Note from the Outings Chair: As you may know, I (Lois) volunteer in the calculus classes at TC Central HS. When kids invite me to their graduation parties, my gift is the offer to take them out on a local river. Two years ago, Nick (now at the U of Penn) and Michelle (at MSU) went out with us on the Hodenpyl section of the Manistee, and they have been asking for another river trip ever since then. So we took them on the Jordan this week. Special thanks to Mike and Betty, for bringing kayaks for them to use, and to Jocelyn for providing a PFD that fit Michelle. And to everyone else on the trip, thanks for making them feel welcome as part of the group. Here are Michelle's impressions of the outing.
Nick and I were very excited to be a part of this paddling adventure, despite the fact that we have little paddling experience. When we got to the river, it was 85 degrees and sunny, with no clouds in the sky. Because of the heat, we were eager to get into the water and start paddling. Toward the beginning of the trip, Nick and I quickly learned how to ferry so that we could avoid the trees that the river wanted us to run into. The group stopped at the “tubes”. Nick and I were slightly nervous about going through them, especially about the wave that awaited us at the end. We made it through wonderfully, and a nice puddle of water decided to join us inside our kayaks.
When we stopped for a stretch and snack break, Lois found that her homemade trail mix had melted, making one giant M&M instead of several that would have been mixed throughout her snack. Toward the end of the trip, there was a log running perpendicular to the river, and it caused a very shallow area in the river; I thought everyone told me to slow down and so when I tried to go over the log, I got stuck. Luckily, I was able to wiggle myself free.
At the end of the trip, when we were cleaning up and packing, John had to pump out both Nick’s and my kayaks; I was proud to say that I took on less water than Nick, even though it wasn’t by much. Clouds started rolling in as we loaded the boats back on top of cars, and not 2 minutes after we started driving home, it started raining. Back at Lois' and John’s house, we noticed that the temperature was now 55 degrees; 30 degrees lower than when we began our paddle! Overall it was a very successful and fun trip! No one had to use their dry bags or be rescued – even novices such as Nick and myself. Written by Michelle, photography courtesy of John and Jocelyn
