Ten members of the Traverse Area Paddle Club met on the Upper Manistee at Mancelona Rd. on Saturday, June 29th.
Attending were: Lois, John, Ron, Tracie, Bob M, Marlene, Doug, Linnaea, Jackie A, and Jacqui M.
Six members entered the river in the usual way but the four remaining of us chose to slide into the river from the grass, wet from the morning dew. It may be better to not know what lies ahead when entering the uppermost stretch of the mighty Manistee. This portion of the stream had been surveyed a few weeks earlier on a prior club trip. Tracy commented that the water level was lower now, exposing more logs and obstacles. We left no logs untouched as we paddled next to the many tag alder trees lining the riverbanks. John and Ron got out of their boats to manually guide us through a series of sharp turns at a log jam.
Streamside conversation during lunch at the Deward Landing was about how many boats we each owned and how our next purchases would be smaller boats—more practical and fun for rivers like the Upper Manistee.
The banks of the next stretch of river were more open, exposing patches of iris, wood anemone, ox-eye daisies, and buttercups. The lead boats kicked up a large flock of mergansers and a few geese.
The river continued to flow at a steady pace and gave us a beautiful, fun-filled sunny day all the way to the Cameron Bridge take out. Lois said she would add an additional trip on this popular section soon. Hopefully it will be a repeat of this great trip.
Please, always remember to clean your boats & gear before transporting them to different bodies of water.
Trip report by Bob Michela, photos by John
The put-in on C-38
There was still dew in the shade down by the river, even though the sun had been up for hours.
Lois emerges from a tangle of downed trees happy she didn't have to get out of her canoe.
Marlene makes it through the same tangle of downed trees.
