Adventure Just Around the Bend on Overnight Trip on the Clarion River

By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

BELLTOWN, Pa. -- Every paddler has her moment when the only thing on her mind is placing her water shoes on dry land. For me, it came about five hours into the overnight kayaking trip my husband and I took a few weeks ago on the Clarion River.

We'd slid our boats into the water under sunny, late-morning skies about 12 miles upriver under the bridge at Arroyo, Pa. Having kayaked the family-friendly Clarion on a number of occasions, we figured we'd travel at least 4 mph -- maybe 5 mph if we put some muscle behind the paddling -- a pace that would take us through this tiny crossroads in Elk County not long after we'd eaten our picnic lunch on one of the many giant rocks at the river's edge. From there, it's be an easy 5 miles to camp at Clear Creek State Park, leaving us plenty of time for a walk through the woods before a grilled steak dinner.

Talk about miscalculations. We wouldn't pull our boats to shore at Clear Creek until well after 6 p.m., more than three shoulder-aching hours off schedule.

Don't get me wrong -- it was a gorgeous, meandering ride as the Clarion zigzags through narrow valleys of old-growth hardwood forests bustling with wildlife. (We spied several hawks and a blue heron.) Virtually alone on the water, with nothing but the occasional ripple of whitewater or a jumping fish to break the solitude, we were totally immersed in its natural beauty.

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