April 2006
Northern Tier High Adventure
Shakedown #1
Elm Fork of the Trinity River

Trinity River Expeditions offers canoe and kayak access to the natural areas along the Trinity River which is who we used for our shakedown. Periodic high water events have discouraged building near the river, leaving thousands of acres in the floodplains as reservoirs for the flood water. These wooded and open natural areas shelter a variety of native plants and animal life and contain many other features like historic bridges and river crossings. Canoe travel is the easiest way to visit these areas and Trinity River Expeditions provided the equipment, transportation and information for our own river trip.

Trinity River - Over 100 river miles of canoe trips are available in the Upper Trinity Basin.
Elm Fork - Flows south of Lake Lewisville, trips 4 to 10 miles long on 29 river miles, Eagle Ford shale, 1891 Trinity Mills bridge, 1886 Keenan Bridge, 1849 California Crossing, diverse riparian -small lake habitat, dependable flow.

The Trinity has been identified as the stream that the Caddo Indians called Arkikosa in Central Texas and Daycoa nearer the coast, as well as the one that Réne Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in 1687 called River of the Canoes. The name Trinity (La Santisima Trinidad) is supposed to have first been applied to the present stream by Alonso De León in 1690. Domingo Terán de los Rios in 1691 called the same stream Encarnación de Verbo. Domingo Ramón in 1716 probably applied the name Trinity to the present Brazos, for, when he later reached the Trinity, he was told by the Indians that other Spaniards called the stream the Trinity. The Marqués de Aguayo and other later explorers used the name Trinity consistently.