Neches River Father/Son Trip

Trip Overview

Every spring we take a group of fathers and sons for a 40 mile paddle down the Neches River in East Texas. This was the smallest group we have ever done. We had 4 dads and 5 sons in 4 canoes.

We put in at Sheffield Ferry boat ramp near Spurger, Texas. As soon as we got in the water it started raining. We paddled 8 miles in the rain. We were all ready to be done by this point. There was a very nice campsite here. It is a large sandbar with some pine trees on the back side that make a great pine needle bed for tents. We got our tents up and changed into dry clothes. Just about everyone took a short nap.

The rain stopped for a little while and we were able to cook dinner. As the sun went down the rain started up again. I woke up in the night with water dripping on my forehead. My old Eureka two-man tent is about ready for an upgrade.

The next morning we woke to clear sky. We paddle 18 miles that day, but with the river as high as it was, we had to be care to not go too far. The river gauge at Evadale said 15'. Flood stage is 17' We have done this trip at 16 and a half feet, so I know what the campsites look like and was prepared to be in the woods. But all the rain we had the night before meant were were camping in muddy woods. However, there had been a nice breeze blowing most of the day, so we did find a few spots to place our tents.

On Saturday we paddle the last 14 miles without stopping. One of the sons in our group had gotten sick to his stomach. We were all ready to get home.