Even though only 3 signed up for it, the Sturgeon River was just as much fun as always.
It was a gorgeous day, clear skies, 70F and a light breeze for the South.
Jocelyn Trepte, David and Norm Fred met up to carpool in his "new" Saturn Vue to test the limits of his rack system and found it to be capable of carrying 3 solo canoes without any major problems. The rope pattern was quite interesting when it finally was accomplished.
The river was about at normal height and speed. John at Henley's Canoes ran the shuttle. He's a nice guy and always is there for us when we need him.
Jocelyn found the first unopened beer can and said, "Why don''t we ever find a Pepsi for a change? I don't like beer." A few feet downstream, there it was - a 20oz Pepsi, cold and unopened. We shared it at lunch.
We collected 2 big bags of trash from Wolverine to the DNR Rondo Road Landing which we bundled up, carried up the steps and left in the parking lot for the DNR. I put my business card on each one so they would know it was trash from the river and not some left by a civilian. The National River Cleanup logo printed on the bags would have been another clue but I wanted them to know it was our club and not some other group.
There were two commercially marked pickups in the lot and one of those guys who lives in Wolverine found the bags, called my wife to thank us and took the bags home to his dumpster. Sometimes, things work out better than you plan, sometimes not.
For some reason that we could not figure out, we found a lot of stuff hanging from trees.
On our way to S. White Bridge, we were passed by a group of young adults, all wearing PFDs and paddling well. They were friends from all over the world (Australia, S. Africa, Canada, Bermuda, Turk Island and other places I can't spell). If was fun to talk to them with all the different accents. One very nice couple took a water logged bed pillow with a pillow case and a huge, green, mangled wheeled garbage can from me to dispose of.
At N. White Bridge, we were tired but had 2 more heavy bags to take to the Meadows Bar where Todd, the owner, let us use his dumpster. We also had some refreshments to enjoy since we were there anyway.
For me, it's always a pleasure to paddle the Sturgeon. As Jocelyn put it, "I love that river!"
Norm