Exceptional. The upper Manistee is nothing like the lower Manistee: it’s narrow and twisty with clear icy water and a sandy bottom with little evidence of human use. Although the current is mild, the number of fallen trees can make for tricky maneuvering.
Above the usual put-ins. We (Lois Goldstein, John Heiam, Kati Flees, Karen Mueller, Jocelyn Trepte, John and Rosario Walton, Judy and Fred Swartz) started at “John’s Landing”, so called because John Heiam found this obscure put-in above where most paddlers would start, making the first half of the trip feel quite wild.
Several kept their eyes open for trash, but there was almost none to be found -- further evidence of the low usage.
No sawing this year. This is definitely a river where you might bring a saw, and it was a pleasure to slip through narrow passages that our past handiwork had opened up. This year proved to be an exception and no sawing was necessary. It looked like someone had already taken care of a few trouble spots. What a disappointment!
Slowly widening. As the river progresses, it gains more waterand widens.
The usual sights. There should be no surprise that there were wildflowers and wild fowl. Judy even surprised a deer. Although there seem to be plenty of beaver (but not out in the middle of the day), their dam building has probably been at odds with the desires of the trout fishermen. The fisherman apparently haven’t found the new dam at the put-in, which looks quite ambitious.
Mystery branch. There are plenty of small islands on our rivers, but the upper Manistee has a mystery branch that doesn’t rejoin for quite a while. I’m hoping to be able to report the next time on what can be found down it. (Editor's note: John Walton reports he made it through without getting out of his boat.)
Report and photos by Fred Swartz