We planned a nice easy day for Lois’ first post-second-surgery cleanup. We started at Pine River Paddlesports Center’s (PRPC) Walker Bridge location and paddled down to Elm Flats with a lunch stop at Lincoln. There were just five of us, Marlene, Jocelyn, Mark Miltner from PRPC, Lois, and myself.
The group at the start - taken by shuttle bunny Marv
The day could not have been nicer - temperatures in the upper 70’s with a nice breeze, good water levels, and clear water. We hadn’t paddled this portion of the Pine this year, and we had forgotten what a pretty section it is. It is easier than the other stretches, but that doesn’t mean you should skip it.
We found very little trash. By lunchtime, I hadn’t even filled a small grocery bag. Mark crawled into a few log jams and found multiple items, but for the most part we were finding one item at a time. It is gratifying to find one of our local rivers so clean. We were all talking about how much fun we were having, and marveling that the average person hasn’t discovered this sport.
John Heiam
Jocelyn and Max, who is very good at spotting trash
Lois, testing to see if her shoulder would turn in the correct direction
Marlene on a mission
Mark in rare form - what a guy!
Jocelyn and Marlene working as a team
A 63 year old guy balancing on a log jam
A job well done!
Jocelyn took this photo of Wild Bergamot
Footnote from Lois: the strangest thing I found was a fresh undamaged zucchini - how it got into the river is beyond me.