People: Jocelyn, Marvin, Tracie, Fred & Judy, Marv &
Marlene, Sue & Gerald, Barb & Mike and Lois & John
Other people who assisted us: Mark & Val Miltner from
Pine River Paddlesports Center, who provided a tandem canoe plus free shuttle
service, and the rangers at the Huron-Manistee National Forest, who gave us
watercraft permits and vehicle passes.
What we found: It seemed like there wasn't much stuff, especially for those
of us who ended up in the front of the group.
We hunted in log jams, and on the river bottom, and came up with quite a
few very old beverage cans - so old that the printing had rubbed off over the
years. But the folks in the back of the
group obviously had better vision than we did, so that by lunchtime at Elm
Flats, we had filled three large trash bags.
The stretch of river from there to Dobson ended up taking longer than we
had expected (we took out at about 4:30), and we spotted an old broken
fiberglass canoe, lots more cans, styrofoam coolers, frisbees and of course,
the requisite shoes. There was also a small toy horse, a couple of full beer cans and lots of water bottles. I picked up a fisherman's line clipper and scissors at the takeout.
Judy nabbed the beer cozy with bathing beauties prominently displayed.
We used the spear
quite often - John and I were especially appreciative of the paddlers in front
of us who pointed put the stuff on the bottom so we didn't have to turn the
"mother ship" around yet another time. By the end we had 4 more huge bags. A job well done, but we were all tired! We have made a huge difference in the
cleanliness of the Pine over the years, and look forward to the day when we
don't find anything!
Written by Lois with photos by John