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Traverse Area Paddle Club

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Trip Reports

June 21 UPPER Little Manistee

Published on 6/21/2014

We put in at Indian Bridge, a nice fishing access not far from Irons, but not really great for boat staging and launching.  Our original plan was to go to Granger Road, but things went so slowly that some of us cut the trip short.  At 3 PM seven people took out at Johnson Bridge, while the other four went into high gear to head downstream to retrieve the cars.  While we waited for the speedy group, we wrote the trip report; everyone contributed a few sentences.   This was hand written on the back of my trip roster.  Lois

Camille Walton:  This was a challenging but very fun river.  I almost dumped twice, thanks to the many downed trees.
Carrie Metevia:  I'm very grateful for the three ambitious lumberjacks and the paddling instructions from Lois & John.  I'm now the queen of back ferries.
Marv Puska:  due to my age, I'm having difficulty getting out of my kayak.  However, today I tried to do the Fred Swartz seal launch, and as a result, I went for a swim.  (Reporter's question: Did that happen just once?  Answer: Yes, I'll never try it again.)
Marlene Puska: There were a lot more obstacles that I had anticipated.  I did this river last year, and it has changed!
Tracie Lord:  After observing Fred for four years running, I attempted and succeeded in two seal launches!  Thanks Fred!
Judy Swartz:  What amazed me was watching John Walton and Fred deal with the log that had knocked me over.  Fred sawed while sitting in his canoe midstream while John made sure that Fred didn't flip.
Lois Goldstein:  I'm really glad we had great weather, and not many bugs for mid-June.  One highlight was getting my tush caught on an overhanging tree: Fred wanted to pull me back, but John Heiam said, "No, push her through!"  I also helped clear a path on the portage as well as on one log jam.  And when we decided to stop at Johnson Bridge instead of Dewitt, I kept the troops entertained by helping me write this.
John Heiam:  The drivers (Kati Flees, John W, Fred and I) went on to retrieve the cars.  We paddled as fast as we could for an hour to the intended takeout, and didn't find any obstructions.
 
No comments from Kati, Fred and John W, who may have been too wiped out to say anything.  It was a fun adventure!