tripreport101604

Field Trip Report for Saturday, October 16, 2004 (Stone Soup Canoe Trip)

left to right: Jeff Alan & Jennifer Hoffman in tan canoe, join Dave Wallace & Jane Erickson in green canoe, alongside Barbara Kerkmann & Jim Kingsland in blue canoe; trip leader LeRoy Beasley

Saturday, October 16 (and possibly the last warm Saturday in October), LeRoy Beasley led five
canoes on a splendid morning's jaunt up the Bear River from Benson. It was cool to start, but the
sun was strong and warmed us up quickly. The water was low, but smooth and quiet, making it
easy to get lost in one's thoughts as we paddled slowly upriver. Most of the trees had lost their
leaves, but the cattails were resplendent in new seed pods and provided some green to the
shoreline. Not many birds, but the ones we saw were fun. The two Great Horned Owls we've
seen in past weeks along this stretch were still there. One of them had attracted a Northern
Harrier, which flew about, harrassing the owl, but not getting too close!

As we approached the dock on the return, we came upon a poor fellow who was trying to land a
10 pound carp on 4 pound test line. Dave Wallace tried to get him to hold his rod up to take up
the shock when the fish turned back and forth, but he didn't seem to understand. We thought he
was going to lose the fish, but with some patience and a little help from Dave with the net, he got
it in. "That's the biggest fish I've ever caught", he said. And we were glad one more carp was gone.

With all of us safely off the water, LeRoy set to work firing up the pot. Folks contributed to the
"stone soup", and another fall paddle trip came to an end.
–Bryan Dixon, 10/18/2004

left to right: Dave Wallace gets the netting assist of a huge carp! ; Firing up the Stone Soup is Jim, Barbara and LeRoy.