Low End of Season

Rainfall has been way below normal this year and I personally have not made many (if any) trips down the MCR since July!  When we did have water I was usually busy with something else or Up North riding my Polaris RZR 800 Electronic Fuel Injected High Output side by side 4x4!  (ok enough on that this is a "river" blog!) 

Clinton River Canoe and Kayak has been renting pretty steadily and as always doing a fine job manicuring the MCR.  They are talking about setting up some "haunted paddle trips" between now and Halloween, they close for the season after Halloween.  The tentative plan is for a short run between Utica and Heritage Park with some scary fun in between.  It will be a very short run but a lot of fun, check out my link to their site and contact them for info.

Dale and a few others have made a few runs over the past few months at low levels.  You can usually still get in a run from Yates to Ryan or Ryan to Van Dyke with a little scraping and grabbing here and there.  This next week or two between now (Oct. 14) and the end of the month should have some good color on the banks of the river.

I had the opportunity to join the "Friends of the Rouge River" group for a paddle on the Rouge river.  We put in near Wayne Michigan off Commerce Court (crosses Michigan Ave.)  behind some factories and paddled down to Venoy Road just North of Michigan Ave where there is a park with access to the river.  The Friends of the Rouge group has been working very hard for several months to get this section portage free.  This is a very easy section of river and according to a guy from Heavener's who was providing the rental boats for this trip, the river never gets any lower than what we paddled due to the discharge of water from the Ypsilanti Water Treatment Plant.  (btw, water from treatment plants is cleaner than the natural water draining into any river so don't let that scare you)  It took us 2 and a half hours to paddle this secton which is around 3+ miles by road.  There were a few tight spots but I never had to get out of my kayak.  We did scrape in a few spots but scooched past them.  The colors were nice, Fall paddling is one of my favorite times on the river.  We saw 3 deer cross the river but not much other wildlife, it was sprinkling most of the trip.  At the end just after we took out in the park where you see an old iron seawall that is all broken and leaning into the river, it started pouring rain as we took the boats out and got loaded up.  Dale and I found a quarter car wash to pull into and change into our dry clothes in a "shelter"!  We stopped at a bar on Wayne Rd. North of Ford Rd and had a decent burger and beer, then headed home.  I would probably not go out of my way to paddle this section of the Rouge again, but that is because I have the Clinton so close to home that it would only be for a special occasion like it was for this trip or if we were to try a different section like maybe through the industrial area and all the way to the Detroit river.

Here are a few pictures from the Rouge river trip.

Putting in off off 3600 Commerce Ct. in Wayne MI (you can get there with your GPS)

They are taking out an old dam here.  After this point the water got pretty cloudy but before that the river was pretty clear.

As you can see, they have some of the same issues we have on the MCR but they are working on it.

A few shots of Dale on the river.  He is paddling with the guy from Heavener's in the last one.

Some people were inspired to try the theraputic waters of the Rouge!  They said the water tasted funny!


I think I mentioned earlier this year that I had a crack in my Pyranha Burn.  I ended up getting some epoxy from Northwest River Supply made by West Marine that is made to repair plastic.  I also melted some plastic into the crack before applying the epoxy on the bottom and inside the kayak.  I still have to put the seat and pillar back into the boat so I am hoping it will work good.  Good thing to keep in mind for repairs though, stuff seems like it is going to stick well.

My river trip outlook looks low for this Fall.  I may be running it Oct. 20th to take out a Boy Scout trying to get his merit badge and join him along with the badge counselor, unless I end up going Up North!  From now until Thanksgiving I pretty much have other plans most weekends and it is too hard to get in a trip after work now since it gets dark early.  I may try to make one of the Halloween runs thoush, we'll see.

Maybe we'll see you on the river!

Post 4th of July Weekend Paddle

Took a little trip down the MCR tonight with Dale and Rob.  We had to wait for Dale to finish rounding up some piggies on the river!  Utica has a fair going on tonight and had a 'pig race' which was basically dumping a bunch of platic pigs into the river from the road North of M-59 down to M-59.  After that I went and got the 'short bus' and not only rode it but drove it!  Took it back to Heritage for Jerry to load up with canoes from the day,(they carried 7 canoes on his set of wheels!)  then we headed up to Ryan for our put in.  Was happy to find a 'Pot of Gold' at the park, if you know what I mean then you know what I mean!  On "river left" as we were just starting, there was a guy sitting with his "pet" raccoon!  Said it was an orphan and it hangs in his yard and with him, he takes it to the river every day!  I told him to take it to the zoo, he said he did that and they had so much fun they are going to the movies tomorrow!  LOL! 

It was a pleasant trip down the river today, started off hot and sunny and the thunder clouds  built up as we went down the river to Van Dyke.  Had a few short stops for supplies and the weather started cooling off as we made our way down.  By the time we ended up in Heritage and got loaded, it was starting to rain.  It actually came down pretty steady, we all left the park as it started to get dark.

Another nice day on the river!

May to July! Low water and Paddlepalooza, 6 Rivers Too!

Well, it's been a while since my last post, May 8th or so.  Since then we have been in a sort of a drought with rain and river levels way below normal. Lots of work was done on the river on May 10th and 11th, on the 11th the infamous "Vortex of Death" was pretty much removed with 3+ hours of work by 3 strong men!  Thanks! 

On May 17th a pre-Paddlepalooza run discovered a very large jam which required a portage.  The City of Auburn Hills was aware of it and it was actually (barely) cut through for the Paddlepalooza.  (more on that later)

Over Memorial Day Weekend, many logs were thrown into the river, possibly by the damn beavers!  These were cut into smaller more manageable pieces! 

For the Paddlepalooza, the Oakland County Drain Commission did NOT come through!  The water was way below average and the "race" was grueling!  It was more like a hike than a paddle!  But as they say (whoever "they" are) - 'A bad day on the river is better than a good day at work!'
There were around 40 or so boaters on the water that day and they earned every yard of river they walked!

On June 10th we joined Curt and Lori for an "Upper" MCR paddle from Elizabeth Lake Road into Cass Lake to Dodge Park No. 4.  It was a wonderful trip and everyone had a great time!

On June 13th an organized trip down the river with "6 Rivers Adventure League" was made.  The run was from Ryan to Van Dyke (Heritage Park) and there were around 25 or 30 people, it was a technical run with low water but a very nice evening.

A few more paddle trips were taken on June 24th and 26th.  There was quite a large group on the 26th.  Also, our friends at Clinton River Canoe & Kayak (Jerry and Rene Reis) aka Outdoor Escorts,  found out they will be running the "Boathouse" in downtown Mt. Clemens across from the Gazebo - Congratulations!  I am not sure of all the details, but once I find out I'll post the info here. 

Not the MCR, but I was up in Mio/Fairview and ran the Au Sable river July 1st from Mio to Cummings Landing.  It was a good trip with lots of scenery and wildlife!

On July 3rd (my birthday!) we had some strong stroms come through and dump some water.  Dale made a trip down the river and on July 4th he made a run with Linda P. and didn't have his saw!  There were a few trees down.  On July 5th we took an afternoon paddle from Ryan to Van Dyke with some new friends Dale and Johnathon, first time on moving water and they did great!

Richey G. and Jim McH. made a run down the Paint Creek on the 4th and had and obstruction free run with some decent flow.  Jim made a second run so it must have  been good!

A final note to someone who emailed me, tried to get back with you but it didn't go through.  The question was where could you go down with your kids. Here is the breakdown.  The Upper MCR from Elizabeth Lake Rd. to Cass Lake/Dodge #4 State Park is easy.  The Auburn Hills section from Squirrel and Auburn to Avon & Livernois is not too bad but only good if there is some water otherwise it would be a hike like the Paddlepalooza!  Avon & Livernois to Yates (3 hours) is the fastest most gradient section and is an advanced area if the water is above 1.75 on the Auburn Hills gage.  Yates to Ryan is an hour long run and is on the easy side.  Ryan to Van Dyke is 2 hours and considered easy at lower water.  The section through Sterling Heights' Dodge Park (Van Dyke to Garfield or so) is not being cleared and has many jams with nasty portages. (watch out for poison ivy)
The Budd Park (Clinton River Road) to Mt. Clemens (either Shadyside Park at Gratiot or the actual Downtown area with take out at the YMCA) is an easy stretch.  Don't take the spillway on that last route, turn Left at the spillway.  I'll try and post a more detailed blog note to detail all the runs with put in and take out spots and more descriptions. 

Thanks for reading my blog!  It is 12:30am and I needs to gets to bed!  (I may go back and update this blog some time to also add more detail and more pictures, just wanted to get this thing updated!)

Until next time, maybe we'll see you on the river!

Rick

Big Saw vs Big Tree!

Well thanks to Jerry's BIG SAW and Dale's sawmanship, the BIG TREE is out of the way!  Where it will end up we do not know but we shall see!

Good job boys!

May Day May Day May Day

Hey it's May!  Happy Sinko de Mayo! (Updates Below: Pictures also Added)
I'll have to check my Dale Mail's and see exactly what has been up since last month, but Dale and Jerry, along with Red Boat Tom have been hard at work as usual keeping the channel clear!  Yates to Heritage Park on Van Dyke is pretty much clear and the timing of high water and my schedule has kept me off the river!  The other night (Thursday May 3rd) some pretty strong T-Storms rolled through and the Auburn Hills gage hit around 4.6!  We have not seen that level for quite a while.  As expected there are some new obstructions.  There is a HUGE tree across the river right after Rochester Road.  After you cross under the bridge and make the left and right turns and through the big whirlpool but before you make the sharp right towards 'the scary part' of the river, there is the an old dead tree that is across the whole river, it's almost 3.5 feet in diameter I am sure!  You can actually walk all the way across the river there.  That will be dealt with soon because the portage is not nice.

(Here is the tree across the river with the guys portaging their sea kayaks!)

Dale and I were finishing up a "Cantina Ride" with the Skiwi Ski Club and were trying to locate the jam when we saw 3 guys in sea kayaks coming down!  We warned them of the obstruction and actually found it just as they were coming across it.  The portage is on river right, but a little tight since it is right at the problem spot.  They made it through pretty good and we met them at the 2nd Street take out, they took out at the beginning of the seawall.  We gave these guys some info on this blog and the Skiwi club, we'll probably see them around some time.

I'd of liked to been paddling today, but the bike ride was pretty cool and we had a good time.  Tomorrow is the Royal Oak Brewery 'Mug Club' appreciation event where I get to drink and eat free for 3 hours so that is where I'll be, but Dale is supposed to join Jarret and possibly John B for a run on the river.

I can't find my camera so I do not have any pictures to post today, but I'll check for some  pictures from  the Dale Mails and make another post soon.

Here are the updates with some of the activity on the river since the previous post on April 8th:
Jarret took some friends down on the 15th and someone fell in.  On the 22nd the weather got pretty cold and the water was low, (1.39) so no trips that day.  So here are a couple of old pictures from quite a few years ago but not exactly sure when -

Dale styling in a classic Dagger Encore boat

Ed, Rick, Rob & Red Boat Tom

(these were all taken just past Rochester College at the high bank where there used to be a house at the top)

There was a hike in the Bloomer area on the 22nd with the GM Ski Club.  The next picture is what is thought to be the ruins from the base of an old ski jump built back in 1926. 

Here is a couple of pictures from back in the day when the jump was active:

Here is the link for Bloomer Park info:

http://www.highpointnc.gov/revize/repository/rochesterhills/city_services/uploads/BL_Points_of_Interest.pdf

I'll have to make a post just about Bloomer Park some day, but for now, back to the river reports!

A little woody debris management was also done on a quick trip April 29th.   Notice the Green sign in the background where Jerry is cutting, these are the new signs put up by the local authorities to identify exact postions via GPS coordinates in case you are on the river and need to call for assistance.  I think orange or neon pink would have been a better color choice!  (it's in the 3rd picture, look hard! LOL!)

On May 1st, Outdoor Escort's (Jerry and Rene Reis) took a group of Macomb County Sheriff's down the river to survey the Yates to Heritage Park.  The Deputy's used the Freedom Hawk Kayaks (designed by a guy from MI) to go on this trip.  These kayaks have outriggers built into them that swing out from the back and allow you to stand on the kayak and possibly use them for rescue.

On May 3rd Jerry and Dale once again did some clearing on the Yates to Heritage section and were 'cuttin some cotton' (cottonwood that is!)

That pretty much is what has gone on along the Mighty Clinton River since end of April/beginning of May.  Today a few people are planning to hit the river, but I'll be hitting the Royal Oak Brewery for the annual "Mug Clubber Appreciation Event", I get to eat and drink for three hours free! 

Oh, one last picture of the progress on the bridge work at Avon & Livernois.  They are doing the Avon Road bridge now and as soon as that is finished they will begin on the Livernois Road bridge.  I have heard this bridge will be done around Memorial Day.

Upcoming events will be the June 2nd Paddlepalooza and the June 10th Waterford Section paddle with Lori, Curt and company.  Here are a few pics of them on the "Upper MCR"! :)

See you on the river!