Home Stretch

It's nice to have a river like the Little Miami so close to home.  The section closest to home flows from Milford to the Ohio River.  I've been to very scenic and pristine rivers like the Pine in Northern Michigan or the Rogue in Southern Oregon, but it's nice to be able to load up the canoe at 4:00 in the afternoon and get in a five mile trip before dark.  At the time of this post I've been on this one specific section of the Little Miami far more than any other.

Channel Catfish Living Inside Discarded Car Tire

Generally speaking the LMR becomes more and more natural looking and clean as you move up river to the North.  It's headwaters in John Bryan State Park are pristine and beautiful.  It just so happens that the section closest to home, the section I paddle most often, is also the most tainted with pollution.  8.4 million cars were sold in the US in 1970 alone.  Apparently most of these cars have found their way into my home section of the Little Miami River.  This is not to suggest that this section of river isn't teeming with life.  In fact, it's somewhat inspiring to see so much biodiversity in such an imperfect environment.  I've managed to catch over 15 species of fish along this stretch alone and I'm a fairly average fisherman.  I've also come across everything from bald eagles and orioles to beaver and mink.

Canoe Full Of Trash

Each time I go out I return with a pile of junk to be pitched at the end of the trip, and I'm hardly the only one.  There is nothing wrong with traveling to and enjoying pristine wilderness areas but it's impossible to do so without leaving an imprint.  Even when I am perfect at leaving no trace I generally get to the pristine wilderness areas by car.  When I flew to Seattle, I drove the last several miles to Olympic National Park.  This means I relied on roads, gas stations, and locals who work in those gas stations to get to the pristine wilderness.  I didn't walk there. 

A funny thing happens when you stop traveling to pristine areas and start trying to make your own area pristine.  You realize that what you really want is just to be out there.  Out interacting with an environment that you aren't typically in.  It doesn't matter that it's imperfect.  If it's imperfect it gives you an opportunity for more frequent and more aggressive involvement.  Pick up some tires.  Fill the boat with plastic debris and cans.  Leaving only footprints is for pristine areas where none of us live.  There is only observation in the perfectly pristine areas.  There is no interaction.  You aren't helping any pristine ecosystem by being there.  Hike or paddle through local "wilderness" and you are able to make a difference.  Your presence matters.