Our trip started out with eleven brave souls...John, Lois, Linda P, Linda F, Mark, Tracie, Jackie, Kent, Marlene, Gracie and Terry. Our weather was supposed to be a beautiful day, and many of us assumed that we would not need our rain gear. Some people left their rain gear behind. Some kept it packed in their boats. No sooner did we get on the river, the raindrops began as little ones and then they grew larger, but that didn't stop us. The river provided good practice in sharp turns, submerged stumps and branches that we had to move in, out, through, and over. When branches presented us with a challenge, Kent led with his saw. At lunch the rain stopped and the sun came out to dry us off. Back on the river, the rain came harder and didn't let up for another half hour. Then we had sunshine for the rest of our journey.
It was a great day with great people.
Note from Lois - Special thanks go out to many folks:
To Marv Puska, for shuttling us once again - what a guy!
To Tracie and Jackie, who were always available to help out Gracie get through a lot of tight spots - she learned a lot from you, and always came through with a smile on her face (though she did fall asleep on the way home).
To Kent, for doing some lumberjack work ahead of the pack, and for noticing the wrong turn during the shuttle.
To Mark and Linda P, for sticking around to assist with loading the highest J-cradle
To Mark and Kent, for assisting everyone at the lunch access - everyone appreciated it
To almost everyone for getting to the Corner Express on time - we wanted to get going early since it's such a long day.
To Linda F, for expressing her elation at learning to read the river
To Terry, for cheerfully and promptly writing a report
To John, for spotting the eagle
Photos by Linda Pelkey and John