Fall is definitely in the air. The chilly mornings and cool days are a constant reminder, but I think the one thing I notice most is the shorter days. All of a sudden you can't ride or hike much beyond 7 p.m., and even that time is starting to shrink.
That's about the time I like starting a ride, a hike or paddle during summer's longer days. All of a sudden now I need to get started by at least 4 p.m. to get in a decent outing. It takes awhile to get my psyche adjusted to the shorter daylight hours. I think that's the thing I like least about winter.
Give me a sunny day, fall colors, a river, and I'm happy. Fall colors along a river are often enhanced with the reflection of the water, and colors tend to linger along river valleys a little later into the season. A fall paddle is a relaxing way to kick back and enjoy the kaleidoscope of colors as you float down the stream.
The Manistee is a great river for a fall paddle. It flows through a lot of hardwood forests, and, much of it being wide doesn't require constant vigilance like smaller streams. You can spend more time observing the shoreline and collage of colorful trees.
Some friends and I tried a new section last weekend that none of us had ever done. You end up at the landing by the new roadside park on U.S. 131 just north of the Manistee River Bridge. I had floated the section from there down to Baxter Bridge, but never floated down to the roadside park.
We put in at the Lucas Road Bridge, which makes a nice launching site. Another nice thing is that it is a short, easy shuttle to spot your vehicles. It's about an eight-mile drive between the two points. The float is approximately 10 miles long and took us about three-and-a-half hours of actual paddling time. That doesn't include our lunch stop, which added a half-hour to the paddle time.
We were all delighted with this portion of the Manistee, and will probably make it an annual excursion. It's scenic with alternating high bluffs and lowlands that allowed the forest to come right down to the river. There were few cottages, and the solitude is nice. Much of the float was through unspoiled forests where you could spot animal tracks leading down to the water's edge in the sandy sections of riverbank. We didn't see any animals, but I did see lots of varied tracks.
You could see the old roll-a-ways along the horseshoe bends of river where a century-or-so-ago they had dropped massive amounts of logs into the river to be floated downstream to a mill. The scars still remain, but in some cases were starting to mend with vegetation beginning to fill in.
The river, to quote an old Grateful Dead song, was "trucking right along." The current was a nice steady pace, and there were some nice long stretches of light riffles interspersed with long, deep pools where the current would slow.
It allowed for a lot of leaf peeping, and the colors were really starting to pop, especially the reds and oranges. The sugar maples were in full bloom. Many of the trees were hanging over the river, and, with the bright sun, the reds seemed almost ablaze. The reflections in the deeper, slower pools were almost as brilliant. It was a beautiful day to be on the river.
Another portion of the Manistee that also normally has good fall color is the section between Baxter Bridge and Harvey Bridge. Much of that section is encased in tall bluffs. You float right by the overlook platform at High Roll-a-Way, which is high above you. The drawback to this float is its length. It's a little over 20 miles and takes a good six hours to do the paddle.
Other rivers that I like for fall floats are the South Branch of the Au Sable, the upper Platte River, and the section of the Boardman River between Brown Bridge Dam and Beitner Bridge. All three have abundant hardwoods that they flow through offering good fall color. A float on Brown Bridge Pond also offers lots of beautiful color this time of year.
Fall color, especially along the rivers, should remain good for another two or three weeks. The yellows are just starting. Pick a sunny day and go for a paddle. It's a great, relaxing way to enjoy a fall color tour. Just let the river pull you along. You won't be disappointed.
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