Perfect weather conditions of blue sky, light wind and temps in the 70s made for a wonderful morning on the Boardman River for Lois G, Pam L, Danny P, Judy & Fred S, Gerry W and Dan W.
We started the trip at Brown Bridge Landing. What a pleasant experience to be able to drive down the hill to unload our boats and park on the lower level rather than carry our boats and gear to the launch site like we had to do in previous years. A big thank you to Tracie and Norm for their efforts in making this happen. At 9:30 we were the first cars in the parking lot.
We had the river to ourselves and were leisurely paddling down to our break stopping point at Shumsky when Dan W took an unplanned swim break. What happened was 4 of us were paddling too close to each other. On a tight turn the lead boat got turned around in an upstream eddy, the second boat was able to stop, but the third boat could not and went into the bushes and over. The water was refreshing and I learned that my new pump worked. Lesson of the day…. Leave enough room between your boat and the one in front of you so you can make a defensive move if you have to.
I can report the privy for paddlers funded by the TAPC at Shumsky is in place. The rest of the paddle was pleasant and uneventful down to Beitner. By the time we got back to Brown Bridge Landing cars were parked on the road, in the upper and lower lots. I am glad we got an early start and beat the crowds.
Submitted by Dan Wittkopp
Editor's note: Our club has also funded a privy at Brown Bridge Landing. Also, we found a bunch of trash on the river between Shumsky and Beitner, but weren't prepared to go after it. So we've scheduled a cleanup there for Tuesday.