Tuesday, May 8, 2012
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!
Saturday, May 5, 2012
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.
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 -
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:
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!
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 the link for Bloomer Park info:
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!)
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!
Sunday, April 8, 2012
April 2012 Update and Jams in the Park and Indiana Wants Me
The Ryan Road to Van Dyke section of the MCR were open as of March 19th thanks to Dale, Jerry and Tom (Redboat Tom). The crew has been hard at work getting the river ready for the unclean masses to descend upon, and our friends from Indiana too! Dale did get down the river on the 21st and cleared out a reoccurring jam. The weekend of the 24th no paddling took place, weather was on the cool side and Rob C. was the only one who wanted to go.
Dale made another trip down the river on the 29th and reported no jams on the Ryan to Van Dyke section again. The trip was on low water, but that would not last long with some bad weather moving in on the 30th. Dale was on the river again on Friday (the 30th) along with Jerry and (I think) Tom, a cold front came through with some wild weather, it went from rain to wet snow and cold wind pretty quick. Jerry had fallen into the river and got wet up to the neck while cutting out a jam, they pulled over and built a fire but he never did get warm.
Jerry got so cold he didn't paddle on Saturday March 31st when we met the guys from Indiana for our 2nd annual paddle. Mark, Mike, John, Jim, and Steve fom IN came down for a run down the MCR to join Dale, Jarret and I. We had 3 kayaks and 5 canoes total. We had already made plans to run Yates to Van Dyke (Heritage Park) earlier in the week due to the unseasonable low water levels. The big storm raised the level up to around 1.45 so we could have made a run from Avon & Livernois, but decided to stick with the plan. We had a good cool weather run with one spot where it was 'almost' a portage but we managed to pull our boats across the log. We stopped at the back of Shelby park and used their fire pit to cook up some steak bites, shrimp boil and shish ka-bobs. While at the park there were 5 younger paddlers who had 3 kayaks and a deflating raft who were running from Yates to Garfiled! We saw them again at Heritage and the raft had decided wisely to get out and call for a ride. Somewhere along the way I noticed my Pyranha Burn was taking on water and found a 3" crack in the bottom! Duct tape saved the day for me, but unfortunately Pyranha will not cover the boat since it is over a year old (18 months) and it has not really been beat on as much as my previous Pyranha's. At least they sent me some plastic to "weld" into the bottom, also found out West Marine makes an epoxy that will stick to plastic.
Some scouting was done along the Van Dyke to Edison (W of Schoenherr) section within the Dodge Park park in Sterling Heights. At least 10 jams were observed from shore. One of these days a bunch of people, more than just our crew, will need to make an effort to clear the river from Pontiac to Lake St. Clair. Like that will happen soon! LOL
Here are a few pictures of some of the jams, didn't have a camera with me on the Indiana run, sorry. Maybe those guys will send some pictures.
These are some of the typical woody debris situations we 'deal with!
Since the water has been low, we have made a few bike trips along the river. I was pleasantly surprised at the work done on the mt. bike trails in Dodge Park. So surprised I even tried a 'log jump' and failed! I thought I separated my shoulder, but luckily it was just sore for a few days. Dale and I were riding on Good Friday when it happened and today is Easter, it is just getting to where I can raise my arm without too much pain. I was worried about my paddling season! (and drinking beer was an effort too!!) ;) Biking season is upon us, the Skiwi's will start the Cantina rides on April 21st and then again on May 12th. ( www.skiwiskiclub.com for info check the calendar page)
Rick
Dale made another trip down the river on the 29th and reported no jams on the Ryan to Van Dyke section again. The trip was on low water, but that would not last long with some bad weather moving in on the 30th. Dale was on the river again on Friday (the 30th) along with Jerry and (I think) Tom, a cold front came through with some wild weather, it went from rain to wet snow and cold wind pretty quick. Jerry had fallen into the river and got wet up to the neck while cutting out a jam, they pulled over and built a fire but he never did get warm.
Jerry got so cold he didn't paddle on Saturday March 31st when we met the guys from Indiana for our 2nd annual paddle. Mark, Mike, John, Jim, and Steve fom IN came down for a run down the MCR to join Dale, Jarret and I. We had 3 kayaks and 5 canoes total. We had already made plans to run Yates to Van Dyke (Heritage Park) earlier in the week due to the unseasonable low water levels. The big storm raised the level up to around 1.45 so we could have made a run from Avon & Livernois, but decided to stick with the plan. We had a good cool weather run with one spot where it was 'almost' a portage but we managed to pull our boats across the log. We stopped at the back of Shelby park and used their fire pit to cook up some steak bites, shrimp boil and shish ka-bobs. While at the park there were 5 younger paddlers who had 3 kayaks and a deflating raft who were running from Yates to Garfiled! We saw them again at Heritage and the raft had decided wisely to get out and call for a ride. Somewhere along the way I noticed my Pyranha Burn was taking on water and found a 3" crack in the bottom! Duct tape saved the day for me, but unfortunately Pyranha will not cover the boat since it is over a year old (18 months) and it has not really been beat on as much as my previous Pyranha's. At least they sent me some plastic to "weld" into the bottom, also found out West Marine makes an epoxy that will stick to plastic.
Some scouting was done along the Van Dyke to Edison (W of Schoenherr) section within the Dodge Park park in Sterling Heights. At least 10 jams were observed from shore. One of these days a bunch of people, more than just our crew, will need to make an effort to clear the river from Pontiac to Lake St. Clair. Like that will happen soon! LOL
Here are a few pictures of some of the jams, didn't have a camera with me on the Indiana run, sorry. Maybe those guys will send some pictures.
Since the water has been low, we have made a few bike trips along the river. I was pleasantly surprised at the work done on the mt. bike trails in Dodge Park. So surprised I even tried a 'log jump' and failed! I thought I separated my shoulder, but luckily it was just sore for a few days. Dale and I were riding on Good Friday when it happened and today is Easter, it is just getting to where I can raise my arm without too much pain. I was worried about my paddling season! (and drinking beer was an effort too!!) ;) Biking season is upon us, the Skiwi's will start the Cantina rides on April 21st and then again on May 12th. ( www.skiwiskiclub.com for info check the calendar page)
Rick
Sunday, March 18, 2012
May in March!
The unseaonable weather in March feels more like May with highs in the upper 70's! A group went out on St. Patrick's day and then again the day after.
Here is Lori Miller's account of the St. Patrick day paddle:
Daisy Duke! She's blind but brave!
A motley crew!
Jerry showing us how it's done!
Jerry demonstating the 1st part of the roll! (the easy part!)
Jerry initiating the roll, or the swim!
Richie
Shuttle Bunny Betsie (at the far end) of the construction for the new bridge at Avon & Livernois
The whole gang! Rob, Phil, Richie, Nancy, Jarrett, Dave, (kneeling) Steve, Dallas, Rick, Dale and Rene
Tom Tucker blasing through Rochester rapid
Here is Lori Miller's account of the St. Patrick day paddle:
On what started as a foggy morning, 6 people and one blind dog named Daisy Duke put in at A&L. For two of us, this was our first time with the group. At first we did not know what to expect but quickly felt at ease. The river was flowing at a manageable 166 cfs with a gage height of 1.9’. Full sun appeared about half way and made the day very comfortable. We enjoyed a variety of rapids and took a few breaks at some nice resting spots. We had one paddler went in the water, but he quickly surfaced, not sure what happened there. And lucky for us, our guide kept the loppers and chain saw going as needed to keep the path clear. We ended our trek at Coyote Joe’s 4 hours after putting in. Looking forward to the next rip down the MCR.
A little tight through here when a barge decides to turn sideways! ;)
On Sunday March 18th, the same Avon & Livernois to Ryan Road trip was run by several paddlers in two groups. Two guys launched before our group, we saw them at Rochester Rapid, but never saw them again! Nancy, Dave and their friend Rob launched with us, but soon got ahead and continued on thier own.
The rest of us comprised a group of 11 boaters: Dale, John, Rene & Jerry (along with Zoe the beagle) were in canoes, then in kayaks we had Steve, Phil and Dallas riding on 'sit on top' kayaks, Jarrett, Tom, Rob, Richie and myself (Rick) were in whitewater kayaks.
The skies looked like a thundershower might be coming in, but the day was nice and it warmed up quite a bit, then the sun came out and it really got hot! Dallas (Steve's younger brother) felt the need to immerse himself in the river for a breathtaking swim just before Area 13. We surfed a lot at Rochester rapid and didn't stop until Rock Island. After that we made it down to Yates where I ran the falls, then continued on to Ryan road. Steve showed us how to stop mid-river/mid-stream up on top of a log! The trip was about 4 hours long and thanks to our Shuttle Bunny Betsie, all our cars were at the end. A few of us stopped at the Coachman Inn for a bite and enjoyed the 'specials' ($4 burger or corned beef & swiss, with fries!) It was a great day on the river and my first outing since the 1st of the year.
Steve Cavanaugh logged on in the middle of the river!
Surfing Rochester Rapid
Spinning out of control in the 'Vortex of Death'!!
Running the Falls at Yates, my point of view!
The view from shore of the Yates dam run
Hoping we get a few more runs down the Mighty Clinton River before the trip down to TN on April 18th, stay tuned!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
February is Gone!
Well, the month of February flew by without any river trips but lots of decent water! February is the monthy we typically don't paddle much, but when have we had a February like this? Did make it up to Caberfae a few times and to Petoskey to ski Boyne Highlands and Mountain, decent skiing all Winter up North, just not around SE MI. Some friends did get out to various places and were surprised that it was not too bad at Holly, Alpine and Pine Knob.
Getting ready to head out West with the Skiwi Ski Club to ski Snowmass Colorado. Could be some great Spring skiing out there, they had 17" in the last week and 5-10" more by this weekend. (March 3rd) We head out on Saturday the 3rd and return the following week on the 10th. Hope to post some pics from the trip, but in the mean time, here are a few pictures and a video from 2005!
Getting ready to head out West with the Skiwi Ski Club to ski Snowmass Colorado. Could be some great Spring skiing out there, they had 17" in the last week and 5-10" more by this weekend. (March 3rd) We head out on Saturday the 3rd and return the following week on the 10th. Hope to post some pics from the trip, but in the mean time, here are a few pictures and a video from 2005!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
January 2012
Water Water Water! Everywhere!
Wow, like we have had so much rain in January, but I have not had the chance to paddle any of the high water. So if you can't paddle what do you do? Ski and drink beer!
I did get up to Caberfae near Cadillac MI twice this year, once the weekend of Jan. 7th and again the next weekend. (Sun/Mon Jan. 15/16) Skiing was good both weekends, but now back to the WATER! The field and woods out back are really swamped! Friends were up at Caberfae and Schuss/Shanty Creek this past weekend and all had great snow, but down here it is just WET! The river has been holding at some good levels all around the 2 foot mark, went up to 2.75 on Monday the 23rd. The temperatures have been very mild for this time of the year, but soon they say the temperatures will start to drop and the snow will be back.
Thought we might try and make a run the last weekend of January, but we didn't. Should have, it got nice later in the day with the sun out and relatively mild temperatures. Joined Rob to help Dale dig out his basement to put in the weep pipes for drainage in the basement of the 'project house'. Sunday the 29th brought a couple inches of snow to make it look like Winter again, but now they say it will hit 40 degrees this week and it will all melt! (and run into the river!)
(Caberfae from January weekend trip)
Off (Blog) Topic: Just wanted to put a few notes here about the Motor City Brew Tour I went on with my friend John Z on January 14th. The trip left from Royal Oak and headed up to Frankenmuth, MI. First stop was Frankenmuth Brewery where we enjoyed a tour of the entire facility and operation, including the "Beer Cellar" which was part of the original brewry circa 1862. There was a slight SNAFU with the cooling and dispensing system, so we enjoyed water with our pizza until they opened up some of the bottled beer for us to sample, it was very good! I was able to get a growler filled with dunkel for Jim E just before the problems began and then got myself a growler of "Batch 69" IPA just as we were leaving when the system came back online!
From there we stopped across town at Sullivan's Black Forest Brewery where I got a growler of their Pirate Porter, very good. Sullivan's brewer 'was sleeping' (or was it "sleeping off" something? LOL!) so we only had samples there. On the way back to Royal Oak we stopped at The Redwood Lodge (off Hill Road and M-23 exit where it splits off I-75). We enjoyed a sample pint and others at special 'happy hour' prices. I skipped the tour here and opted to drink a few beer's with some new friends who John introduced me to and who are also avid MCR Paddlers! We'll definitely be hooking up with this fun group for some paddling and beer drinking! Back in Royal Oak we finished up the night at the Royal Oak Brewery and ended a great day!
John Z at the "Beer Cellar"
At the Redwood Lodge with John, Curt, Lori, Chris and Jack
On tap at the Frankenmuth Brewery
A "Beer Angel" spotted on the brew tour at Frankenmuth. (use your imagination, see the halo and white wings?! )
Brewing looks more like a 'science' than an 'art', but we know it's a bit of both!
(notice the "EASY" button, that is the last step in the process!)
Samples at Sullivan's Black Forest Brewery
Me enjoying a beer at the Redwood Lodge
Our tour guides Steve and his lovely wife!
Wow, like we have had so much rain in January, but I have not had the chance to paddle any of the high water. So if you can't paddle what do you do? Ski and drink beer!
I did get up to Caberfae near Cadillac MI twice this year, once the weekend of Jan. 7th and again the next weekend. (Sun/Mon Jan. 15/16) Skiing was good both weekends, but now back to the WATER! The field and woods out back are really swamped! Friends were up at Caberfae and Schuss/Shanty Creek this past weekend and all had great snow, but down here it is just WET! The river has been holding at some good levels all around the 2 foot mark, went up to 2.75 on Monday the 23rd. The temperatures have been very mild for this time of the year, but soon they say the temperatures will start to drop and the snow will be back.
Thought we might try and make a run the last weekend of January, but we didn't. Should have, it got nice later in the day with the sun out and relatively mild temperatures. Joined Rob to help Dale dig out his basement to put in the weep pipes for drainage in the basement of the 'project house'. Sunday the 29th brought a couple inches of snow to make it look like Winter again, but now they say it will hit 40 degrees this week and it will all melt! (and run into the river!)
(Caberfae from January weekend trip)
Checking out the overlook with Caberfae Peaks in the background with Bill T and Dale G
I don't often drink Mexican beer, but when I do I drink it with this guy!
Off (Blog) Topic: Just wanted to put a few notes here about the Motor City Brew Tour I went on with my friend John Z on January 14th. The trip left from Royal Oak and headed up to Frankenmuth, MI. First stop was Frankenmuth Brewery where we enjoyed a tour of the entire facility and operation, including the "Beer Cellar" which was part of the original brewry circa 1862. There was a slight SNAFU with the cooling and dispensing system, so we enjoyed water with our pizza until they opened up some of the bottled beer for us to sample, it was very good! I was able to get a growler filled with dunkel for Jim E just before the problems began and then got myself a growler of "Batch 69" IPA just as we were leaving when the system came back online!
From there we stopped across town at Sullivan's Black Forest Brewery where I got a growler of their Pirate Porter, very good. Sullivan's brewer 'was sleeping' (or was it "sleeping off" something? LOL!) so we only had samples there. On the way back to Royal Oak we stopped at The Redwood Lodge (off Hill Road and M-23 exit where it splits off I-75). We enjoyed a sample pint and others at special 'happy hour' prices. I skipped the tour here and opted to drink a few beer's with some new friends who John introduced me to and who are also avid MCR Paddlers! We'll definitely be hooking up with this fun group for some paddling and beer drinking! Back in Royal Oak we finished up the night at the Royal Oak Brewery and ended a great day!
John Z at the "Beer Cellar"
At the Redwood Lodge with John, Curt, Lori, Chris and Jack
On tap at the Frankenmuth Brewery
A "Beer Angel" spotted on the brew tour at Frankenmuth. (use your imagination, see the halo and white wings?! )
(notice the "EASY" button, that is the last step in the process!)
Samples at Sullivan's Black Forest Brewery
Me enjoying a beer at the Redwood Lodge
Our tour guides Steve and his lovely wife!
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