Sherman's March to the River

     This past Sunday morning's sunrise looked promising for a good day to go paddling with Sherman's Gang on a river in Missouri.

     A bit of history about Sherman's Gang. Last May, while paddling down the Buffalo National River in Arkansas, I met a group of paddlers, all men. They were from the St. Louis, Missouri area and were employees and retirees of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. I posted about it (click here to read post). Sherman seemed to be the man in charge so that's why I called the group "Sherman's Gang". 

     Sunday's float however included wives, girlfriends, visiting Germans and two youngsters.

     The initial plan was to meet at the Current River but due to recent rains throughout Missouri, and since some in the group had never paddled before, Sherman switched the plan to the Meramec River.  

     We paddled from near Meramec Spring Park to Scotts Ford Access (click here for float map). The river was running faster than normal, but that made it all the more enjoyable. Yellow and red flowers dotted the river banks (Sherman's photos).

    Saw a green heron, a bald eagle, a noisy kingfisher, little piper-looking birds on the shoreline, and a rat snake on the river. Tak (the reptilian lover in our group) amused us all by handling the twisting agitated snake for about ten minutes. Sorry, no photos!

     Along the way was Maramec Springs, an underground spring that gushes about 150 cubic feet per second, fifth largest spring in Missouri. That's me playing in the gushing spring (Sherman's photo).

     We met another paddler on the Meramac; Shane, a guy who custom-builds standing paddle boards of redwood, cedar and other beautiful wood inlaid. I'd hate to drag something that pretty on a rocky gravelly shoreline!

     It was an enjoyable day on the river, not just because of the beautiful river and weather. Being with folks who work and play well together is a special treat for me. And Sherman (he's on the right, David's on the left in photo below) seems to bring it all together. By the way Sherman's homemade roof rack is holding seven kayaks and my ski!

     While waiting that morning at the river access for Sherman's Gang to show, I met a local paddler, Henry, at the river. When I mentioned I was waiting for Sherman's Gang, he told me about another Sherman, General William Sherman, and his famous "March to the Sea". He shared stories about the logistics and leadership skills of this legendary general during the Civil War, including "Sherman's Neckties". Yes, a history lesson from a total stranger (who rolled his own homemade cigarette while he talked) at a boat access in rural Missouri!  Click here for story of why General Sherman is an American legend. Sherman has military tanks named after him, and there's a large Sequoia Tree in California named after General Sherman, too.

     So from a brief tête-à-tête with Henry the local fisherman, that's why I will fondly remember this day as he humorously called it, "Sherman's March to the River".