September 25 Pine River, Elm Flats to Peterson
Lois Goldstein | Published on 9/25/2020
What's not to love? The prettiest river in northern Michigan, awesome fall colors, sunshine and a high of 78 degrees!
It was terrific to see Glenn - we had missed him for a good part of the summer. He tried to find trash, but our Pine cleanup crews this season had obviously grabbed all the "good stuff". He picked up only one beer can, and thought he found a chunk of Styrofoam - but it turned out to be some vary natural birch bark.
Ron added some amusement too, always looking for the sneak route through the rock gardens. John was the chief photographer, and mostly Lois (the author of this report) took up the lead so she could pick her way around woody debris and boulders. Mark Miltner from Pine River Paddlesports Center gave us a free shuttle, in part to thank us for our cleanup efforts all summer long.
It was good to paddle slowly, since around almost every bend, we saw new red and yellow foliage, interspersed with evergreens. While we gazed at the scenery, we had to be careful to also pay attention to the river's funky currents.
Lunch took place at the socially distanced picnic table at Dobson, where a few other paddlers were departing. Who would have thought that a post-autumnal equinox Pine River trip would find people taking a swim voluntarily?
We have another Pine trip scheduled for October 7, and hopefully it will be just as spectacular!
Photos by John and Glenn
Glenn goes to great lengths to get a beer can
