May 22 Boardman River: Forks to BBL
Lois Goldstein | Published on 5/22/2021
Report by Lois; sorry there are no pictures. John had to cancel a couple of days before due to a sore elbow, and nobody else took up the role of trip photographer.
We had one no-show, which was a bit annoying for the rest of the group, since we were waiting around at the launch site for a while. But we got on our way, with two cars missing a turn, but eventually finding the rest of the drivers. Marv played shuttle bunny again, and John showed up as a surprise at the takeout. He had great news that he had finally sold our minivan - it had been on the market since January. We celebrated with lunch at Bob Evans with Jackie and Ron and Pam & Harold.
Special thanks goes to Ron for serving as sweep paddler all morning, and being the other end of our walkie talkies. Other club members included Brad (on his first TAPC outing), Marlene, Donna & Tom (recently returned from Florida) and me. The day began on the cloudy and cool side, but by the time we were done, the sun had come out in full force, with temps in the mid-70s. Perfect for our favorite stretch of our home town river. Harold and I were in solo canoes (I always feel elegant in my 1995 Mad River Liberty), with Pam in her recently built COVID-19 project Wee Lassie, Brad and Marlene in 11.5 Hurricane Santees, Donna and Tom in their Liquid Logic 12.5 Inuits, and Jackie and Ron in their Liquid Logic Remix kayaks. Quite a colorful group, especially with Donna's hot pink shirt.
Jackie found 31 cents on the bench at our snack stop at the horse crossing, which she donated to me. We saw 2 or 3 pieces of trash, which we'll pick up next month during the BRCS. The group stayed together for the most part, and there were just a few spots which required some concentration to maneuver. Brad is an experienced paddler, and appreciated the rest of the group as we regaled him with a variety of "lessons learned the hard way", suggestions for entering the kayak, plus paddling lingo and techniques.
Quotes I can recall:
"Lois is organized, and occasionally a little bit frightening"
"My new e-bike weighs only 50 pounds"
"It seemed like we were going a bit too far on Arbutus Hill Road"
"Don't try to get out on the left side of the dock; someone fell in the water when she tried that on our last trip here"
The marsh marigolds were out in force - stunning - and we saw one fisherman at the Forks and one other kayak passing through the old pond area.
A great group, and a delightful trip!