stopping for lunch. Bring lunch and water.
Saturday, 3:30pm (roughly). Take out, drive back to camp, shower…
Saturday, evening. Dinner in San Marcos, hang-out & party at camp. Bring some dessert munchies to share. Anyone play guitar?
Sunday morning. Drive to San Marcos and play (with instruction) at the Rio Vista whitewater park. A great opportunity to practice surfing and boat control (and rolls). We will finish up by noon, so you’ll have plenty of time to drive home.
Tom Goynes, who owns and runs the San Marcos River Retreat, is the man who has done amazing things to preserve Texas rivers and keep them accessible to boaters. Check out the Texas River Protection Association if you would like to help protect our rivers.
For Tom's excellent map of the local area, with various contact numbers, check
http://www.sanmarcosriverretreat.com/area_map.html
Lots of San Marcos pictures (in addition to thethumbnails below)….http://lindaday.smugmug.com/San-Marcos-River-kayaking/