We originally planned the trip for Saturday, but the rain forced a postponement until Sunday. Some folks had to drop out, but we added a few new people to take their spots. Paddlers included: John Heiam, Lois Goldstein, Leigh Baker, Harold Lassers, Pam Lassers, Henry Eckhardt, Bert Courson, and Sharon Taylor. Today the weather could not have been better with temperatures in the low 80's and a nice breeze to keep the bugs at bay. There was a minor obstruction right after the put-in that we had to deal with before we could proceed down the river. After that it was pretty clear paddling all the way to our lunch spot about 90 minutes downriver. By clear paddling, I mean there were many places that required precise maneuvering, but no places we had to portage.
After lunch we hit our first real obstacle that required an easy drag through some grass and mud. Harold gave instructions to everyone so they could manage to avoid the knee deep mud when they got out of their boats. We saw the usual wildlife, a muskrat, an eagle, and osprey, and numerous ducks. Sharon even found a baby snapping turtle on the portage. On a beautiful Sunday in the middle of July we saw a father and son fishing, and that was it until the take-out where Lois spoke a couple kayaking down to the dam. Few places offer that kind of solitude on a nice summer weekend.
Report and photos by John Heiam
Pam
Leigh, our friend from Texas
Harold
Bert and Henry
Lois
Pam and Bert at the portage
Leigh checks out the mud before venturing across