[JPTolson]

Five hardy souls showed up with their boats at Sprucevale at the appointed hour. The air temperature had still not cracked 40 degrees, the wind was making it feel even colder, and the sun was nowhere to be seen. It didn’t take much dithering to decide to run the 3.5 mile stretch of Little Beaver Creek from the park down to Sprucevale rather than the originally scheduled 12 miler from Sprucevale to Ohioville.

Despite the disappointing weather, the creek was still incredibly beautiful even without barely a hint of green on the deciduous trees along the banks and on the hillsides. But many green and graceful hemlocks greatly enhanced the riverscape all along our route. We saw lots of white trillium in bloom and one small area of red trillium. Water level was around 4.2 feet.

Many thanks to Mike Danko for leading the trip. Other paddlers were Jessica, Stan in his new sit-on-top, Ron, and JP. Thanks, too, to Bob Danko and Sue Ramdin who also showed up for moral support and to help with the shuttle. We went afterward to Lisbon’s Steel Trolley Diner to swap paddling lies just in time for the sun to come out. It was another great day to be on the river!