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By MARY THERESE BIEBEL; Times Leader Staff Writer
Friday, June 20, 1997 Page: 3A
WALNUTPORT — Somewhere between Walnutport and Whitehall, a good-natured
argument broke out Thursday on the Lehigh River.
Canoeists in the bow and their paddling partners in the stern just could
not agree which of their positions requires more muscle power.
“I’m sitting in the stern. I’m sore,” Shirley Creitz of Bethlehem said in a
martyrlike tone.
Her sister, Phyllis Hall of Lehighton, was indignant. “She’s trying to make
it sound like I’m not doing anything.”
The question might be resolved today, if the pair decides to switch
positions for the fifth day of the Lehigh Legacy Sojourn.
The six-day, 70-mile river trip, coordinated by the Wildlands Conservancy
in Emmaus, has already placed participants in places they didn’t intend to be
— on bicycles, in a rain-soaked campground, even floating near the occasional
capsized canoe — but no one’s complaining.
The journey began Monday morning in White Haven and ends Saturday in
Easton, where the Lehigh meets the Delaware. Some individuals and families
have signed up for the entire week; others will spend only one day paddling
about 12 miles downstream.
During the first two days of the sojourn, approximately 50 water
enthusiasts hoped to ride inflatable rafts through white water. But the river
was too low, so they pedaled through Lehigh Gorge State Park instead.
“Bikes are fun, too,” said 15-year-old Mariah Quant of Lewisburg. “It’s
just fun to be outside.”
On Wednesday and Thursday, the water was high enough to float canoes, and
close to 80 sojourners took to the river as eagerly as the mallard ducks that
flew overhead.
As the adventure progressed, Boy Scouts conducted mock battles with water
guns. Children on the shore waved a sign advertising cookies and cold drinks
for sale. Safety officers inspected stretches of river, then guided
less-experienced boaters through rapids and past large rocks.
And each day was filled with opportunities to learn about the Lehigh, its
biology and the ways people use it.
“They’ll go home as river advocates,” said Russ Griner-Johnson, director of
the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s Wilkes-Barre office. “They’ll
understand the impact they have on water quality, whether it’s putting
pesticides on their lawn, or letting farm animals graze close to the water’s
edge.”
At one planned stop Thursday morning, about 50 miles south of White Haven,
Ted Miller of the Lehigh River Trout Stocking Association showed off fine
specimens of brook, rainbow, brown and palomino trout before releasing them.
To join the final leg of the trip, call the Wildlands Conservancy at (610)
965-4397 and be prepared to drive to Bethlehem tonight or early Saturday. Cost
for the day is $20, plus a $25 registration fee. Canoe rental is not included.
Nearly 80 canoeists begin the fourth day of the weeklong Lehigh Legacy
Sojourn on Thursday, setting off on a 12-mile trip from Walnutport to
Whitehall.
Several miles from the starting point, the group pulls in to hear Ted
Miller of the Lehigh River Trout Stocking Association give a talk.
TIMES LEADER PHOTOS/DON CAREY
Safety officer Allan Quant of Lewisburg gives the canoeists advice before
they shove off.