Video: Lumber River canoe trip with my daughter & dog

**TallPaul** · 11-03-2015, 00:52

Well I changed things up from the typical backpacking trip and got out in the canoe a couple weekends ago.
My daughter is going to school in Wilmington, NC and I've driven on 74 by the Lumber River (near Boardman, NC) a bunch of times.
Each time, it's mysterious black water calls out to me, so I finally had a chance to check it out and spend part of a weekend with my daughter & her friend.
They got some time away from all the school hub-bub and got to stare at a campfire & roast some marshmallows.

We stayed at the Lumber River State Park - Princess Anne site. They have a few sites & there were enough trees there to setup our 3 hammocks. Sometime in the future, I'd like to actually stay overnight on the river, but that will have to wait. The facility had running water & toilets, which was a bonus because it was the first time camping for my daughters friend, and I didn't want to scare her away.

I also brought our new puppy, Lacey, along on this outing. She is a beagle & close to 5 months old. She did well during this trip, both the canoeing and hammocking part.
She slept in the hammock with me, and the 2nd night, when the temps dropped, she was standing next to it waiting for me to get in because she knew it meant warmth.
I'll have to report more in the future on how it has been hammocking with a dog - I'm not sure I'm qualified yet but I'll share my lessons learned.

The video is a bit slower paced but so was the trip. And no music, except my terrible whistling. I sound better in my head.

**ylnfrt** · 11-03-2015, 03:35

awesome trip TallPaul, looks like your daughter and her friend were enjoying it also. My canoe buddy, Buster, loved to go canoeing. He had a funny habit of getting into the canoe, running to the bow and when I'd shove off he would jump in the water. Naturally once back in the canoe he would have to shake off. Thankfully he was a minpin so not to much water per shake. I miss my friend. I hope you and Lacy can enjoy hiking, camping , canoeing- heck ,the outdoors as much as Buster and I did. A little trick I learned many years ago was to tie @6'- 8' piece of 1/4" rope from the stern and let it drag in the water. If you tie from the center of the stern stem the canoe will stay straight even in fairly fast waters.

**Les Rust** · 11-03-2015, 05:04

Yes, indeed, Black water. Looks like a great lazy float. Lacy is a good looking beagle for sure!

**bluecrow76** · 11-03-2015, 09:02

That is one adorable puppy dog!

**cataraftgirl** · 11-03-2015, 09:41

Looks like you've got yourself a great little companion pup there. Good in the canoe & the hammock is awesome. She's a cutie!

**gunner76** · 11-03-2015, 11:50

one happy dog there

**TallPaul** · 11-03-2015, 16:38

Originally Posted by ylnfrt

awesome trip TallPaul, looks like your daughter and her friend were enjoying it also. My canoe buddy, Buster, loved to go canoeing. He had a funny habit of getting into the canoe, running to the bow and when I'd shove off he would jump in the water. Naturally once back in the canoe he would have to shake off. Thankfully he was a minpin so not to much water per shake. I miss my friend. I hope you and Lacy can enjoy hiking, camping , canoeing- heck ,the outdoors as much as Buster and I did. A little trick I learned many years ago was to tie @6'- 8' piece of 1/4" rope from the stern and let it drag in the water. If you tie from the center of the stern stem the canoe will stay straight even in fairly fast waters.

Sounds like you have lots of great memories of trips with Buster. I'm hoping to have the same with Lacey. We do so much outdoors she better like it

And thanks for the tip on tying the rope - I'll have to give that a try.

Originally Posted by Les Rust

Yes, indeed, Black water. Looks like a great lazy float. Lacy is a good looking beagle for sure!

Thanks Les.. this Black water thing is new to me, but I like it so far.

Originally Posted by bluecrow76

That is one adorable puppy dog!

Thanks Bluecrow.. and so far she has been pretty quite camping.. hopefully she stays that way.

Originally Posted by cataraftgirl

Looks like you've got yourself a great little companion pup there. Good in the canoe & the hammock is awesome. She's a cutie!

Thanks much cataraftgirl.

Originally Posted by gunner76

one happy dog there

Both of us

**JSH** · 11-03-2015, 21:43

TallPaul, looks like an outstanding weekend. Lacey looks like a real bud. Snoring only adds to the bond between the two of you. Where did you hang? Looks like a lot of water. Did you find some high ground? Thanks for sharing.

**Hiker Philly** · 11-04-2015, 15:32

Looks like quality time. Nice video. It appears that Lacey likes snoring as much as canoeing

Thanks for sharing.

**HangingKayaker** · 11-04-2015, 16:35

That looks like a pretty nice place to paddle. It also looks like there would be a chance of getting lost! The nice thing about a canoe is you can fit a dog into it, not so much a kayak. It'll be April or May before I'm back on the water. Thanks for the video of your trip.