The Place
The Au Sable River is a tributary of Lake Huron and flows
through the Huron National Forest. It
was used by the Native Americans in this area, and was later named by the
French explorers as “Riviere aux Sables,” or “River of Sand.” Sorry French speakers – around these parts
the name of the river is pronounced “asabel”.
The river was used through history as part of the fur trade and later
for moving fallen trees to saw mills along Lake Huron. Now it is a pretty forest lined river, with
relatively clear water, and a pretty view around every bend. And there are lots of bends.
The Adventure
Our friends, the Mathews and we had the folks at Oscoda Canoe Rental transport
our kayaks up the river to the “4 hour paddle” put-in spot and we set out
paddling. Along the way we saw sea
gulls, ducks, a family of geese, a family of loons, and red winged
blackbirds. We saw the head of a small
animal swim through the water but didn’t get close enough to see whether it was
an otter or a muskrat. It was quiet and
peaceful, with the current just strong enough to assist our paddling. |
| Libby the Library Bear Joined Us for Lunch |
About 2/3 of the way through the trip we were joined by
other kayaks, canoes, and tubers at a put-in spot closer to town. While we missed having our own personal
river, watching our neighbors became just as interesting as looking for
wildlife. There were several steep sand
banks, and the tradition seems to be to have your children (of all ages) run
down the bank at full speed and throw themselves in the water and then run back
up again. It was fun to watch.
When we arrived, Robin’s tracker software told us that we
had paddled 9.6 miles.
Source: http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/hmnf/recarea/?recid=23980
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