Deward Track is undeveloped land along the Upper Upper Manistee
River. The river at the put-in seemed to be
only four feet wide!
Fellow paddlers
were: John & Lois, Harold, Judy & Fred, Tracy, Leigh, Gerald & Sue, and the Interlopers from Skokie,
Illinois, John Gerty and yours truly, Marcy Maller. This clear river had a sandy/mucky buttom,
and it TWISTED and TURNED, and we had to feint and dodge the logs, which seemed
to be everywhere. We had relief from the
oppressive heat earlier in the week, so we were able to enjoy the pleasant
landscape as we floated along. About a
third of the way, another stream joined us, so that the river eventually became about
twenty feet wide.
There were only a
couple of places where we needed to climb out and horse the boats over obstructions. Lunch was in a lovely
glade, and we shared hilarious stories of canoe
“experiences” to remember. The
afternoon went by quickly as the river deepened and widened. We were off the river before 3 PM. A nice time on a nice river.
Narrative by Marcy and Photos by Harold and John H.