Another Trip on the Grand River

Last Sunday, Oct. 12, dawned chilly, but sunny.  It was gonna be another perfect autumn day, which was wonderful because GREAT (the Grand River Environmental Action Team) was hosting another paddle.  It was a 4+ mile trip on the Grand, from the put-in on Dixon Road to the take-out on Thompson Road.  By 11:00 our crew had the boats ready to go, and participants were starting to arrive.

Everyone has to sign a waiver, even those of us leading the paddle.  

Dogs and kids are always welcome.  Amelia and Caleb are regulars (Dad's on the Board).

It was chilly in the shade, with a good strong breeze blowing, so while we waited for everyone to arrive and get shuttled to the take-out, most people stood in the sun to defrost.

It wasn't long past noon before we launched.  

As always, I was the sweep boat.  This way I can take my time and enjoy the river, and also help out people who may be having difficulties.

Former Board member and owner of Quiet World Sports (kayak rentals and lessons) Kat joined us...fresh from paddling in Maine and Nova Scotia.  Her buddy is Pugsley B. Nitro,

who makes a great figurehead in the front of the boat.  Kat's busy with her business most of the summer, so we don't see her very often any more.  It was great to catch up as we drifted slowly down stream.

A real benefit about joining us on a GREAT paddle is that there are lots of folks available to help out those who might be having difficulties.  We can teach you some basic strokes to help you navigate turns and negotiate downfalls.  There's never a reason to get frustrated...we are all patient and want you to have the best possible time.  Take a deep breath and relax...the worst that will happen is you'll get wet, and no one has dissolved on us yet.

All too soon we were at the bridge - the take-out was on the other side.  

The lead boats were probably off the river in less than two hours; the last boats took out about 3:00/3:30.  

After all boats were secured on their trailers, and PFDs and paddles were stowed away, the group headed to Klavon's for pizza and beer.  GREAT paddles are great social events - for novices and regulars alike.  And what a perfect way to celebrate the glory of autumn!

A Grand Day Out

This last week has been a classic Indian Summer.  Cool crisp nights and mornings, followed by gloriously sunny, clear blue sky days.  The only thing that is really lacking is autumn color.  Oh, there are some trees that are spectacular, but we are still over 50% green and many of the colors are dull, with lots of tans and browns.  And plenty of trees are just dropping their leaves.  No, this is not a fall to be noted for its color.

But, glorious weather is glorious weather.  It was a perfect day for a paddle and on Sunday GREAT had its final public paddle of the season.  We paddled the Grand River north of Jackson, putting in just off Route 127, south of Leslie, and did a six+ mile stretch to Dixon Road, where we took out at a DNR access.

Getting to the put-in was a bit of a challenge, unless one knows the area.  I don't, so I first ended up on a dead end road on the opposite side of the river.  I could see 'em, I could talk to them, but I couldn't get to them!  Then I ended up just off the highway (127) - with a fence between me and the rest of the group!  Finally, my personal "GPS unit" hopped in the car and we drove up to Leslie and back down the correct road (thanks, Kat)!

This trip turned out to be one of the smaller groups we took out this season - about 40 people.

As always, folks have to sign in for boats and PFDs, and sign a waiver.

There was plenty of help at the sign-in table.

Compared to many sites where we have launched, this one was great.  It has an easy slope down to the water and the river is shallow right along the edge - I barely got a foot wet, thanks to Jack's launching prowess.

 Before we hit the river, Don, our trip leader, made a few announcements, mostly about the condition of the river.  It was going to be a smooth paddle, but there would be a lot of debris to weave around.  The clearing crew had spent 32 hours on the river cutting through downed trees and limbs, opening up the way just enough for single boats to pass through.  We were advised.

I was borrowing a kayak from my friend Kat.  My Spitfire is still not repaired from the last trip.  The repair kit has arrived, but I'm hesitant to do it myself, even though I've watched the video.  I've gotten as far as flaking off the cracked "paint" and sanding it, but when it comes to mixing and applying the gel coat, I'm a-feared I'll get it wrong!  So...here I am testing out the borrowed boat.  It was a snug fit, but once I was in, it was comfortable.

This trip I was one of the two middle boats, so after about half the group launched, I put in.  As you can see, the launch was nice and easy.

And here are the first two bridges - Route 127.  We went under quite a number of bridges on this trip.

And even more trees!

The river is wide enough here that folks with few paddle skills won't have to worry about bouncing off the banks.  However, there is plenty of debris to dodge, so knowing how to steer and make some quick turns is a real plus!

This lovely old sycamore made a picturesque overpass.  I was going too fast to get a good shot, so as I was cruising under, I just held up the camera, snapped a shot and ducked to avoid hitting the branch, hoping for the best.

The start of this video is a bit rocky (I was trying to balance the camera between the top of my PFD and my chin), but it shows the loveliness of the river and what a great paddle it is.

This is a Youth Haven Ranch Nature Preserve along the left side of the River.  Public or private land?  No idea, but they've built a really nice bridge there.  

We also passed this little cabin. Actually, we passed a number of houses - only a few of which fell into the McMansion category. 

I thought this might've been one of those garden gazing balls that got washed downstream, but apparently it's a bowling ball!  We suspect Jim stuck it there while out clearing the river.  This next weekend there is a clean-up being held along this stretch of the river (f you want to help, contact GREAT at 517 416-4234), and we suspect he put it here so it would be collected when the crews come through on Saturday.

We saw three turtles:  one wee painted, a map, and this fella, which I'm not sure from this blurry photo if it is a painted or a map.  Darn boat was moving to swiftly to get a good shot.

We were also greeted by this black sharpei.

There are plenty of open stretches where one can just drift along without having to dodge downed trees and limbs.  Beware, however, of logs hidden just beneath the water's surface.  They leave no clue that they are there...and I think I found most of them.

Just past this lovely wooden bridge...

was our take-out point.  Jack was waiting for us to arrive.  

Somehow, despite all the boats that passed me, I ended up much closer to the front of the group than the middle.  So, I had plenty of opportunity to get photos of the rest of the group as they approached the finish line.  This was quite a change for me, since I am usually the sweep boat, bringing up the rear.

There was plenty of help to get all boats up the bank.

 We were on the river maybe 2.5 hours, give or take, depending where in the group one was paddling.  We had no swimmers on this trip - everyone negotiated the obstacle course without incident.

After all the boats were loaded onto trailers, cars, and trucks, many went to the Roadhouse for an early dinner and drinks.

It was a perfect October day.

A Grand Day Out

Can't say Sunday dawned sunny and bright, because it didn't.  And it didn't turn that way at any time during the day.  In fact, it went from partly cloudy to all cloudy to simply grey and overcast to rain.  

Still, that didn't keep us inside.  Nope.  We had planned to pre-trip GREAT's paddle on June 9, from Vandercook Lake to Ella Sharp Park - paddling the Grand River, and so we did.  This stretch of the Grand empties into Vandercook Lake, which is surrounded by houses (I rented The Hovel here when I first moved to MI)

and then passes under the causeway that is Brown's Lake Road, taking us into Brown's Lake (equally populated by houses - many of which are McMansions).

At the far end of Brown's Lake, the river turns northward and becomes more of what one expects of a river:

Eventually we found ourselves on a lovely pond (they call it Williams Lake), which only had one or two houses on it.  Ahhhh.  It was so lovely.  And no, it wasn't quite twilight.  By this time it was between 8:30 and 9:00 AM.  Yes, it was overcast and grey, but my phone, which was the source of all these photos, does not do well with lighting, so we have either washed out or dramatically dark images.

The spatterdock was juuuust starting to bloom, and was about the only spot of color we saw this morning (those chairs above being the exception).

We wound down stream, through wetlands, under bridges, and past many a well-kept lawn as the river passed through neighborhoods and "wild" lands alike.  (Well, as wild as one might expect in the city of Jackson.)

We encountered many (and I do mean many) areas where we had to scramble out of the boats to get around or over dams or blowdowns.  We learned how to stand in the boats while we climbed onto fallen tree trunks, having a seat while our boats were dragged underneath or over the tops of the trunks.  In a couple places we had to go through the mud.  As you can see, it is very rich mud.  The perspective of cell phone cameras leaves a lot to be desired - my feet are not really that tiny on the ends of gigantic legs.

And then, when I was downloading the photos from the camera to the computer, I thought I had transferred them all and deleted them (permanently) from the phone, only to discover as I was uploading to the blog that about half of them never made the transfer.  >sigh<

Still, I have the potential to redeem my photography in a couple weeks when we plan to paddle this again, when we'll potentially have another 80 people in tow, provided GREAT's crack river-clearing team gets through there first and clears out the many blowdowns.  Then all we will have to contend with is low water (thank goodness I was borrowing one of Quite World Sports' kayaks this day...and it's now been raining for two days), and 3 or so dams, one of which we can shoot over if there's enough water.

As the crow flies, the put in and take out are about a mile or so apart, but the paddle took us over three hours, thanks to all the scrambling we had to do, but also to all the bends in the river.  It is a very lovely stretch and I highly recommend it (water levels and blowdowns providing, of course).

And many many thanks to Kat from QWS who a) not only provided the boats, but also jumped into the water at every obstacle and, along with fellow GREAT member and QWS staffer, Rick, b) helped us hoist ourselves and our boats through each blockage along the way. 

Shameless Advertising:  If you want to paddle at Vandercook Lake and check out this stretch of the Grand River, stop at Quite World Sports, right there at Vandercook Lake Park, where you can rent a kayak or paddle board and go exploring.  It's a great deal ($15 for 2 (or was it 4) hours or $25 for the whole day).  Kat and her staff also teach folks all sorts of paddling techniques and you can sign up for a variety of classes.  A great place for beginners to start!

Goose Creek Paddle

About 80 of my closest friends and I hit the water on Sunday.  It was GREAT's first paddle of the season (the actual first one being cancelled not once, but twice, due to high water). GREAT is the Grand River Environmental Action Team, and as of last month I am a board member of this group of paddling enthusiasts.

Once a month, from April until October (ish) they host paddling trips on area waterways, often the Grand River, to encourage people to get out and know their local rivers, lakes, ponds and streams.  With familiarity comes a sense of caring...and then we can get people to help clean these waterways and protect them.

Sunday's trip was from the Goose Creek Grasslands, a Michigan Nature Association nature preserve over near Cement City, to Columbia Lake (or is it Lake Columbia?).  It was a short paddle, and a good way to start the season.  The morning was sunny and soon it was well into the 80s.  Before the evening began to cool things down, we had soared into the 90s.  Bleh.  But on the water it was pleasant, thanks to a pretty constant breeze.

When one goes on a GREAT trip, one first must sign in.  Many participants are boatless, and GREAT has many canoes and kayaks that it loans out...free of charge!  With each boat one also gets paddles  and PFDs - safety first.

Sometimes pooches come paddling, too.  This is Jozy - she remained a land lubber this day, although she had her share of time swimming in the cool waters.

Our trip this day started off with a talk from MNA's executive director, Garret Johnson, who told us a bit about the Goose Creek Grasslands.  These 70-some acres are a nifty habitat called a Prairie Fen, which is rather rare these days, since many of their original locations have been drained over the years for agriculture and development.  With rare habitats come rare plants and wildlife.  And while there is no formal trail here (yet), there are t-posts that mark where a trail will eventually go, which will help those who want to come out and see some of the beauties that call this place home.  I heard the word "orchids" mentioned, so I will definitely be back here in June/July to see what orchids are here!

Then one-by-one, boats went into the water and paddlers were launched.

Sometimes it took 'em a few moments to figure out which way to go.

I was in the role of sweep boat, so I was bringing up the rear.  This is my favored position on these paddles - I can take my time to do some photography, and I get to help out anyone who is truly having a difficult time paddling and is falling behind.  Luckily today no one fell into that category!

I'm not sure what made these holes in the bank.  I'd suggest bank swallows or something along those lines, but these were all under water a few weeks ago.  A rodent, perhaps?

And here is the view from the water.  The majority of the paddle was along a very windy creek, with prairie fen to the sides.  In many places the water was quite shallow (despite the rains of April).

Lots of red-winged blackbirds were nesting along the edges.  Males and females both expressed their displeasure at our disturbance.

Lots of tall plants.

The emergents showed their muddy tops, which were well below the water even a couple weeks ago.

You just never know what you'll find along the water's edge.

We are still in the season of woodland flowers, so grassland species are not yet ready to bloom.  Still, some of the trees and shrubs had some things for us to see, like these willow catkins going to seed.

Private property borders the creek along both sides.  It was kind of fun to see some of the structures folks have built so they can come down and enjoy the water's edge.

Eastern kingbirds were busily catching insects.  This one perched and gave us a good long chance to snap its portrait.

Spatterdock buds were tightly closed.  And we only saw a handful of dragonflies and one damselfly.

These three black labs were certainly enjoying the creek - they were all drippy and eager to greet us, the last of the paddlers.

Eventually we came to some more wooded areas.  Erosion was quite evident.

Our Rivermaster, Kat Kulchinski, waited to guide our boats under this old trestle bridge.  There were some potential hazards and she wanted to be sure everyone hugged the left side to avoid getting hung up on old pilings.

Some old bones rested next to an old cinder block.

Like I said...you just never know what you will find along the water's edge.

All too soon we were back in "civilized" territory.

A low stone dam was the only real obstacle we had to avoid.  Some folks chose to go over...

but seeing the rocks from the other side, and knowing how Kat had to rock her boat to get over them, I'm glad I opted to carry my Spitfire around!

And within moments we were entering Columbia Lake.

Like many a lake in this country, it is surrounded by homes, cheek by jowl, many of which are McMansions.  Give me a wilderness lake any day.

We had the generous permission of the Lake Columbia Association (?) to use this boat launch to take out.  The rest of the time it is for private use only.

And so our paddle came to an end.  We were on the water maybe a couple hours, so it wasn't too trying for a first time out.  I've left my boat on the car since next Monday the goils from GREAT are doing a pre-trip paddle along next month's route.  But, I may take it down...cloudy, stormy weather is in the forecast this week and having it up there really does nothing for my car's mileage!  :)