Permanent link for Mastering the rowing stroke and a hike to a waterfall with an afternoon off on March 7, 2024

Reilly Forbes

Welcome back to day 5 in Clemson! I started off my day with morning practice in the cold and rainy weather, but we made the most of it. I was coxing the varsity women in the Ring,4+, and we took it out for a long steady state row. We were working on stationary drills to really nail down our catch timings and overall boat set. We then took it for a long row, adding in pauses throughout the stroke to match up body positions. We wrapped up our rainy morning practice with some rate work, working on shifting to higher or lower rates efficiently. Overall, a very productive practice. 

Today was our afternoon off day so the team took advantage of our free time from rowing to partake in another physical activity, a hike! A large portion of the team made a trip to Yellow Branch Falls and hiked to a large waterfall that we got to climb around on and swim in. The hike wasn’t too hard but because of the rain, it was very slick and muddy making it a little more difficult but entertaining to watch everyone try and navigate the trails in the mud. 

We came back from the hike and relaxed for a few hours before heading to Southern Wesleyan University where we had dinner. Tonight's dinner was brisket and mac n’ cheese and it really hit the spot after a long day full of a large variety of activities. My day began to come to an end with an eboard meeting at the hotel after dinner where the executive board had their monthly meeting going through everything that they had been working on and what their next projects were. I hung out with some of my teammates in the lobby after the meeting before heading up to my room to wind down for bed and watching part of a movie before heading off to bed to get some much needed rest for another exciting day in Clemson tomorrow. 

 

Kyle Emerson

Today started as the past few have: wake up at 7:30am, go downstairs for breakfast, go back up to the room to get dressed for practice (my uni and rain jacket since it was drizzling this morning), then get to the practice site by 9:00am. I was in the pair (The Marco-Pitzer) with Mr. Aiden Miller and we went on to do quite a bit of steady state with drills in some rather wet conditions, but we made the most out of it anyway. At 11:00am, morning practice was done, and we returned to the hotel. Many of the varsity and novice men went to a pizza place across the street from the hotel called Your Pie. That was some of the best pizza for the price that I have ever had, and with the best company anyone could ask for. As someone who has experienced three spring breaks with the team, there is always one thing that I especially look forward to: the day hike. Two years ago I did this exact hike that took us to this incredible waterfall, but this time, I was able to explore up to the top and even further up the stream which the waterfall connected. Because of the rain, it was still muddy and if I had a dollar for everytime I nearly ate mud on my way to and from the waterfall, I could have paid off my dues, but that’s what makes you feel alive and was a good use of the rest of the day until dinner. It was BBQ at the Southern Wesleyan University dining hall which consisted of mac and cheese, pulled pork, mixed veggies, and french fries (finished with a little bit of ice cream). The rest of the night consisted of going to do laundry with a couple other rowers then heading to bed. Tomorrow we’ll be back on the water at 9:00am in the men’s Varsity 8+ (Featuring the Lubbers).

Tyler Jacobs

The day started off dark and rainy. I woke up pretty early to avoid the morning rush so that I could make myself a waffle and not have to wait in a 20 minute line for it. Like on other mornings. I was a little hesitant if we would still be able to go on a hike later in the day due to all the rain, but the forecast showed the weather clearing up around noon so I tried not to worry about it too much. 

When practice rolled around it was still rainey, but the good news was that it was our only practice for the day. The novice men took out an 8 with one seat empty. We mostly just did drill work. Towards the end of practice Coach Trevor came up with a friendly competition for us novices. Whoever could keep their blade in the water for the longest would win and I was able to win. 

After practice I took off the wet clothes I had on and put on some dry clothes. I then ran across the street to Subway for lunch. I’ve gone there so many times on this trip the lady behind the counter at this point knows who I am and what I'm going to order. 

There was some debate on what time we should leave for the hike so we eventually just decided as a team to split into two groups and leave at separate times. I decided to go with the first group. When we got to the park I was very impressed. We were the only ones there so we had the whole place to ourselves. The trail we walked on was muddy, but still a cool, neat long trail. I was the first one to make it to the waterfall and I thought it looked absolutely gorgeous. My brain immediately started to think of ways of how I could climb up it. I took off my shoes and began my journey to the top of the waterfall. Anytime I pulled myself up I made sure my hand had a good grip on whatever I was holding onto so that I wouldn't fall to my death. After about 10 to 20 minutes of climbing I was eventually happy with how high I was so I decided to climb back down. As I was getting ready to leave the 2nd group was arriving. At that moment I just decided to stay because I just loved the environment I was in and assumed that another van could take me home. Some of the varsity members started to go on a hidden path on the side of the waterfall. I was curious so I followed them and to my surprise it led to the top of the waterfall. When I got to the top I felt like the king of the world. The view was breathtaking. I climbed inside the waterfall and had a mini panic attack due to the water pressure and it being hard to breath for a couple seconds but I got over it. After hours of exploring we eventually had to head back. The trail back to the parking lot was about half an hour away, but me and some other people decided to run so we shaved at least 15 minutes off the time. I got put in a van with 6 other people so I was squeezed in there. The hike was definitely my favorite part of the trip so far. I just loved the location and scenery. It all felt so surreal. The only negative was all of my clothes were wet, muddy and cold. 

Once I got dropped off back at the hotel I took a quick shower and then quickly put whatever I had laying around on and headed towards my van to take me to the food place. I surprisingly wasn’t that hungry, but I still had a decent amount of food and made sure that I didn’t waste anything. 

When I got back to the hotel I took a proper shower because I wasn’t rushed. To close things out for the day, I relaxed in bed working on editing some videos on my computer and watching some youtube. Overall today was definitely my favorite day because I love exploring and wandering and when I was by the waterfall I got to take all of that to a whole new level.

 

Categories: Rowing
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