Duck River in Tennessee

Trip Overview

The was my 2nd time down the Duck, but 1st time to go down with my wife. I loved it so much the 1st time I talked her into going with me the 2nd time. She is not an outdoors kinda of girl. She did not want to go, but I would not shut up about it so she went just to get me to shut up. So with that said, here is how our trip went.

9/10/10
We arrived at River Rat Canoe Rental in Columbia, TN at 7:45 am We paid our $60.00 for the canoe and we launched behind their building within 20 minutes. The Weather was perfect! This was my second trip so I was a little bit better prepared this time around, not that the 1st trip was bad. This time I used water proof bags instead of plastic bags for the sleeping bags, I brought a small folding table, A nicer perculator coffee maker (not the cheap walmart one I used the 1st time), better food, blow up mattress (a must), a grill to go over the fire, and a fishing poll.

So with all the gear, my wife and I floated down the river. It was so relaxing! She was in a good mood and enjoyed the several stops on the way so I could fish for about 20 minutes at a time. I caught a couple small mouth bass. At Lunch we stopped on a small island in the middle of the river. I broke out the new table and chairs I bought. It was great. We sat and enjoyed hearing the water and views as we ate our lunch. We loaded back up and where on our way. We did not rush and traveled about 11 miles.

We stopped about 4:00 PM to set up camp. It was a nice spot that seemed miles away form everything. It seemed like we were in the middle of the wilderness. We had not seen anybody all day. I made dinner that night for her as she learned to fish and read a book. I always like reading about what other people had to eat on canoe trips. So here is what we had. I grilled porkchops over the camp fire on the grill that goes over the fire. I also have a one burning stove in which I used to cook green beans mixed in with the little caned potatoes. I use seasoning salt on the meat and the greens.

I set up the table again by the river as darkness was upon us. We ate while listening to the river and used the fire for light (So Cool). After dinner I used my new coffee maker. It worked great. We set by the fire for an hour drinking coffee and listening to the owls that were all round us. We went to bed around 9:00 pm. I slept so much better on the mattress instead of river rocks. we were both tired and went right to sleep watching the dying fire. What A Great Night!!!

9-11-10
We woke up about 7:00 AM. I was the first one out of the tent. Everything was very damp. The water had a fog/steam floating above it. It was very pretty. I did not want it to end. I got the fire going again and made coffee. My wife got up and placed honey buns near the fire on the grill and warmed them up. I don't even care that much about honey buns, but they were very good. I also bring canned fruit for the mornings. I broke down camp in no time and we were back on our way.

We kept the same pace as the day before. I stopped a few times and fished. No luck today. My wife also cont. to read while I paddled down the river. We seen lots of wild life. Wild turkey, river otters, crans, and fish. The bluffs were great. The weather cont. to be great. We traveled about 6-7 miles the 2nd day.

We made it to the take out point around 12:00 pm I called River Rats and they showed up without much of a wait.

My wife loved the trip and so did I. A must do again trip. It has made me want to go on a longer trip down the duck or different river. It is a little work getting everything ready, but it was worth it.

Accommodations:

River Rats rented the Canoe.

Nice people. They picked up us up after we were done.

Fees:

$60.00 for overnight rental, but I think it has since changed and is now $80.00.

Directions:

30 minutes from Murfreesboro, TN Easy to find. Get on River rat Canoe Rental Web Site.