Milby and Harris check the cameras in Buchanan.

One week in, it seemed like a good time for an update on our journey to map the James River in high-resolution, 360-degree panoramic images. Maybe you’e been following the joint project between RichmondOutside.com, Terrain360.com and the James River Association on Twitter. If not, here’s a quick update in words and pictures.

Last Monday, Ross Milby and Mike Harris set off on the Jackson River in Clifton Forge on our custom pontoon raft. The first week was marked by good weather and downriver progress hampered  by the kinds of logistical challenges that are common on a first-of-its-kind trip. Camera batteries failed, shutter triggers stopped working, the pontoons lost air faster than expected, the 2.5-HP motor needed a new part, etc. Nothing catastrophic, but Ryan and I did find ourselves on the road between Richmond and different mountain towns that the James cuts through trying to figure things out.

We met the team at Twin River Outfitters in Buchanan on Thursday to bring provisions and troubleshoot some camera issues. Then they headed off downstream to the next boat landing, Arcadia, where we were waiting to see if everything went smoothly

The team passes the confluence with the Maury River upstream of Balcony Falls.

In fact, it hadn’t. Ryan spent an hour re-wiring the shutter trigger to make it longer. No big deal, just another in a long line of small fixes.

Since then, the boys have run Balcony Falls and begun to navigate the seven dams above Lynchburg, camping every night and spreading the word about their trip to the boaters they pass along the way.

In about a week, they should be in Richmond, and then the real fun begins. Hollywood and Pipeline rapids, here we come!

A shot from one of our cameras as the boat goes through Balcony Falls. Note the pontoon tip under water.

It’s a huge day for RichmondOutside.com, our sister enterprise Terrain360.com, and the James River Association. This morning on the Jackson River in Clifton Forge, months of preparation finally came to and end and the journey to map the entire James River in 360-degree panoramic images began. Last fall, Google sent their Trekker on a raft down part of the Colorado River, but no one has mapped an entire river this way. The 340-mile James River will be the first.

Ryan Abrahamsen and I hatched the idea and pitched it to the JRA back in January. They loved it, thought the resulting content would be perfect for their Envision the James (EnvisiontheJames.org) efforts, and decided to fund the operation. This wouldn’t be happening without their support.

Setting the camera array to the correct height.

Terrain360 co-founder Ross Milby will be in charge of our custom pontoon raft from Clifton Forge (just upstream of where the Jackson and Cowpasture come together to form the James) all the way to Richmond. He’ll do most of the piloting, and Mike Harris will sit below the telescoping camera array snapping pictures — all six cameras fire at once — every 30 feet or so. The resulting images will be stitched together to give web users a one-of-a-kind way to experience America’s Founding River. We’ll then use those images to create what we call “augmented reality” maps of different sections of the river, including the falls of the James. Click here to see and here to read more on the trip’s backstory.

Ross and Mike will be Tweeting from the boat for the entirety of the trip, which we expect to take about two weeks. You can find those tweets at the Terrain360 and RichmondOutside Twitter accounts. When they arrive in Richmond, Ryan and I will take over and pilot the boat through the tidal James to its mouth at the Chesapeake Bay (In fact, we’ll do it twice: running along the north and south banks separately because the river is so wide below Richmond.)

A screen shot from our 360-degree tour of the current bridge. The proposed structure would be built on top of the same pilings.

The Time-Dispatch’s Graham Moomaw broke some big news on the T-D website earlier today, reporting that the Commonwealth Transportation Board allocated $2.5 million in state funding Wednesday for the city’s downtown Riverfront Plan. The money will go toward the first phase of the plan — funding the proposed Brown’s Island Dam Walk.

The city already has $7 million available  for the plan, and these funds will supplement that. The city has yet to actually say how much the BIDW would cost, though early estimates suggested it was somewhere around $8 million. As Moomaw reported, the state allocation boosts the likelihood that the bridge will be completed in time for the 2015 International Cycling Union Road World Championships.

In talking with city employees and others familiar with the bridge, I heard time and again the worry that with funds tight, city planners could propose building the walkway, but not connecting it to the trails on the south bank of the James near the Manchester Climbing Wall — at least not right away.

With more in the coffers, Olinger told the T-D, the city can go “full bore” on both elements. “We’re just going to kind of get it all done at once,” he said.

The James on a “Mild Drunk” Near Pony Pasture. All photos credit: Scott Turner

The James River spills out from the Blue Ridge Mountains like a drunkard from a hillside bar after last call. Wandering, turning back on itself, tipping and swaying towards any and all degrees of the compass dial, the dizzy James makes a serpentine tumble through 145 miles of the Virginia piedmont between Lynchburg and Richmond, connecting the same two geographic points a sober crow would connect with a 100 mile flight.

Though wildly meandering, heavy gravity imposes a general inclination to the drift, and just as the stumbling drunkard eventually finds himself at the base of the hill, the always-descending James finally empties itself into a place where the sun rises from a level sea.

When Old James has been drinking heavily up there in the hills he rushes cloudy and brown into Richmond, carrying along small pieces of mountain and earth picked up along the way. With a roaring laugh, he hurdles Bosher’s Dam, limbos the Willey Bridge, and a half-mile later bends through a narrow turn north before rushing headlong towards the Huguenot Bridge. After speeding up to spit through the bending restriction, the water slows down and eddies along the northern bank.

Jumping from the northern beach of Long Island.

It is here, just west of the Huguenot Bridge, that the James drops some of its earthen luggage and writes a comma of soft sand into the flowing story of its journey from mountain to sea.  My daughter’s and I call the place “Long Island.”

But this island of sand would probably have been washed away or moved by changing river dynamics by now were it not for the pioneering efforts of a scrappy little river-loving family of trees known as the Willows.

In this part of the world, the willow is one of the first from the plant kingdom to inhabit a sandy island, and like those recently honored marines of the Normandy Invasion, a landing party of willows takes the open beach and does the desperate labor of holding it fast and making it inhabitable for those more celebrated species to follow.

Black willow guarding the beach.

Today Long Island is ruled by two mature sycamores towering above the high ground at the center and an Osage orange that litters the sand with tennis ball-sized green fruits in mid-summer. Surrounding these royals are river birch, sweetgum, and a host of other landed gentry, but it is where island confronts river at the western end that one finds the gnarled roots and mangled lower trunks of the tenacious willow trees that have fought hard to hold the beach and sometimes given all in the effort.

At first glance it would appear that the dark and drunken James always has the upper hand. Willow wood is soft and light. Twigs and stems are easily ripped and carried away during confrontations with high water, leaving the underdog willows looking battered and beaten. But like the many-headed hydra fought by the strongest Greek hero, Hercules, from each severed member of the willow there sprouts multiple new green-haired shoots. What’s more, in one of my favorite arboreal adaptations to the challenges of life, this river-loving modern hydra has learned not only to grow new heads from the stumps of the severed, but also to grow new stumps from the severed heads themselves. After a free ride downstream, a willow branch can be enlisted to join a new landing party where it will shove roots sprouted from the branch into the soft bank and become a whole new riverbank reinforcement.

Only a few hundred yards to the east the recently remodeled Huguenot Bridge crosses the river, shouldering the incessant motion and drone of car-mounted humans. Yet on the sandy north bank of Long Island one finds himself quite secluded.

Befriending the natives.

The small stream of water between island and mainland is guarded at either end by old black willow trees extending horizontal arms over the passage and dangling light green locks right down to the surface. Once just a small island of sand, thanks to these unsung heroes, Long Island is now a natural paradise of trees and wildlife. On a summer day, if the water level is right, you can sit your lawn chair in the ankle deep northern passage of water, watch and feel the sand crawling past your feet, listen to the faintly whispered response of fluffy willow to river breeze, and write a peaceful comma into your own fast flowing life story.

If you haven’t noticed, Richmond’s outdoor scene is getting a lot of national attention lately. In 2012 Richmond was named “Best River Town” by Outside Magazine. Dominion Riverrock has grown into the nation’s largest outdoor sports and music festival and just last week The Active Times featured Richmond’s recreation offerings in its travel section. But, it did not happen overnight. Countless outdoor enthusiasts have lovingly labored for decades to foster recreational opportunities among Richmond’s bounty of natural endowments. A particular group of dedicated recreation professionals south of the James have been at the forefront of this movement.

For more than thirty years, the Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation Department’s Outdoor Programs team has offered outdoor and adventure programming for residents of all localities and ability levels. Last week, I had the opportunity to spend the afternoon on the James River with Adventure Programmer Greg Velzy. He instructed me in basic whitewater kayaking techniques, while we chatted about Chesterfield’s varied offerings.

Hikers on a recent Chesterfield Parks excursion to the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Velzy, a certified instructor for more than twenty years, talked about the county’s programs as he guided me though riffles and some moderate class II rapids.

“We focus is on instruction, so people can enjoy the river safely,” he said.

I got a small sample of that instruction while on the river with Velzy. After a couple of attempts, I learned how to “ferry,” a maneuver used to get across an eddy line into the rapids. When done right, the move will take you in an upstream angle across the smooth water and turn you into the flow of the rapids. Chesterfield’s beginner whitewater kayaking class is a good way to learn the basics. The two-day class teaches safety and technique on calm water on the first day and running and reading rapids on the second.

In addition to kayaking, Chesterfield instructors offer sailing, rafting and stand up paddle boarding (SUP) classes, too.  The county also offers a swift-water rescue class – just in case.

Instruction is just one goal. Another is to instill a sense of stewardship. “When people enjoy the river, hopefully they will be motivated to take care of it,” said Velzy.

And instructional programs are just part of the county’s offerings. There are many nature and interpretive programs as well, and they are not all on the water. In fact, Chesterfield offers many hiking, backpacking, paddling and climbing programs all over Virginia. The Great Dismal Swamp, Shenandoah National Park, and the Chesapeake Bay are just a few of the destinations the country takes people who sign up for their programs.

Mark Battista, who has worked as a Naturalist for Chesterfield County for 25 years, summed it up well. When asked about what kind of programs the county offers, he replied, “A little bit of everything. We hike and paddle, explore swamps, vernal pools, the Blue Ridge Mountains, maritime forests, bottomlands and beaches. We are quite diverse in our program offerings. In one week, we can conduct an astronomy program, conduct a hike to the Dismal Swamp, lead a bird walk and conduct a campfire program.”

Students test the pH of the James River at a recent field trip at the Dutch Gap Conservation Area.

Some of the most popular programs are “Wonderful World of Bugs”, “Swamp Walk” and “Butterflies and Dragonflies.”

Group programs are available as well. The Challenge Course features a series of physical and social challenges for individuals and groups designed to foster confidence and team-building.  It has high and low elements, so it is well suited for adult and student groups. A variety of school field trips are offered including: Exploring Wetlands, Adaptations, Geology of Chesterfield Count, Watersheds, Reptiles and Wildlife Detective.

A big variety of programs are also available at the Rockwood Park Nature Center. Programs include:  geocaching, camps, beekeeping, wilderness survival, campfire programs and more.  Bob Smet, Director of the nature center for the last three years noted that visitors will be very impressed by the recent changes and program additions.  He says the archery classes are “one of the hottest new programs.” There are beginner and intermediate courses and classes for youth and adults.  Bob recommends signing up early because the classes fill fast and there is a waiting list.

More information about the Rockwood Nature Center can be found at rockwoodnaturecenter.com.

Chesterfield County offers hundreds of outdoor programs every year – way too many to list here.  Programs are open to everyone regardless of where you live and prices are kept low to encourage the whole community to participate. Information about Chesterfield Outdoor Programs can be found at chesterfieldoutdoorprograms.com. And you can click here to register for programs.

Brandon Montijo can do some really cool things with a drone. The local multimedia producer, and owner of Tijo Media, will, from time to time, put short, outdoors-focused videos he’s worked on up on our Facebook page so others can see our trails, waters, and what people are doing on them from a completely different angle. They’re all great, but Montijo just came out with one, Riverrock ’14 — From the Air, that I thought deserved a wider audience. It really captures the huge crowds, the athletes doing their thing, and power of the James River on a perfect weather weekend.

Since April 17, if you’ve come through one of the main entrances to the James River Park System, you have been counted.

Infrared and vehicle counters (not this one) now monitor James River Park System usage.

Thanks to twin $2,000 donations from the Friends of the James River Park and the James River Outdoor Coalition, park superintendent Nathan Burrell was able to purchase four infrared counters and two vehicle counters. They were set up at Pony Pasture, the Headquarters/Main Area, Texas Beach, Belle Isle, Ancarrow’s Landing, and the Pump House.

“They’ve been out there since the 17th of last month,” Burrell said. “We’ve pulled the numbers once (at the beginning of May). Going forward, we’re probably going to pull the numbers once a month.”

Burrell said once he puts the counter data into the computer a program crunches them, trying to correct for things like multiple visits and animals tripping the sensors, and gives him an estimate. Care to guess how many people it estimated used the Park between April 17th and May 1?

25,000. In two weeks. With schools still in session.

That is a ton of usage, and it’s not as if there were any hot, humid days in there.

Trail counters come in lots of shapes and sizes.

Burrell said that the JRPS will continue to supplement the trail counters with visitor surveys to understand the kinds of people that use the park and the nature of those uses, but, he said, these hard numbers will serve a number of purposes.

“We can build the case for why we might need more staff or extra equipment and more parking, but … we can also use these numbers to come up with an economic impact of the park on the city.”

It’ll be fascinating to see where the numbers trend as spring becomes summer and the heavy park-usage season begins.

Using the good old fashioned eyeball test to estimate crowds has never been one of my strong suits, so I’m just going to go with the Sports Backers/Venture Richmond number: 100,000. That’s how many people the dual organizers of Dominion Riverrock said attended the festival from Friday evening to Sunday evening. I was there everyday, and I don’t doubt that number. Two years ago, the last time the weather was great, Sports Backers estimated crowds in excess of 65,000. This time the throngs felt larger, especially for the headliner bands — The Infamous Stringdusters and Matisyahu.

Bouldering is always a fan favorite. Credit: Chris Johnson

The raging river drew huge numbers of people who wanted to see kayakers and SUPers race in the 15-foot James. Bouldering and the adjacent slackline areas were packed. The dog jumping was as popular as ever. The new event — Red Bull Berm Burners — always had a crowd around its dirt track. Freestyle bikes was its usual sick self. If I had one quibble — and, frankly, I overheard this quibble from many festival goers — it was the beer selection. In a city losing its mind over craft beer, a city with Legend, Hardywood, COTU, Strangeways, Ardent, Isley, Triple Crossing, Lickinghole and probably some brewerys I don’t know about yet, how is it possible that the only beers you could drink at Riverrock were Miller Lite, Blue Moon and Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy? Just seemed strange. This is a showcase of what makes us different than any other American city. Richmond beers should have been there.

The crowd on Brown’s Island for Matisyahu was huge. Credit: Sports Backers

Again, that’s a small quibble, and an easily rightable one. Riverrock showcased the James and our riverfront beautifully. The weather helped. So did the crazy-talented athletes. The SBs and Venture Richmond pulled it off again. Can’t wait for next year.

The RichmondOutside.com team went down to Brown’s Island to check out the Riverrock festivities yesterday evening. The place was packed, especially as it got closer to the Infamous Stringdusters taking the stage. The river was beginning to rage — it should get up above moderate flood stage today — which makes us extremely excited about today’s kayak and SUP events. They will go on as planned, though participants are going to have to obtain permits from the city to be on the river.

The Infamous Stringdusters in action. Credit: Steve Astrop

We strolled through the sponsors booths and talked to Justin Doyle with the James River Association and Max Hepp-Buchanan with Bike Walk RVA. They’re both over in the Historic Tredegar parking lot. If you find yourself in that area, check out the huge poster he has detailing the city’s mostly-complete bike master plan. There’s a lot of good information there for how a Richmond might look with more bike friendly city streets.

We also had a chat with our friends at the Blue Sky Fund and First Descents, both really cool non-profits — the first local, the second national —  focusing on kids and the outdoors. Stop by their booths to find out more, if you get the chance. Another place to check out a few booths over from Blue Sky is Green Life Adventure Sports. The Norfolk-based outdoor gear and apparel retailer is opening a Richmond branch in the West End in August. Look for their advertisement here at RichmondOutside.com starting in July.

And, of course, if you’re heading out to take in the sights and sounds on Brown’s Island today, download the RichmondOutside.com-produced Riverrock app on your smartphone. iPhone users click here to download. Android users click here.

There was an interesting piece by Graham Moomaw in today’s Times-Dispatch (and at RVANews.com yesterday) about some environmental remediation and general refurbishment that will take place at Ancarrow’s Landing over the next year.

According to the article: “ExxonMobil has agreed to remediate and improve a 4.3-acre section of Ancarrow’s Landing in order to reuse an area that once housed a fertilizer-mixing facility for park improvements along the James River, according to Richmond officials.

Ancarrow’s Landing features the only public motorized boat launch in the city.

“The plan…will involve the removal of about 5,000 cubic yards of soil contaminated by lead and arsenic from the chemical facility that operated there from the mid-1920s to 1962.”

The exciting aspect of the story, from the river lover’s perspective, is that “the subsequent restoration will involve an expanded parking area with space for up to 30 boat trailers and 73 cars. Canal stones that have been stockpiled will be reused by being placed around the park to provide seating and define certain areas. More lighting will be added and access trails will be improved, including the area near the beginning of the Richmond Slave Trail. The city may also locate a historic slave cabin at the site.”

Almost as exciting as the plan itself is that it’s scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. That’s a Redskins training camp timetable!