Report by Noah Steinorth and Brynn Rowell
The day started off cold, but before long it was perfect. The river was racing along faster than normal due to the storm only a few days prior. As the rest of the group was ferrying their cars from the drop off to the takeout, we took our first lesson in ferrying our kayaks across the river and back again. The rest of the group came back and we were off. The river was murky, but in regards to litter it was clear. There was not much to go around. We found a few cans and a beach towel in the first stretch. Then we stopped for lunch (at the Lincoln Bridge access) under an apple tree. We ventured out back onto the river after the short break and got back to the sparse litter: a few cans, a bottle, some wrappers, a beach chair caked in sand. On the last stint of our trip, Bruce found a full kayak paddle, in very good condition. The take out was a few turns after, we heaved the boats out of the water, documented our small bounty of litter, and of course, on the way back, stopped in Buckley for ice cream. Overall, we had a wonderful time and would love to come out again.
People: Lois, John, Brynn, Noah, Nikolaj, Jocelyn, Roseanne, Bruce (his first trip on the Pine), Kathleen, Marlene and Donna
A note of thanks and a warning by John
A special thanks to Pine River Paddlesports Center for giving us six boats and Val for giving us access to a better launch site near Walker Bridge.
This is the time of year when bees are often building new nests. Jocelyn went into a logjam looking for trash and was attacked by a swarm of bees! She paddled a hasty retreat, but was stung three times before she got away. Luckily, she was not allergic, so all she suffered was some discomfort/pain. She never saw the nest.
Photos by Jocelyn Trepte and John Heiam
Riding in the back of Marv's pickup
Noah
Brynn
Nikolaj
Bruce finds a bottle
Nikolaj goes on shore to pick up some litter, and Donna makes sure his kayak doesn't float away.
Lois gets a bottle out of a logjam
Kathleen stretches for some trash
Roseanne and a cardinal flower
Lunch at Lincoln Bridge: Kathleen, John, Lois, Nikolaj, Bruce, Marlene, Noah, Brynn, Roseanne, and Jocelyn behind the camera (and Donna was around the bend)
A beautiful day on the river
Roseanne celebrates finding a piece of trash
This is what happens when you stab a full can of beer with a frog spear
Jocelyn is tempted to drink some very old river beer
Lois thinks about how she is going to transport this old chair
We document our small load of trash
