Those running sweep missed the scene of the day, captured by Kati, of a seemingly naked man rushing to assist Judy, who was stranded between two fallen trees.
And now that I have your attention, here's the rest of the report:
Which section: Driftwood to Bear Track to Nine Mile.
The roster: Leigh Baker visiting from Texas, Jackie Anderson, Carrie Metevia, Carol Smith, Tracie, Kati, Judy & Fred, John & Lois, Jocelyn.
Here is a composite at the Driftwood put-in, down many steps to an essentially muddy, tree-strewn "landing" -- Jackie, John H, and Carrie.
The stretch from Driftwood to Bear Track is twisty and with lots of opportunities to practice maneuvering. Here is Fred backing into a likely spot to find trash.
Poor Max, after I wrenched an old can filled with yucky black muck off my frog spear and got him right in the face.
We lunched at Bear Track, where there are picnic tables and a potty up the stairs -- Jackie, Leigh, Tracie, Kati, John, Lois.
The stretch after lunch from BT on to Nine Mile was twice as long, and the river, though still lovely, is less interesting and has more cottages.
The Basswood are all in bloom now, and unique to these trees, the flower bunches are on a stem coming out of the middle of the underside of those long pale skinny bracts and they are really fragrant.
At one point I followed the usual blue heron for awhile. There were also painted turtles, one green heron in flight, and John saw a mink. Others ahead doubtless saw more critters as well.
Text & photos (except Kati's grand prize winner) by Jocelyn