This weekend the GF, a buddy, and myself are doing a 20 mile float trip down the Brazos River below Possum Kindom Lake in North Central TX. I've done the trip probably 50-60 times in my life, and look forward to it every single time.

The GF will be in her kayak, and I have decided if I will take the kayak as well or rent a canoe for me and my bud to double up in and take more gear. In a canoe I can do the whole trip in 7 hours of paddle time. A good bit quicker in a kayak. I've completed the trip in a single day many times, but this will be at least a one overnight trip and possibly two. If we get there early enough tomorrow we will put in and make a few miles tomorrow night, make a few more miles Saturday, and finish the last 2 miles Sunday.  There's approximately 12-13 sandbars in the river that are acceptable for camping. You can't camp on the shoreline due to it being privately owned. I'll post pics once the trip is complete.

A few pictures from last years trip. Ideally we will be camping in this same location, as its my favorite and only 2 miles from our get out. Attached File
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Have fun!

I am a wimp about snakes, though.  Any water moccasins out and about?

The standard answer for anyone who says they are afraid of snakes.  

" Snakes , No no snakes on this part. "  

I WANT TO BELIEVE.

Yes there are. I'm pretty about them as well. I'm not worried about the ones I can see, but definitely worried about the ones I can't. I usually have a G19 or S&W 60 Pro at hand at all times during the trip. Never felt the need for one due to snakes. I shot a small hog last year right around the bend in that middle picture though.

You evil

Yikes.

OK, on a happier note let's talk beverage load out.

You going with beer, wine, mixed drinks?

Junk food supplies?

Got plenty of sunscreen?

If we end up in kayaks than probably only a 6 pack of good beer. Steaks for dinner. Jerky, nuts, and ramen for lunch and snacks. If we end up taking a canoe probably 3-4 6 packs of good beer, steaks for dinner, and something else to throw on the grill. The grill is a small adjustable height grill top that I take everywhere as long as I'm not hiking.

We've got first aid, lights, batteries, hammock, tent, clothes, sun screen, water filtration, and dry bags down. The only issue I have ever had is being to hot to sleep well at night. I've been stuck under a few nasty storms on the river before, and it's an amazing sight. I've got weather covered regardless of its behavior.

Plenty of BullFrog spf 100 is being taken. The GF is pretty pale, and I turn black with too much sun. I'm pretty dark as is.

Sounds like good fun to me.

Don't forget to put sunscreen on the top of your feet and under your chin!  I remember roasting my feet during one trip down the Saco river up here in NH.  It was a while before I could bear putting the shoelaces back in my shoes.

I lived along the Brazos River once upon a time.

Awesome place to be.

Cause relevant..

Have you checked the weather this weekend? (Fort Worth)

Haven't seen it since a couple days ago. It was showing chances of rain, but not dangerous thunderstorms. I'll keep an eye on it. I've done this trip in multiple storms, and a few that just rained the entire time. It's still a good time. Worst case scenario we spend the weekend at a friends lake house on Hellsgate.

That looks totally awesome!  I have been wanting to try the Red River for a while now.  I'm looking forward to your follow up post.

If it's convenient, I would very much like to see a photo of your load out.

Have a great trip!

Don't know where y'all are right now but there is some serious ship going on East of Dallas.

We made it through without issue. We fought the wind pretty hard today, and had a bit of a storm last night. Nothing serious. All in all it was a great trip. I'll post a few pics and better update when time permits.

So the trip was rather uneventful, except for a few mistakes on our part. We got a later start than we would have liked due to not having a pre scheduled shuttle from Rochelle's to the put in point. It wasn't too late though. We finally got on the water around 10:30am Saturday, and made camp around 6pm that day. I normally carry a lightweight and sturdy Kelty Salida II tent, that has weathered a few storms and blizzards so far. Somehow I managed to leave my tent in my work truck, and didn't realize it until we were to Abilene. I stopped and bought a Walmart special to make do for the weekend. Mistake number 2. I'll go more into this in a bit.

The water was nice and calm Saturday, and it was overcast but we didn't see much moisture. It rained lightly on us a few times for short periods of time. Their was a slight breeze that did make the air cool, but nothing that warranted a jacket. I was carrying one of my suppressed 22 pistols to plunk around with on the trip. I shot a few logs, but nothing spectacular such as the hog last year. We did take a Yeti full of some good brews, and I tried out a few new ones that I'm really fond of. Normally I pack much lighter, and might only have a 2-4 beers for the whole trip for two people. We packed a 6 pack for each, some iced water bottles, and some amazing steaks. This was by far my most spoiled trip so far, but not sure the extra weight was worth it.

Due to the cooler weather, this was the only trip I haven't swam in the river. The water was as clear as I had ever seen it though, and we were able to spot some good sized fish. I was really amazed to spot 3-4 rainbow trout about a mile below our put in. I know they used to stock this area regularly with Rainbows in the past, but they usually didn't make it very long. I'm assuming they're still stocking.

When we made camp, we realized mistake number 3. My buddy forgot to pack the lighter fluid. Due to the frequency of river goers, the sand bars and islands are pretty well picked clean of natural fire word. The little bit of wood that is left, is usually soaked or not worth a damn to make a fire. I had packed a bag of charcoal for this very reason, since I had intended to cook steaks. (Usual meal is MH meals cooked over my MSR stove.) Well we found a cinder block that we were able to use as a fire tube. We shredded some tinder from a cedar post we found, and stuffed the bottom of one of the cinder block holes with toilet paper. We then lit the paper, and once it was going stuck the tinder on top. With the tinder now being lit, we fed it more tinder until we had a decent little fire. Then slowly began adding charcoal, while making sure the fire was properly fanned. It was slow getting the fire started, but made for a more interesting story. Finally I spread out the coals, and added the grate on top. I had set the steaks out on the ice chest a couple hours before camp, so they were brought to room temp already. These were some greats cuts from our local colleges meat lab. The best meat market in Lubbock, and also a great price. Threw the steaks on the fire for a perfect medium rare, and enjoyed with a few brews. It doesn't get much better than that.

Shortly after dinner we were full, hydrated, and lazy. We decided to call it a night, as the wind was picking up and weather was moving in. Around 10:30-11, the storm came in. It wasn't much, but the wind was heavy, and it rained a decent amount. The crappy Walmart special tent kept us dry all night, but the poles were about as stout as a twig. Everytime a solid gust came through, the tent folded over and would be touching our entire bodies laying down. We ended up sleeping fine though, and it was just an inconvenience.

We woke up around 7am Sunday morning, and as it was my birthday my buddy surprised me. He had brought a small flask of whiskey, so that we could take a shot on the river to celebrate. We didn't feel like going through the hassle of starting another fire, so we decided to forego breakfast. (I had packed bacon and biscuits.) The wind played hell on us as we packed up camp, and even more so once we got on the water. We camped only 3 miles from the end, and those were by far the slowest 3 miles of the trip. It took approximately 3 hours for the last 3 miles, when we had done 17 miles the day before in about 6 hours of paddle time. Along the way on Sunday, we saw a real nice Tom strutting his stuff for some hens. He was only 50 yds away, and couldn't have cared less that we were there. Shortly after we ran into a small pack of wild hogs watering on the river's edge. Upon sight of us they immediately began to head back into cover. Shortly after we made out exit, and the rest is history.

A couple of guys that were fishing off a canoe near the put in. Attached File


A shot of the gear stowed in the canoe. The GF had her sleeping bag and small pack stowed on her kayak. Attached File


A pic of the GF and I. Attached File


Just a pic of the suppressed Ruger as we floated along. Attached File

One last pic of us loading up the gear after we exited the river. Attached File

Awesome!  Looks like a wonderful trip.  Thank you for posting!

It was a great time. I'd like to get in one more trip this year if time allows. Preferably would like to get on the water on a Friday, so that we could have two nights at camp. My preferred camp spot has a few trees perfect for a hammock, and would make an excellent lazy nature day.