I started paddling on the Schuylkill River by joining up on the sojourn in June 2000. I was so impressed by the beauty of the river, and learning about the history of the area.

The coal mining that fueled the growth of towns along the river died out when the canal system was damaged by storms and ultimately went broke as the rail road took it's place, and left behind a Schuylkill River polluted by acid mine drainage and coal silt.

The dams all but ruined the fish passage and the fishing industry closed. The industrial revolution left it's mark on our river and it's old river towns, but now the river is bouncing back.

The Schuylkill River I paddled was beautiful; with hawks, butterflies, birds and ducks flying over our heads, picturesque scenery, and fond memories from each of my six sojourns.

What these experiences did for me was to educate me about the last generation's primary source of fuel—coal-- that is still causing havoc and environmental damages to our river today and will for a long time.

I learned that change comes very slowly to our watershed, and with huge monetary costs. The desilting basins from dredging the coal along side the river are now beginning to see new life as county parks are restoring them into wildlife refuges and parks for recreation and important birding areas and flyways for migratory birds.

The Clean Water Act of 30 years ago, and grant money has helped to clean up some of the problems with our river, the source of drinking water for millions of us that live in the Schuylkill Valley.

We witness the building of fish ladders, so shad can return to the river and even heard reports this spring that an otter was seen passing the Fairmount Dam along with the migratory fish.

Last year my greatest moment was when and eagle soured over us as we approached Conshohocken just before entering Philadelphia.

This year, on the third day of our journey we were reminded of just how vulnerable our waterways are today.

Our group of about 70 paddlers encountered a severe thunder and lightening storm that dropped four inches of soaking rain as we entered Reading, the first large urban town we encountered along the Schuylkill. We were forced to spend over an hour trying to wait out the lightning storm along side of the banks of the town.

What we saw brought to light the true meaning of "watershed."

We watched the city's storm water pipes spew out hundreds of bottles and cans and paper, and we all watched in disbelief as the surface of the river was littered with trash.

When the lightening storm was over, we paddled in silence as our boats broke through the floating debris, and finally reached our take out point for the evening.

That night over dinner, our silence gave way to feelings of anger and helplessness that we felt about the trash. The true connection of land use (or abuse) and water quality, was made quite obvious to us that day.

I know we could have seen this happen in "any big city USA," that is what made us feel that there needs to be more education and laws to keep our stormwater inlets clean of trash.

Our sojourn for this year ended in Philadelphia in the tidal section, at Bartram's Garden. After paddling up river towards the Fairmount Dam and the Philadelphia Art Museum, we headed back down to the garden for our last lunch and tour as a group.

Last week some us were strangers, but now are consider each other friends and survivors from our 100 mile adventure. Despite our sore muscles, many of us are already talking about the Schuylkill Sojourn next June.

Life is great on the river!

See and hear more about the Schuylkill River Sojourn on a special River Sojourn Spotlight produced by GreenTreks Networks.

For more information on Friends of Mingo Creek, contact Alice M. Land at 610-792-1017 or send email to: Mingowatershed@aol.com or visit GreenTrek’s Watershed.TV.

6/24/2005