May 15 Pine River, Elm Flats to Peterson
Lois & John | Published on 5/15/2023
The troop today involved just five TAPC members, namely John Lois, Paul and Irene, and Kathleen. When we woke up, it was 35°, by the time we were heading out on the river, we were able to peel off layers, since it was almost 60. By the time we took out, it was up to 75. So we used heated car seats on the way there, and air conditioning on the way home!
We had bright sunshine all day and did not see any other river users. We had a courtesy shuttle by the kind folks at Pine River Paddlesports Center.
The sun was shining all day long, and there were no mishaps. We did spot a wood turtle, two minks and a variety of birds.
Kathleen recently acquired a brand new Remix 9 kayak, and she was enjoying testing it out by surfing waves and catching eddies. She's particularly looking forward to using it on Pine cleanups this summer, which will begin during the third week of June. John regaled her with several stories of lessons learned the hard way on previous trips over the course of our 4 1/2 decades of leading trips. If it's possible for someone to make a mistake on a river, Lois and John have either made it themselves, or witnessed somebody else getting into dicey predicaments.
Paul and Irene have become experts at hearing and spotting various wildlife along the river. Occasionally though, they have to be reminded to pay attention to obstacles that might be in their way as they are observing the nature around them. But everyone kept the open side up and we all had a wonderful time.
An old wild apple tree in bloom
Kathleen surfing waves under the Dobson bridge
