On Wednesday, September 23, eleven member of the Traverse Area Paddling Club met at the Hodenpyl Dam near Mesick, MI to do a four hour paddle down the Manistee River to the Red Bridge access area. The weather was cool and cloudy and although the weatherman hadn't predicted rain, we really weren't sure we wouldn't get wet.
After shuttling the cars, the group took off at around 11:00 a.m. The river in this section is wide (80-100 feet) with depths of 2 to 8 feet. We also found the water level to be quite high which led to a fast trip down the river. Although no one on the trip had any real difficulty handling any of the standing waves, eddies, or unusual currents, it made for an interesting journey down the river.
As it is late summer/early fall, we noticed the colors just begining to change on the high banks along the river. We also spotted numerous small waterfalls draining into the river and a heron that was quite perturbed that we were paddling on his stretch of the river.
Around 12:30 p.m. we stopped for a picnic lunch along the banks of the Manistee.
After lunch we continued our journey down the river and were surprised when we rounded the last bend and were at Red Bridge - the take-out. We all felt the trip went way too fast as we all were enjoying the company of the other paddlers.
In conclusion, we completed a enjoyable paddle on the Manistee River in high water in about 2 1/2 hours in cloudy, cool weather. In attendance were John Heiam, Lois Goldstein, Deena Barshney, Becky Beach, Paul Bolhuis, Henry Eckhardt, Bob Fitch, Judy Swartz, Jocelyn Trepte, and Mike and Betty Gardiner (the authors of this report).