View Full Version : What is an aqua-blaze and how do people do it?
Glebbber
05-20-2009, 14:54
What is an aqua-blaze and how do people do it?
What? Paddling the Shenandoah River north around Shenandoah National Park.
How? Let others chime in.
johnnybgood
05-20-2009, 16:15
How? In a canoe
How? In a canoe
Can hikers rent canoes near Waynesboro? How would they return the canoe afterward?
johnnybgood
05-20-2009, 16:27
Shenandoah River Outfitters .... Luray ?
johnnybgood
05-20-2009, 17:33
Waynesboro also , Rockfish Gap Outfitters. You hike or Yellowblaze it into town to the Outfitters and they take you to a drop point on the river . You paddle for a day , two days whatever terms you agreed to , they come to pick up the canoe ....return your deposit.
They can either shuttle you or set you up with a shuttle service.
Blissful
05-20-2009, 18:02
There's a boy and a girl in a little canoe... (Sorry. I used to sing that dumb song in Girl Scouts...)
Canoeing, kayaking that is. Do it usually on the Shenandoah River. River's been a little high recently. Good stuff right now. My hubby is begging me to go out (I'm not a water person)
Cookerhiker
05-20-2009, 18:09
I don't know about outfitters' availability but as far as aqua-blazing a river along the AT, what about the Housatonic? Granted it's upstream for an AT NOBO but it's not exactly a raging swirl.
My brother and several others aqua blazed from Front Royal to Harpers Ferry during their thru. Outfitter in FR handled the rentals and the return of kayaks/canoes from Harpers Ferry.
Here in Florida we have a number of canoe/kayak trails. The state has even built a few shelters specifically for folks aqua-blazing along the Suwanee River.
The new free hostel at the outfitter near Port Clinton (new in 2007, anyways- hopefully it's still there) does kayak rentals. They can take you to a drop-in point on the Susquehanna and from there it's a half a day paddle to Duncannon- less if you're feeling aggressive. Once you hit Duncannon you can carry the kayak two blocks to the Doyle, stash it on the porch upstairs, and have a beer and fries while you wait for Scott (kayak guy) to pick it up!
There are some part of the IAT that would be pretty cool to Aquablaze. If you wanted to go a little off the beaten track there is a traditional canoe/portage route from Old Town Maine to Woodstock new Brunswick called the Malisseet Trail. From Woodstock you could continue paddling up the Saint John River to the Tobique to get back on the IAT.
http://www.maliseettrail.com/
Closer to the IAT, the IAT follows a road along the Tobique and you could probably arrange a canoe for that section. Even going up the Tobique it is quite navigable for a good way up towards Mt. Carleton Provincial park. Then there are more rivers down the other side from there, with some white water if you are into that. I suppose you could also do some serious ocean paddling to get from Gaspe to Cape Breton, and from Cape Breton to Newfoundland. :D
Gray Blazer
05-21-2009, 07:58
There's a boy and a girl in a little canoe... (Sorry. I used to sing that dumb song in Girl Scouts...)
".....girls swimming all around." They taught you that so you would stay chaste.
Yeah, rent the canoes in Luray.
It would be nice to include Old Town Maine as part of the IAT because Thoreau stopped there on his trip to and from Katahdin ala "In The Maine Woods". It is somewhat of a backtrack from Katahdin to Old Town, but it is a logical continuation from the AT, and probably the more logical and traditional route and mode of travel from that part of Maine to that part of New Brunswick.
The Trans Canada Trail includes alot of paddling routes. Saint John to Oromocto is one of them.
Click to zoom in...
http://www.tctrail.ca/tlocator/tlocator_en.html
Sorry, just looking at the map of Maine again, and it wouldn't really make sense to go all the way back to Old Town to get to Woodstock, but there still might be some more logical paddle/portage routes from Mt. Katahdin to Mt. Carleton than hoofing it along roads much of the way. Might be worth looking into for that part of the IAT.
Sorry for all the posts. Here is a resource for looking into a paddle/portage route as part of the IAT.
http://www.canoemaine.com/map.html
You could either hike up and onto the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and then down the St. John River and then on from there somehow, or I think a better route for hikers would be to get back down from Katahdin across the lakes and down the Penobscot and then up the Mattawamkeag on the Maliseet Trail to Woodstock. From there, paddle/portage to Mount Carleton. Cheers out.
"Aquablazing" must be a WB or a hikers term.
I have been a long distance "Canoe Tripper" for several years and have never heard the term before.
garlic08
05-21-2009, 11:09
I eavesdropped on a conversation on this topic among some purists once. They agreed that if you hiked to the water and made your own watercraft, preferably using a tree that has a white blaze painted on it, it might count as part of a thru hike. You'd have to get prior approval from Mags' "High Holy Council of Hiking".
"Aquablazing" must be a WB or a hikers term.
I have been a long distance "Canoe Tripper" for several years and have never heard the term before.
It's a hiking term, just like blue blaze on blue blazed trail, yellow blaze in a car,etc...
Jester2000
05-25-2009, 19:48
Kind of amusing that in this strict forum a question about aquablazing leads to portage info on the IAT.
Typically an aquablaze while on the AT involves contacting one of the outfitters who work out of Waynesboro or other towns near the Shenny. Take a canoe trip for whatever length you want (up to a week), then either get back to the trail near your exit point or get a lift with the outfitter back to Waynesboro.
I recently spoke with a dude that did the aquablaze from Waynesboro and he said they bought the canoes outright as it was about the same as a rental and gave them away in Harpers.
Nasty Dog Virus
05-26-2009, 09:23
i Eavesdropped On A Conversation On This Topic Among Some Purists Once. They Agreed That If You Hiked To The Water And Made Your Own Watercraft, Preferably Using A Tree That Has A White Blaze Painted On It, It might Count As Part Of A Thru Hike. You'd Have To Get Prior Approval From Mags' "high Holy Council Of Hiking".
.....:d.....