RIVER WALK - PART 2

Here is part two of our Labor Day hike report. Watch tomorrow for part 3, and thanks for reading my reports.

By: Ray Hansen

DAM LEAKS

So, one dam upstream and another downstream harness the river’s power and maintain a water level that keeps the scenery pleasant for me. Last week the power company running the upstream dam decided that some work needed to be done there since they have detected several leaks around the dam’s base. To gauge the extent of the problem they need to lower the level of the reservoir behind the dam sixteen feet, which they feel would expose the source of the leaks.

This happened several years ago as well. They lowered the water level at that time and inspected the exposed river bed above the dam, along with the retaining structure itself but could not find the source of the leakage. I’m not sure what is different now… maybe they have some new “leak detection” technology. They seem confident that this current attempt will be successful.

RIVER RUNS LOW

In any case, we had very little rain during August and river levels were at a low point. This is the time to get down there and walk the river corridor, so on Labor Day my wife Kate and I did just that.

As beautiful and scenic as the river is, not many people take advantage of the opportunity to explore it. That is mainly because little public access exists along the waterway. I’ll tell you what though, if I was a kid living up here now I’d be riding my bike down to the river with a fishing rod strapped to the handlebars. You can walk along the bank watching for deeper pools, knowing that they will hold ever-increasing numbers of bass and trout as the water level drops. Years ago, my friends and I did just that, bringing along an old army surplus mess kit and cooking fresh fish over a small driftwood fire. Sometimes one of the guys would smuggle a pound of bacon out of their house so we could fry that first to provide smoky, aromatic, sizzling oil to lay the freshly cleaned trout in.

Now of course, all I have to do is walk out the back door, get down to the river via an old set of stone steps behind the neighbor’s place, and start hiking. I thoroughly enjoy the fact that I’m not going to see anyone else, and will share my walk only with eagles, deer, ospreys, an occasional coyote, and the fish.

LABOR DAY STROLL

On our Labor Day hike, Kate and I strolled along shooting photos of leaves floating past, of crayfish we spotted in the shallows, of small sculpins finning in slow current areas, and simple landscape shots where we could include bends in the river as part of the composition. We found wonderful pieces of natural driftwood art: one that looked like the head and horns of an antelope; another that resembled a saguaro cactus; a beautiful arching cedar trunk de-limbed by tumbling along the rocky watercourse; and a sawn stump with roots spiraling out like octopus arms.

Copyright Ray Hansen, 2008

RIVER WALK - PART 1

Author's note: On Labor Day 2008, my wife and I went for a hike along the Escanaba River which runs past our home in Cornell, Michigan (Upper Peninsula). This walk inspired a long journaling session that I turned into a multi-part blog. Part one appears today and four or more parts will appear on successive days. I hope you enjoy this series.

By: Ray Hansen

The river flowing past our home goes through many changes. Some are seasonal. Winter brings a complete freeze except where springs and other underground seepages flow into the waterway, and there are many such spots. Spring brings a roiling and sometimes rampaging torrent when the ice melts. At times the ice floes create a temporary blockage and water rises up the banks to get around these frozen natural dams. We don’t have to worry about that affecting us. Our house is twenty feet above the normal level on a bluff that drops straight down like the edge of a canyon.

Summer sees a gradual lowering of the water level and offers the best time to hike along the river because the shorelines are dry and composed of flat limestone that can be travelled on almost like sidewalks in town. Autumn varies depending on how rainy the year has been. Seeing minor daily fluctuation in water levels is normal. Heavy thunderstorms that lash the countryside with rain can cause a surge in water levels, but the rise seems to be a foot at most.

CONTROL THE FLOW

Dams spaced along the river help keep levels under control. We have a dam about ten miles upstream from us, and another about seven miles downstream. They seem to be about one hundred years old. Both have small reservoirs backed up behind them, and water is let through or held back according to some set of standards the local water control agency follows. Their system seems to work well. As I mentioned I have not seen any problems, nor has anyone else I have talked to along the stretch we live on - except Marv. He is the old-timer whose house I have been doing side jobs at this year.

Marv no longer lives at his riverfront place. He’s in town now at an assisted living facility. Even at 93 or so, he really doesn’t need much assistance, but staying there is, I suppose, easier than trying to run and maintain your own home. His son – who lives downstate – hires me to do the work at the river place. He brings his family up here for a week each summer.

OLD TIME DAM BREAK

Anyway, Marv said that when he was a kid – a long time ago – the dam upstream from us gave way. That event likely flooded the river corridor I live along, but there were no homes in this stretch at that time. Looking at the river bank today, I can detect a high water mark about eight or ten feet above the current average level. Maybe that is how high the water came up when the dam broke. Marv did not see what happened to this stretch of the river during that cataclysmic event. He was a kid and only recalls hearing about it.

Watch for part two of this blog tomorrow, 10 Sept. 2008