It was a glorious sunny afternoon, with a tail wind to help us down the river. We had postponed paddling the Betsie this spring due to reports of numerous downed trees, but after conferring with local outfitters, it seemed like the way would be clear. Somehow they managed to get the section from Homestead Dam to Lewis Bridge cleared for the Memorial Day weekend. But be forewarned, if you can't make precise turns and quick back ferries, you might run into trouble.....or downed trees.
About five minutes into the trip, John Walton was our knight in shining armor, wading into the water to rescue someone who had lost her concentration and got up close and personal with a fallen tree . Then he borrowed my pruning saw to lop off the offending branch. Meanwhile, Rosario (who had found the neatest fossils in the rocks at the put-in) was adjusting her PFD, which her hubby had fiddled with the previous day....and he made it so snug she couldn't zip it up.
Marv was in the lead all afternoon; he has obviously been taking extra vitamins lately! Tracie did a great job of choosing a good path for others to follow, so that we all got through the trip without mishaps. Mike Schaeffer paddled into several log jams to pick up trash, and managed to fill one grocery bag with cans and bottles, including an ice cold Diet Pepsi for John W.
This section of the Betsie is a delight (with abundant wildflowers, like crown vetch and both yellow and purple iris - pictured above), and I would recommend it for anyone who wants to practice lots of turns. Most of the way, there's a lot of shade. Also, if you want to make the trip shorter (we were on the river for about two hours and forty minutes), you can take out at Grace Road or at Smith Bridge. When it's a bit warmer, there are numerous swimming holes. Today we had the river completely to ourselves.
Narrative by Lois; photos by John