Chase to Smith Bridge (5 hours)- "The Mason Tract" is the 1,200 acres of wilderness area left to the State of Michigan by the late George W. Mason. This is truly an unspoiled nature trip. Trout fishermen claim it as holy waters. You will see the remains of Durant's Castle, the Highbanks, and Mason's Chapel on this stretch. For spending a day on the river, this trip is unmatched. Due to it's length and the remote location, this trip is best for older children and adults.
Just got back from our annual canoe race. I did much better this time (3rd place...out of 4...) and we only fell in the water 6 times. I broke my big toe though - me and my partner crashed into a low hanging tree and I wound up holding onto the branch with my hands while trying to hold the canoe with my foot so it wouldn't sail into the current. My partner wound up being swept into the current so I was holding the canoe for like 5 minutes. Ice cold water, me with my back smh. So I finished with a world class injury
other highlights:
-the camp site has these outhouses, and around 1AM I had to take a piss. So I got my flashlight walk a few minutes and realize someone's in there...but once I get near the outhouse he starts whispering to me
"hey man i ran out of toilet paper. i've been in here for an hour, can you get me some?"
"uh...sure"
I got it then told him I'd slip it under the door but he was like "no let me open the door, it's ok."
So he opened the door and I got blasted with the smell of shit and the sight of him holding a Miller Lite beer can over his crotch smh
-there aren't many bugs on the water but the ones that are there are fucking persistent. The horse flies will actually follow you for long periods of time. And just like last year my partner tipped us over by flailing his oar around in the fucking sky, thus hitting me in my fucking face. If he wasn't my nephew I would have done something...
