July 10 Pine cleanup Peterson to Low
Brian and Lois | Published on 7/10/2023
Hi. My name is Brian. This report is about the cleanup of the Pine River on July 10th from Peterson Bridge to Low Bridge. We had a wonderful time cleaning the river and enjoying the beautiful warm Michigan summer.
There were nine people including trip leaders Lois & John, Brian, Susan, Irene & Paul, Mark and Leslie & Wayne. Suddenly at lunch time Mitch showed up and added his 34-year-old skills to our cleanup. Even though he wasn't registered for the trip, he was a major asset in climbing on log jams and retrieving a paddle that neither Lois nor Irene could pick up.
There were also a couple of unplanned swim breaks and Brian will tell you about those. What did you learn, Brian?
I learned that if you were doing the hard work of cleaning up a river which everyone did very religiously and very conscientiously, then the only way to get a swim break is to fake like you fell in the water and roll into the water and swim! Or you can just fall in from reaching upstream out of your kayak to get some trash. The alternative way to get wet! I must say it was very refreshing and a real reprieve from the 89° weather we had today. But due to the breezes and being in the valley, it was a very comfortable trip and everyone had a wonderful time together.
We took a lunch break at noon and shared stories. What a delightful group of people working together to make the rivers of Michigan cleaner and more enjoyable for everyone.
I had never paddled the Pine River before. It is a beautiful stretch of wilderness with impressive sand banks on both sides towering as high as 100 feet in some areas. It has a sandy bottom and a swift current and extremely clear water. Definitely the kind of place that we want to keep in a pristine condition.
Special thanks go to the folks at Pine River Paddlesports Center, who provided boats for every single person on the trip except Sue, who brought her inflatable kayak along. Wayne and Leslie had one of the tandem canoes and so did John and Lois. Mark Miltner once again demonstrated his prowess of never missing a can that he stabbed and also amazing balance - he has no trouble canoeing down a river while standing up. Brian, Irene and Paul all used the free rental sit-on-top kayaks, Everyone was much appreciative for not having to bring their own boats.
Our next Pine cleanup is Tuesday, July 18th followed by one on Thursday July 27th. There will probably be two more in August and maybe one on the Upper Pine as well. You should have been there!
John operated the camera for this photo
Mark was behind the camera for this photo. Note - both Mark and John participated in the cleanup. Since John and Lois were in a tandem canoe, they decided to wear matching shirts.
Note the expression on everyone's face.
Wayne wades into the river to retrieve a can that Mark had spotted, while Irene on the right goes after some litter in a logjam
Leslie stretches to retrieve some trash
Wayne gets out of the canoe to spear a can
Paul shows off the trash that he had chased after
The group with all the trash we collected; this is the first time we ever ended a trip with more people that we had started with.
Paul, Irene, Mitch, Brian, Susan, Lois, Mark, John, Leslie, Wayne
