Monday, August 25, 2014

On The Trail “Messing About in Boats” –– Clarion River

Below is an article written by Gary Thornbloom (PA Chapter of the Sierra Club) concerning his recent experience of paddling the Clarion River.



On The Trail
“Messing About in Boats” –– Clarion River

Mole after a hard morning of spring chores strolls down to the riverside and thinks this is as good as life gets.  He then meets Water Rat, who astounded that Mole has never been in a boat invites him aboard, and off they go on an adventure down the river “messing about in boats.”  This is the beginning of Kenneth Grahame’s children’s classic The Wind in the Willows. 

Paddling the Clarion River 9 miles from Portland Mills to Irwin is 9 miles of paddling with the Allegheny National Forest, river right, and State Game Land 44, river left.    Public Lands in Pennsylvania!  Whether hiking or paddling, our common wealth of Public Lands consistently provides the most rewarding opportunities for exploring and enjoying our outdoor heritage.

The town of Ridgway was my starting point.   Once there I met Sean Robinson, a New Yorker who fell in love with the Allegheny National Forest on childhood visits.  While searching for locations from this past he discovered Ridgway, and now has a home there.  He was my guide for the day.

Country Squirrel Outfitters www.countrysquirreloutfitters.com , owned by friends of Sean’s, provided us with a canoe and a shuttle to the put in at Portland Mills.  Country Squirrel has what you need –– advice, gear, boats,  shuttle, map –– to get you on the river.

The Clarion River cuts through the Allegheny Plateau.  This section includes flood plains well above the normal river level, although debris in branches overhead show how much water can move down this river at flood stage.   4 - 5 feet is a comfortable level for paddlers (it was just under 3.7’ when we paddled it) - check the Ridgway USGS Gauge online, or contact the outfitters to learn the flow level.  

Large boulders along the river are nice lunch stops.  Small beaches and campsites on the ANF bank are additional potential stops.  This is a fairly isolated stretch of stream.  The highway that usually parallels so many miles of PA rivers, is missing along this stretch - Public Lands!  Camping is allowed on the ANF side.

The ghost town of Arroyo at mile 79 (river right) along with traces of cribs used to anchor log booms, a mill race, and a dam are echoes of the past.  Polluted water was a legacy of industry - coal, timber, tanning, paper - that is part of the exploitation of PA’s forests and waters.  The Clarion, once known as the most polluted stream in PA, has improved.   Cooperative efforts that include sportsmen, industry, and government have cleaned up the river, and now trout and bass are living in its water.

The most visible impact of the past is that only a few white pine tower above the river banks.  Here the pre-industrial forest was solid with hemlock and white pine.  That forest is gone.  A forest consisting of mostly hardwoods has returned, and today we find it a to be beautiful forest,  particularly where Public Lands, like State Game Land 44 and the ANF, have protected the land long enough for the forest and its wildlife to return.

Perhaps the most impressive return has been that of our national symbol, the bald eagle.   Bald eagles were nearly extirpated from PA by 1983.  With the necessary habitat, banning of some pesticides, and game management bald eagles have returned in impressive numbers, from 3 nesting pairs in 1983 to 197 pairs in 2010.

Sean hoped we would see bald eagles and we were not disappointed.  A mature eagle took off from a riverside tree top, and spiraled high above the downstream ridge.  Its high pitched cry was soon answered by a second eagle.  That eagle landed in a tree and Sean pointed out that there did not seem to be any white on it.  Once it took off we could see it was an immature eagle.

Geese and goslings swam along the bank.  They likely have not yet grown their flight feathers.  Kingfishers darted back and forth across the river.   Occasionally we drifted and listened to a few songbirds.  

We saw 2 deer, but none of the bear and otters others have noted while paddling here.  One decent sized snake was sunning itself on a large boulder.  Some small fish, possibly a trout, and a bass that broke the surface of the water.  Sean, an avid fly fisherman, took note of the insects coming off the water.

There were no other paddlers on the river.  The few people we saw were along the bank and had likely walked in along trails from the Public Access boat launch sites.  They were fishing, swimming in the large pools, and enjoying the river.

At modest water flow levels this is a very forgiving stretch of river.  However the last two miles include the X Y Z Rapids, three distinct short rapids that require avoiding some rocks and ledges.  They are short and allow for reasonable recovery at the end of each one.  Intermediate paddlers will likely enjoy the challenge of these rapids.   The rapids are a legacy of the Clarion River navigation Company, which removed the waterfall called Old Falls Rock in 1871.

Paddling and hiking on Pennsylvania’s Public Lands often includes both the beauty of the natural world, as well as the legacy of past industrial activity.  Public Lands often ended up public once industry had exploited the resources and moved on and the despoiled land was purchased by our government, both State and Federal.  Public Lands are lands that are in the public trust and should be protected for not only us, but also for future genereations. 

Public Lands are among our best opportunities to enjoy and explore the outdoors.   This section of the Clarion River, protected between the Allegheny National Forest and State Game Lands 44, is the perfect place to enjoy a day on the river and like Water Rat you too may come to believe that “there is nothing—absolutely nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

Gary Thornbloom is the Co-Chair of the Public Lands Committee, PA Chapter Sierra Club; he can be reached at bearknob@verizon.net

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