Our goal was to pick up any non-native objects on the river, and the pickings were quite slim. We have made such major strides over the past ten years in cleaning the Pine that we have to hunt really hard to find trash. Jocelyn and John jointly shared the award for "best stabbing of old cans on the bottom of the river". Linda was truly impressive with her "log jam leans". And Jackie made the most of her finds of "shoes and booze". I organized our crew and also got about 100 cigarette butts while waiting for the shuttle, plus one partially disintegrated Birkenstock midway through the trip. Our biggest find was a giant blue tarp hung in a tree (spotted by Linda, retrieved by Jocelyn), which required its own large trash bag.
Special thanks to Mark, Jake and Chuck at PRPC for the shuttle service, and the rangers at the Huron-Manistee National Forest for providing permits. Ranger Jim Neiderstadt was even there at the takeout to greet us and make sure the trash bins would be emptied before the upcoming weekend. Next up: Peterson to Low on July 20. I think we may find a bit more stuff then, but for now, the Pine looks great!
Written by Lois; photos by John & Jocelyn