Beautiful. It was a great afternoon to be on the Hodenpyl to Red Bridge stretch of the Manistee, whose breadth allowed the sun to shine on us most of the time. Only in the shade at the end of the trip did we start to feel that fall coolness.
People. In addition to the club members Deena Barshney, Tracie Lord, Sandy Weir, Jack Kurtz, Marv and Marlene Puska, Lois Goldstein, John Heiam, and Judy and Fred Swartz, we had two visitors from Lansing: Karen Irrer and Jan Nurenberg. Most of us started with lunch at Spark’s near the corner of M-37 and M-115 before meeting the others at the put-in.
Something new. It’s always interesting to see equipment variations and Karen brought her folding inflatable Bic Yakka. The sides can be deflated and the hard bottom folded into a transportable package. She kindly let me try it out. At 9’4” it was very manoeuvrable, but the sit-on-top design raised me higher off the water than I’m used to and the lack of thigh bracing made me feel insecure. Despite its short (and therefore slower) length she kept up with everyone. The Manistee also has some interesting swirls in it that are a challenge for short boats.
Shuttle issues. Usually the shuttles go very well, and this worked out satisfactorily after some last minute changes. Please let the trip leader (ie, shuttle planner) know if you need to leave from the takeout and won’t be available to take someone back to the put-in. Likewise the trip leader should inform those who might be expected to give a ride back to the put-in. Probably a minor issue most of the time, but it's nice to have things run as smoothly as possible.
Above is a typical fall scene on the Manistee.
Trip report by your devoted trash collector, Fred
[insert fall color photo]