June 14, 2012 - 1st Annual Little Manistee River Clean Up
What a day! We had a cool, clear day, with an unusual and perfect following east breeze which all helped us do this difficult project.
Gerry W., Sue W., Fred S., Roseanne, Jocelyn, John H., Gail H. and Norm were at Nine Mile Bridge at around 10:00am.
We paddled from Nine Mile Bridge to the Weir in about 4.5 hours. A normal paddle on the LM takes about 1.5 to 2 hours with no stops.
I have always said, "There is nothing LITTLE about the Little Manistee." Today, it didn't fail to impress us with its tricky currents, narrow width, inconvenient sand and gravel bars, many downed trees and several quick but necessary portages. Some of us had a religious experience in unexpected places at the hands of the LM.
According to Sara's accounts, it's been worse but today was no picnic. As far as we know, an organized cleanup had never been done by our club but it was today.
After a prolonged shuttle due to technical difficulties, getting our boats ready and some group photos, we got on the river at around 10:45.
Fred had used his time wisely while waiting for us to return to the putin. He cleaned the landing and much of the first part of the river but his grabber broke and was useless the rest of the day. That, however, did not deter him and he found as much or more trash than the rest of us. His short play kayak was great for getting into the spots that we couldn't.
John and Fred did some lumberjack work along the way, clearing a few small trees and limbs to help the rest of us get by.
Gerry found an injured turtle with a broken shell that he captured and will repair with epoxy and return to the river.
It was a fun but tiring day. Next time we will takeout at Six Mile Bridge. Paddling to the Weir is fine on a regular trip but too far after a cleanup. Today we were very fortunate to have the east wind that allowed us to coast home but with a west or north wind it would have been very unpleasant.
We found one very large and heavy bag full of trash. Many fish hooks, lines and a lure. Lots of bottles, cans and shoes and a very thin freezer pack. The bag was leaking some nasty fluids, so it had to be double bagged. The trash was deposited in a dumpster behind the Marathon station in Kaleva after Norm charmed the attendant into letting him dispose of it there. It was so heavy, both Norm and Fred had to team up to get it in the dumpster.
I want to thank all the paddlers that joined me today to do this difficult river cleanup. We all love the LM and we all showed it today. The LM is a lot cleaner now and I hope it will stay that way for the rest of the year because I don't want to have to do this one again for a while.
Norm