It was off to Mt. Pleasant this weekend for the second annual former CMU-er's 
canoe trip down the mighty Chippewa River. We met up with Mike, coming from Portage, at The Bird in downtown Mt. Pleasant. We weren't sure when CMU started classes but found our answer the minute we came off the Mt. Pleasant exit onto Mission Road. Based on the volume of traffic, the students were definitely starting classes on Monday. The classic scene was while driving through the student houses around University Drive, we came across a guy pushing a keg down the street with a skateboard. I wish I had the camera handy there. That is the college education paying off again. We had planned to camp but mother nature was calling for some rain so the hotel was the sleeping quarters.
canoe trip down the mighty Chippewa River. We met up with Mike, coming from Portage, at The Bird in downtown Mt. Pleasant. We weren't sure when CMU started classes but found our answer the minute we came off the Mt. Pleasant exit onto Mission Road. Based on the volume of traffic, the students were definitely starting classes on Monday. The classic scene was while driving through the student houses around University Drive, we came across a guy pushing a keg down the street with a skateboard. I wish I had the camera handy there. That is the college education paying off again. We had planned to camp but mother nature was calling for some rain so the hotel was the sleeping quarters. 
After clearing our clogged brains from the extra soda pops we had the night before, we ventured over to the Chippewa River Outfitters on the west side of town for our float. We didn't think we would need a reservation based on our
experience the year before. It turns out they had reservations set throughout the day and we got lucky when another group cancelled. The float itself was great. Al and I had a few "wo wo's" but managed to keep afloat the entire time. Al, Greg, and I probably caught 30 or so fish total. They weren't much on size but fun to catch all the same. We must have came across 50 students tubing down the river. I wouldn't even classify them as floating. It was more or less wading with one tube designated to hold their coolers.
I'll bet they are still floating out there as I'm typing this. I felt for them (okay, not really) because some storms came through about an hour after we got off the river. I would have to say they started moving a little faster when that happened. A great time it was. Hopefully we can get some more former Chippewas out there next year.
I'll bet they are still floating out there as I'm typing this. I felt for them (okay, not really) because some storms came through about an hour after we got off the river. I would have to say they started moving a little faster when that happened. A great time it was. Hopefully we can get some more former Chippewas out there next year.Trail Head
