Trip Date: Saturday, August 25, 2007
Trip Leader: Michael Carter
River Level: 1.33 ft (USGS @ Lillington)
Weather: 100 F (Erwin, NC)
Trip Length: 4 miles, 8:30 am to 4 pm

Participants: Gil Williams, Bob Brueckner, Kate Kelleher, Larry Ausley, Nancy Guthrie, Brian McPherson, Kevin Kizer, Brent Langston, Bobby Simpson, Ryan Poling

Boats: 2 tandem canoes, 3 solo canoes, 2 kayaks

Ever wanted to lose 10 lbs in one day? Well, try picking up trash on the Cape Fear in August. We all met at the Wildlife Put-in near Lillington. Everyone in the group frantically began picking up litter. The river was low, lower than most of us had seen it. The weather was hot and humid. We saw two deer crossing the river upstream from the put-in. Due to the river level, we decided to put-in downstream at the "Campground" and take-out at NC 217 bridge. Ryan Poling and Bobby Simpson tackled the river left take-out. The rest of us headed downstream. The river was low, but there was no need to drag boats. Rocks, as expected, were a problem. The group stopped at various campsites along the river. The heat of the day was taking a toll on all of us. The river was cleaner in places than the Haw and Neuse. Towards Erwin, the litter picked up. The hardest part of the day was the take-out on river right. Somehow all of us managed to squeeze out a last bit of energy to drag the trash and boats to NC 217. The good news, we all got FREE Nalgene bottles compliments of the CCC River Clean-up Subcommittee.

Thanks to everyone on this trip. It was amazing to see the dedication and determination of everyone participating. The weather and water level was brutal. We all would like to thank Gil Williams for securing the campground put-in. We made a difference today. Several boaters and even people in cars stopped and asked us who we were with. They all know about the Carolina Canoe Club.

Check out the photos at tinyurl.com/35y4oh and the article from the Dunn, NC Daily Record at tinyurl.com/3by22r.

Totals: 34 orange DOT bags of trash, 7 tires, 2 lawn chairs, half of a barrel, a broken fishing rod, a rusted Weber grill top, a bunch of unmentionables.