Long-distance paddler, author meets Evergreen residents at Maiben Lake

David Haynes of Blount Springs officially finished paddling the 631-mile Alabama Scenic River Trail last Thursday and one of the most memorable parts of his trip was an encounter he had with two Evergreen residents.

Haynes and two canine companions, a pair of golden retrievers named Bailey and Roscoe, began paddling the ASRT on May 1, and the 57-year-old author and photographer plans to write a book about his trip. The trail begins about 200 yards over the Georgia state line before entering Alabama near Cedar Bluff on the Coosa River. Eventually the trail enters the Alabama River near Wetumpka and meanders south toward the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and the Gulf of Mexico.

Almost from the start of Haynes’ trip, Evergreen residents and outdoor enthusiasts Glenn Brooks and Dalton Campbell began following Haynes’ progress on his blog and Facebook. About 120 miles from the end of his trip, Haynes got to meet Brooks and Campbell for the first time at Maiben Lake, just north of the Claiborne Lock and Dam in Monroe County.

“They’d been following me online almost from the start of the trip,” Haynes told The Courant on Monday. “They commented almost daily about the trip, and while I’d never met them, over time I almost felt like I knew them.”

As Haynes approached the Claiborne Lock and Dam, Brooks called him on his cell phone, telling him to look for a sign he’d placed on a sandbar not far from his camp house at Maiben Lake. A mile or so later, Haynes encountered a sign that read “David Haynes, Welcome to Maiben Lake, 200 yards, GB.”

Haynes followed a creek leading to Brooks’ camp house and met his Facebook friends for the first time as well as their wives. Brooks had prepared lunch for the paddler and as Haynes joined them inside, it dawned on him that he hadn’t enjoyed a meal indoors in over a month.

“It was kind of a weird feeling,” Haynes said. “It felt abnormal to eat inside, but we had a good time. I enjoyed meeting them for the first time. They’re good folks. It was really neat to meet them.”

After their visit, Haynes continued down river with his dogs and claimed a campsite. Just before dark, Brooks and Campbell visited him again and brought him a care package containing drinks, hot dogs, apples, potato chips and cake.

It took Haynes, who paddled the Colorado River down the Grand Canyon 25 years ago, 45 days and 44 nights to paddle the ASRT. He lost 28 pounds during the trip, but he noted that the trip afforded him a lot of time to practice his guitar skills on a carbon filter guitar built by his brother, Bill Haynes of Mount Olive.

“The guitar is impervious to water,” Haynes said. “It probably got soaking wet 20 times or more, but you’d never know it. I practiced at night, and it was a good toy to have with me. I think the dogs loved it too. They didn’t complain even once.”

No one’s ever written a guidebook about the ASRT, and Haynes hopes to publish the first such book through the University of Alabama Press later this year, he said. The book will be somewhat similar to his 2011 book, “Motorcycling Alabama: 50 Ride Loops through the Heart of Dixie,” he said.

For more information about Haynes’ trip, visit his blog at http://paddlinginfo.ua.edu/.