June 30 Pine cleanup, Peterson to Low
Kathleen Imre | Published on 6/30/2022
Report by Kathleen
It was a beautiful day to be on the river and escape the “city heat!” Wayne, Leslie, Jackie, Ron,
Lois, Donna, Tom, Deb, Jo, Jocelyn, Kathleen, and Mark Miltner participated in the day’s search
for trash and treasures, and PRPC provided kayaks and a canoe to those who did not want to
bring their own boats. This was Leslie, Deb, and Jo’s first Pine Cleanup, and the river’s offerings
did not disappoint! Although Josh, from PRPC, had recently combined a fishing and trash-
collecting trip on this section, our group was able to retrieve what this writer believes to be a
very respectable pile of “stuff.” There were the usual finds of slimy sandals, beer and pop cans,
plastic bottles and caps, lighters, styrofoam, hats or remnants of hats, plastic bags, and
unfortunately, broken bottle glass. Notable items were a paddle, a squirt gun (Jocelyn claimed
it), a barely-used bottle of insect repellant (Jackie claimed it), a fishing lure (Kathleen claimed
it), and a 5-point deer antler (Mark claimed it and had quite a story to tell about the deer).
The riverbanks and dunes were filled with wildflowers, and coupled with the blue sky and puffy
white clouds, nature was at her most beautiful. Butterfly weed, anenome, daisy, black-eyed
Susan, crown vetch, blue flag iris, and forget-me-nots were all in bloom. Despite the sweep
paddlers (whose names will be kept anonymous) taking “just a bit” longer than everyone else to
reach the take-out at Low Bridge, all boats and gear were loaded and paddlers were well on
their way home before the rains began. In sum, it was a great day to be on the river! A special
thanks to Lois and Mark for arranging the trip and providing shuttle.
Photos by Jocelyn
The group at the start at Peterson (photo taken by Mark):
Leslie, Wayne, Ron, Tom, Deb, Jo, Jackie
Jocelyn, Kathleen, Donna, Lois
Lois nabs a new can of insect repellent for Jackie
Mark showing off his inimitable paddling style
Leslie and Wayne paddled tandem today, and got into the spirit of things
A peaceful lunch break
Ron leaves no beer can untouched
Tom goes in for the assist, steadying himself on the log jam
Butterfly weed, evening primrose, brown-eyed susan & crown vetch, cow parsnip
Some of us with the trash at the end, including two paddles and one Nalgene bottle
Wayne, Donna, Tom, Jo, Lois, Deb, Jackie, Leslie and Jocelyn
Mark and Kathleen pulled up the rear, bringing in as much stuff as the rest of the group
