May 26, 2008

I'm not much of an outdoors sportswoman. In my youth, I did a bit of bank fishing on the Rouge River and took out a rowboat a few times with my dad at Kensington Metropark. It was fun but tame.

Maybe that's why my trip on the Clinton River was such a thrill.

This waterway is fascinating, brimming with stories while giving this unwary paddler some moments of mild terror.

Thankfully, I canoed the Clinton this month with someone who knows this stream like the back of his hand ... someone who loves it, who belongs on it, who knows its secrets.

"This area used to be called the Vortex of Death," said Dale Goolsby, 58, pointing to river right, where the bank curved into a bulbous shape. That once-swirling current is gone now, he said. Nothing stays the same on a river, Goolsby told me. "It's always changing."

He told me this, and countless other stories, that Saturday as I traveled with the Clinton River Re-Con Team. Their mission: to help get the body of water ready for public paddling recreation by next year.

The day of reconnaissance opened my eyes to some scary surprises.

For example, right off the intersection of Avon and Livernois is some of the most challenging water in southeast Michigan, Goolsby told me, with a 13-foot drop in elevation.

I white-knuckled my paddle as he steered down the rapids. Behind us, a pod of kayakers surfed, did eddy turns and rolled, taking a few minutes to play during our more serious endeavor.

On May 17, roughly 20 volunteer paddlers -- ranging in experience from novices to instructors -- split into two teams and spent the day in canoes and kayaks, traveling a stretch that ran from Riverside Park in Auburn Hills to Yates Park in Rochester Hills.

They noted the boating skill level needed for each area, changes in river characteristics, launch points, parking areas, amenities such as restrooms, and water hazards.

Goolsby, who lives in Mt. Clemens, has been paddling since 1969. He knows the regulars on the river, and remembers its physical history.

"See that up there?" he said, pointing to a high slope showing exposed roots of once-mighty trees and a steep, bare-dirt drop. "There used to be a house there, an old one, and just before it started to slide in the river, they tore it down," he said.

He's a steward of the river in the best sense. He usually brings a chain saw with him on paddling trips, cutting away obstructions and making a clear path for watercraft. At one point -- worried that someone else might start clearing areas but do a poor job, and that he might be blamed -- Goolsby started carving the year on wood he had cut, so he could distinguish his work.

As we floated peacefully down the Clinton, I spied "00" and "06" and other markings, time after time, on the ends of dead branches. And in the bottom of his canoe was a bag filled with water bottles, food wrappers and other garbage he retrieved from stops on the banks.

The recon force is part of a cooperative effort by the cities of Auburn Hills, Rochester Hills and Rochester -- three of the municipalities that are home to the waterway -- along with the Clinton River Watershed Council (CRWC) and the Oakland County Planning and Economic Development Department. Adding their expertise are the Riverside Kayak Connection of Wyandotte and a band of fun-loving volunteers.

The volunteers did the grunt work that day, but it was all play to them.

It was clear that the group of eight whom I accompanied -- Team B that mapped the river from the Rochester Hills Environmental Center to Yates -- couldn't get enough of being on the water.

"What better way to spend a day?" said John Burak, 52, of Belleville.

He said his brother's idea of fun, taking his kids to Cedar Point, is "my idea of torture." Burak said he hopes more people recreate in nature rather than at theme parks. "It's so peaceful," he said about canoeing.

The cities are committed to promoting the recreational resources of the river, said Shawn Keenan, water resources coordinator for Auburn Hills and board president of the watershed council.

"Our first thought was to have an event for the public," he said, "but we took a step backwards and decided to assess the river first."

It's a big push by Oakland County's Oak Rivers BlueWay Water Trails initiative.

The Clinton River is only the first recon target. This summer, more handpicked volunteers will be checking out the Shiawassee River from Holly to Fenton, the Huron River from Proud Lake to Island Lake, the Waterford waterways and the Rouge River from 10 Mile to 12 Mile.

The stretches were chosen because they may provide trips of 2-3 hours for public recreation.

The areas also were chosen for significance in wildlife habitat and biodiversity, water quality, and community relevance -- such as having historical significance or just being good places to play.

The information gathered by the recon teams will go to Kristin Wiltfang, 28. She's a digital-mapping technician for Oakland County. She also loves to go kayaking.

"Ultimately, we hope to produce a river trail guide that could be located at a canoe launch or the trailheads of the river," Wiltfang said. "We'll place them where canoers and kayakers can pick them up and get a feel for what they're about to experience."

Before it gets to mapping level, I hope that someone from the Department of Natural Resources removes the couch thrown in the Clinton by some yahoos who set it ablaze near Rochester College. "That was on the bank yesterday morning," said Goolsby. "Some guys must have dragged it a long way."

An ugly mess, the metal frame had already caught a long, thick branch, which stuck out into the water, ready to catch an unsuspecting paddler.

The county's increased interest in the river is a dream come true to longtime paddler Rebecca Lesniewski, 45, of Rochester Hills. For years, in the public meetings used to encourage better water quality, such as cleanups, Lesniewski challenged officials: "You guys push cleanup of the river, but why don't you paddle it?"

Now they are doing that. Dan Keifer, development director of the CRWC, has lived in Rochester Hills for more than 20 years. He's become quite familiar with the Clinton. "I use it all the time," he said, particularly fishing for trout and steelhead. He's a big booster for the BlueWay effort.

"It's a really neat river, and we have the trail system coming along to complement that -- the Clinton River Trail, Macomb Orchard Trail, Paint Creek Trail," Keifer said.

At his right hand is Goolsby, whom Keifer calls the River Man, and the other volunteers.

"We would not be doing this ... without Dale and his merry little band," Keifer said. "They just love the river."

The watershed council and the other organizations are smart to get the views of the regular folks who spend time on the river, as there are changes they know need to be made.

Just upstream of the dam at Yates is a partially submerged cable; attached to it are signs to beware of the dam, which is a sudden and drastic drop-off.

The signs are useless, though, because they're under water. The cable used to be stretched across the river, a few of the recon paddlers said, but was cut when the utility company felled the trees it was attached to, as the trees were under power lines.

The warnings were put up after boaters had drowned in the area in 1999 and 2000. Now there is no warning for newbies.

If a boater doesn't fall on the way down, said ace kayaker Sarah Smith, 29, he or she may get sucked back into where the water churns at the drop-off point. It's intimidating, and potentially dangerous. Our group -- including the experienced kayakers -- portaged around it.

"This part of the river is not for beginners," said Smith, an instructor at Riverside Kayak.

Hence the planned map. Anne Varra, executive director of the CRWC, said, "We want to right the river, to give safe passage; we don't want someone to pour their family into a canoe and realize it's going faster than it should."

Team B's stretch of the Clinton was a bit nerve-racking to me. I noted the hazards: Branches poking out at eye level. ("One of those caught my life jacket one time and pulled me right out of the boat," Goolsby said.) Rapid water. Submerged rocks hiding just below the muddy surface.

It's nothing to someone with Goolsby's experience, but I knew I wouldn't be borrowing a canoe and taking my daughters on this part of the Clinton anytime soon.

Thanks to the recon team, the river officials now know about some of the tricky spots. The maps will point out suitable stretches for people of my skill level, Keenan said, and Riverside Kayak may be hired to give classes sometime in the future.

I'm glad education and safety are paramount, as well as the push for local recreation. Embracing those is senior planner Nina Ignaczak, 33, of the county's planning department. Though out on maternity leave, she still helped put the recon team in motion.

It's important to her professionally, but also personally. She lives in Rochester and spends a lot of time on the Clinton, hiking along the trails, exploring the river and playing in parks with her family, including her toddler.

"I want my kids to be able to enjoy these resources as much as possible," she said. "I really hope that they're able to establish a canoe trail that we're able to use someday.

"It's not being used this way now, but obstacles can be overcome if the right people who care get involved."

Contact KATHARINE P. SMITH at kpsmith@freepress.com or 248-219-6305.