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  1. #1
    Member Dunckelman's Avatar
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    Kayak camping on the Brazos River - May 2020

    I have had the dream of doing this trip for some time now. Purchased a kayak last year and got used to it on some day trips. Since then, I have researched kayak camping fairly hard. Last month, a friend of mine and I discussed the concept and it gelled into a scheduled trip fairly quickly. Plan was for 4 days/3 nights going 38 miles on the Brazos. We intentionally picked something close and fairly easy for the first time out for both of us.

    Preparation was thorough and overkill (as usual for me). I trial packed the yak Monday night, redid it on Wednesday (and Thursday); with a “perfect” finish on Friday evening. Just in time for our trip. We had originally planned a Friday-Monday trip and had to postpone a day due to weather. Now we were to start at 8am on Saturday. That was until the weather report kept pushing us back and back...



    My 4-day backpacking trips have been anywhere from 18-25 pounds base weight. The original plan was that I was going to be smart and stay as light as feasible here too. Wait, I am in a kayak - take what you want I had read and/or seen in a YT video. I felt like it was reasonable to take a hammock stand (based on the Alamosa design). I had already overpacked clothes. I got up Saturday morning and found out we were pushing the start time out again. Weighed all my gear/food and it came in at 63 pounds. Then I added 10 lbs of water. This was going to be interesting - I definitely packed some fears and luxuries!

    Day 1 – After waiting out the torrential storm that dropped 4 inches of rain in less than 24 hours, we loaded up and headed West. The put in point was on Highway 16 (just below Possum Kingdom Lake). A vehicle was dropped at Highway 180 and then we made our way north to begin the adventure. The storms were really bad and I was surprised how many people had ventured out just like us after it let up. Many people were fishing and a family of five even drove over from Dallas for a day trip. We launched and were immediately met with a drizzle that lasted the next two hours while we were on the water. I was struck with how beautiful the terrain was immediately. Stopped with time to setup in the daylight. The trees were good sized, but widely spaced out. I used almost every inch of my suspension and had some Amsteel on the bark. This was a good reminder to pack longer tree straps next time. Although, I did forget about the hank of Amsteel I packed just in case. The setup was good enough. I even commented that a less than ideal hammock setup was still better than sleeping in a tent any night. This would be a bad omen…



    We tried hard to start a fire with fairly wet wood and were not too successful with that venture. Off to bed for a good night’s sleep.



    Day 2 – We got back on the river at 9am after having some snacks and skipping our planned breakfast. After paddling for a while, we agreed we would stop and cook our breakfast for lunch. I love being able to be flexible when out on the trail (or river here). Stopped on a sandy island and found some shade. Setup our camp chairs and enjoyed watching some young men climb up on rock features to jump in right across the river from us. We planned to stop at the local canoe rental shop down river for some cold drinks and a little rest. We saw a beautiful air boat run past us – it was fast and loud. We were glad to not be on the river when it was running! Some nice Texans camping on the shoreline offered up some freshly grilled sausage. After getting our drinks, we hopped back into the boats and were off to find our camp site. I had commented earlier in the day that I wanted to pull up around 5 and have plenty of time to setup, enjoy a good meal, and a nice campfire. Turns out there are no real good spots to camp just south of Highway 4. So, we kept paddling. We stopped a couple of times to assess areas and did not find suitable trees for both of us. For a while it felt like we were not going to come to another spot to even be able to land the kayaks. The large rainfall had probably wiped out some potential spots. We joked that we might have to pull an overnighter and finish the trip up. Then we switched to eventually we were going to find something. Well, eventually came after 19 miles (and 9.5 hours) on the water. Finally, we were back on land. This spot only had a couple of trees that were not large enough for hammocks. My friend setup his tent and I attempted the hammock stand. Pulled on the guylines and they let loose in the sandy/rocking terrain almost immediately. I was sleeping on the ground this night. I was frustrated and worn out. Tent setup was even a challenge at this point. Finished setup, had dinner, a small fire and then went right to sleep. I actually slept well on the sandy spot we found.



    Day 3 – I slept in and we did not get back on the water until 10am. Snacks for breakfast was again the name of the game here. Somewhat perplexed that the poptarts I brought were listed as organic. Still the same, they were strawberry delicious. It was very sunny and we knew it was going to get very hot. We were debating whether there was going to be another night out on the river or not. About 3 hours in, we talked about my family’s tradition to frequent Taco Casa after our outdoor adventures. This sealed the deal. We were finishing this day and going for tacos. TACO…CASA became the chant that would remind us to push through. The temp got up to 96 this day. I liked that I could throw water onto myself and provide a little evaporative cooling along the way.

    Wildlife – we encountered some longhorn steer, a snake, 2 Bald Eagles, lobster sized crawfish, and many turtles. The Bald Eagles were definitely a highlight for this trip.



    Thing I learned on this trip:

    1. Know your gear well. Even though I had tried out the hammock stand setup a few times, I did not prepare for the terrain I knew I would encounter. It sounded easy enough to bury something to use as an anchor. I was way too tired to try by the time we ended our epic paddling day. While I loathed packing up a tent/pad, it was smart and turned out to be necessary. I will have a kayak sized tensahedron stand ready next time.
    2. Weigh as you go. I had already committed to my setup by the time I took the time to weigh everything. I ended up with 25 pounds of stuff I did not use. I am including a couple of (messy) pictures of what I used and did not.


    3. Kayak camping is way fun. I have always loved the water and don’t mind being wet all day. Proper footwear is critical here. I stuck with my tried and true trail running shoes with a pair of wicking socks under wool socks. Wicking underwear was great as well.
    4. I brought a gel pad to sit on and used it the whole trip. Highly recommend this if you are at all worried about the comfort of your seat.
    5. Next time I will bring a netted trash bag. There was ours and others to pick up. I ended up stuffing everything loose in the back.
    6. The Brazos River really had a fair amount of water after the rains. This is significant because I still had to portage a half a dozen times. My friend refused and bumped/pried/pushed his way the entire route. I was more worried about breaking a paddle or hurting my back then being wet. If the river is down, I could see where you would be dragging the kayak a bunch.
    7. The Texas winds from the south is no joke. At times, I would stop paddling and wait. It would then push me back up stream! You have to paddle to keep yourself moving at times. Low water and more wind would make this trip tougher for sure.
    8. This is listed as a 4 day/3 night trip. I think it could be planned for 3 days (if you have full days available) and would be very easily done in 4.
    9. Parking was good at both ends. No issues with either car sitting out for two nights. I would definitely recommend the west side of the river for exit. It is much easier access.
    10. If you ever get to Mineral Wells, apparently it is the home of crazy. However, it is not right on the main route; it is two blocks to the right…


    I would recommend this trip to anyone. It is very beautiful and reminded me of the Texas Hill Country terrain.

    If interested, a (long) video on this trip can be found here:

    Last edited by Dunckelman; 06-11-2020 at 11:07.

  2. #2
    TallPaul's Avatar
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    Nice. I’d really like to do a kayak camping trip sometime. Gotta get a kayak first... canoe has worked well so far but want to have my own ride sometimes.

  3. #3
    Dirtbaghiker's Avatar
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    Cool stuff.. Gonna watch this in a little bit.

  4. #4
    Member Dunckelman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TallPaul View Post
    Nice. I’d really like to do a kayak camping trip sometime. Gotta get a kayak first... canoe has worked well so far but want to have my own ride sometimes.
    Thank you. I have not been canoeing in years and was surprised how much I enjoy kayaking. Being out on the water is both challenging and relaxing. It was just a natural fit to add some overnight camping. We are already planning another trip. This time on open water heading to an island. My backpacking trips have been just as much fun. It is good to mix it up some.

  5. #5
    Member Dunckelman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dirtbaghiker View Post
    Cool stuff.. Gonna watch this in a little bit.
    It was a great trip! Was not too sure what to expect and the trip did not disappoint. Hope you enjoy the video.

  6. #6
    Member Dunckelman's Avatar
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    I forgot to add some video highlights:

    09:53 Hammock Camping
    20:04 Bald Eagle
    20:30 Small Rapids Action
    25:22 How Not To Treat Your Friends...
    27:45 Jump!
    32:00 Air Boat
    34:31 Tent Frustration

    And a favorite picture:


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