Today's trip was originally scheduled for Aug 25. Lois & John made the right choice to delay by a day; the rain that was forecast yesterday did pass through NW Michigan right at paddle time, but today was gorgeous. By postponing, we "lost" four paddlers from Thursday but in their place five were able to join on short notice, for a total of 12. Make that a baker's dozen, with Piper the Belgian Malinois riding bow with Professor John. Thanks again to Jake Alaney & Mark Miltner with Pine River Paddlesports Center for outfitting some of us with boats. To reciprocate, Harold rescued one of PRPC's cushions!
Registrants included Lois & John, Dave (myself), Harold, Marlene (thanks again to Marv for shuttle service), Paul & Irene, Leslie, Wayne (who frequently was up to his waist nabbing some very old cans), John W., Bob F and Linda P.
In addition to typical debris, we pulled out an iPhone, an intact pair of sunglasses, but only one can of unopened beer, as opposed to the "make your own six pack" haul during the August 15 Pine River trip. No takers for the lone Miller Lite today, or a still-dry sandwich in its zip-lock bag. Lois did not perform a deep dive identification of the sandwich type, though it was offered to the group.
TAPC's debris search and recovery operations were in rarefied form just before lunch. Lois, always the eagle eye perched in her red canoe, spotted a can 4 feet under and about 15 feet from shore. She quickly assembled me and Paul into a TAPC first - a manually-linked broadside triple-attack formation: Lois anchoring and coordinating the operation starting along the shore, me as the stabilizing monkey in the middle, holding and allowing Paul to spear the offending can (16 oz Corona beer) at stream's bottom - from his boat on the first attempt. Way to go team!
Eight of the 12 paddlers reached Peterson Bridge by 2:30. There, USFS ranger Sydney helped pull boats and ferry equipment to the loading area. She hails from Maryland and will be a senior at Kalamazoo College this fall. She expects to be back with the USFS next summer, so we hope we'll see her again. Sydney and another non-TAPC paddler wowed over Harold's home-made wood boat. The remainder of the contingent completed the day an hour later following a meticulous check for last remaining debris, with Piper's oversight. Another successful TAPC outing and a beautiful river kept that way.
Photos by Dave, Irene, and John H
The beach at Dobson
The group: Harold, Bob, Linda, Paul, Irene, Dave, Marlene, John W, Leslie, Wayne, Lois & John H
The Pine River invites us to come clean her.
John Walton poses with Piper
Leslie goes after some bottles and cans in a log jam.
Lois uses her spear
Wayne gets in the river to get a couple of cans
Irene uses the land route to get a can deep in a log jam.
Harold finds a PRPC cushion
Paul goes after an old can on the bottom of the river
Got it!
Paul finds success using his long spear, with stabilizing assistance from Dave and Lois.
John finds the sole of a boot.
Everyone admires the boat Harold made.
When the rest of the group landed, they added two more big bags of trash.
