August 9. 2012 - 1st Annual Maple River Clean Sweep
I have been wanting to paddle the Maple River since last winter when I saw a sign near Pellston on my way to the Soo. I contacted the TU chapter up there and Greg W. said he would love to help us do a clean up on the Maple.
Greg W, Brian K, David F, Angie W, Jocelyn T, Roseanne B, and Norm F were there to clean the Maple.
It's a very long drive and we had to go through Charlevoix during the farmer's market and Petoskey during rush hour - twice - but it was still sort of fun.
Here are the pictures:
Group Photo at the beginning. Note the shallow water.
Jocelyn lying down on the job to get a frizbie.
Greg and Koz dragging their canoe due to the shallow water and the many gravel bars.
Koz saw a beer can that turned out to be a sick baby Pike. He put him back in the river.
Jocelyn can't resist taking pictures of flowers even when she is busy looking for trash.
Roseanne is all smiles while bumping along on the submerged logs.
The crew looking for trash in very shallow water.
Jocelyn found this spider and got a great picture.
Angie just after passing the beaver dam that she pulled open so we could get through.
These are left over from CCC Jack Straw projects in the 1930s and we hit a lot of them.
Roseanne digging in the Jack Straw for a can. Dangerous business.
Lunch at Maple River Rd Bridge.
Group at the end of the day with the 45 pounds of trash we found.
Carrying the trash on the trailer is a great way to take it home.
Thanks to Dr. Paul Sternhagen DDS of Traverse City for letting us use his dumpster.
The Maple was a pretty little stream but it's a bit too far to drive, a bit too shallow, a bit too filled with debris and a bit too short a trip to make it worth while for a real paddle trip. But we were glad we gave it a try anyway. Plus it was great meeting Greg and Koz from the Miller-VanWinkle TU chapter in Petoskey
Norm Fred