Sojourning Juniata
I was pleased to see so many people sitting up around a fire at the Mifflin Community Park when I arrived last Thursday night. I didn't make it until after dark for one reason or another (had to stop off and get a waterproof disposable camera for use on the river for one). After I set up my tent, I joined the ring for a short while.

Deb Nardone of EPCAMR, and a long-time proponent of the Juniata, said hi, and introduced me to the rest of the group as a late arrival, along with Sara Nicholas of American Rivers and her guest. I knew one other face in that of Allan Quant, safety guru from Canoe Susquehanna and POWR supporter and Board Member.

Morning got off to a good start, and the forecast looked clear and sunny for the day on Friday. Would this be the first Sojourn of the year I attended that wasn't deluged? Yes it would be. A grand breakfast of egg and cheese melt sandwiches, bananas and oranges, fruit drink, and donuts, had eveyone ready to get on the river. After shuttling our cars to the take-out at Pittman's Campground off the US-22 Millerstown Exit, we returned to Mifflin and put-in a fairly fast moving Juniata.

Right before however, we had the obligatory safety talk by Allan, a short promotion of POWR and the PA River Sojourn Grants Program by myself, and a short talk on Dam Removal by Sara. Finally the reading of the day got us motivated to paddle:

"The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it" - Chinese Philosopher

After a decent stretch of morning paddling, the sun was starting to set high and the heat was flaring up as we took out at the Thompsontown Shad Hatchery (PA Fish and Boat Commission) for lunch and tour. It was amazing to see millions of little 1/2 inch long shad in the huge barrells, just waiting to be released.
Lunch was cheese and meat sandwiches, fruit, pretzels, cookies and drinks, and shade was sought out as the spring sun showed portents of the approaching hot summer days.

The afternoon left us with 10 miles (out of the 18 scheduled for the day)so we would be able to finish well on schedule at the planned 5pm takeout. There was quite a lot of effort at paddling put into the afternoon as the water was fairly flat and wide at points. It almost seemed as if we were standing still, but the force of the Juniata propelled us ahead. With all our hard work, a swim break was called, and at about the 7 mile mark, we all shored up our boats at a shallow area, and took a plunge. Snacks were had, and the squirt guns made thier presence known. I was certainly cooled off enough to easily push the final hour of paddling and just exhausted enough when we pulled out to appreciate the effort, beauty, and fun of the river.
- posted by frank cetera @ 3:00 PM