This past weekend I spent some time at French Creek State Park in Birdsboro, PA. It’s a beautiful park with over 80 miles of hiking trails and two lakes. It is my favorite state park to camp and hike in because there are no bears! My visit this weekend brought back memories of an eventually solved mystery.
About twenty five years ago, my ex-wife an I owned a canoe which we kept moored at Scott Run Lake in French Creek State Park. The picture above on the right shows the moorings. The canoe floated in the water and was attached by chain to an eyebolt in a railroad tie on shore. About thirty canoes were lined up in this manner.
We drove down one Saturday, looking forward to a good time on the lake. We walked down to the mooring. No canoe!! Where is our canoe?! Plenty of other canoes, kayaks, and rowboats were there, floating in the water gently, but not ours. Why would someone take OUR canoe? It wasn’t the newest nor the nicest. It wasn’t the closest to the road. We didn’t know what to do except ask for help at the Ranger Station.
The ranger listened attentively, but offered little assurance. He said basically “Well, you are never going to see that canoe again”. Thank you government bureaucrat. Somehow, I thought rangers would be different. Not this one! We filled out some forms and bid the ranger farewell. He said that he would call us if he hears anything, but not to expect it.
Guess what?! About three weeks later, the helpful ranger called us and said we found your boat and we’d like you to come and get it as soon as you can. I was excited. I loved my canoe! As soon as the weekend arrived we went to the ranger station at the park. He asked us to follow him and he took us to our canoe. Our canoe, while still in one piece,was bent in the middle and was now a right angle, a perfect 90 degrees. What?!
He explained that they found the canoe deep in the woods about three hundred yards from the lake. They assumed that Hurricane Floyd, earlier that summer, tore the canoe from it’s mooring, sent it over the dam, and down the creek until it wrapped itself around a tree! Best adventure that canoe ever had!
He said that we have to remove it from the park as soon as possible as it is now trash. How am I going to get a right angled canoe into my truck for the hour long ride home? The ranger didn’t care how. He only said that he can’t help. After my earlier dealing with him, I was not surprised.
Well with a maze of bungee cords and rope, we got the canoe home. There I cut it into little pieces and put it out gradually with the trash. Bye bye canoe.
Mystery solved. Three lessons learned. First, if you moor your boat, it’s better to have it on dry land. Secondly, don’t ever make assumptions. Finally, there are jerks in every profession, even park rangers.
Happy paddling!
A Semi-retired Kind of Life 