Boaters ready to ride river
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LEWISTOWN -- It's summertime and living is easy for Megan Stull, especially if she's floating down the majestic Juniata River. The Lewistown woman kicks back, dip her toes in the water, lets the sun warm her face and takes a float with friends or family in their favorite tube or kayak.
"It's relaxing," Stull said of time spent floating on the river. "It's not anything high maintenance. It's not like you're out there on the whitewater. You don't have to paddle to keep the boat under control.
"You just get in it and go, float and call it a day," she added.
That's why Stull has organized the Juniata River Float. Last year's event drew around 40 folks to the Juniata River waterway.
The second annual event is scheduled for Saturday, July 15. Launch is set for 8 a.m. at the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Walker Access in Mifflintown. There is no cost to enter.
Anyone wanting to participate should bring their kayak, canoe, paddle board, innertube or whatever vehicle to float. The float goes from Mifflintown to Millerstown.
"It's about 14 to 16 miles, so it's a pretty long float," Stull said. "A lot of it is dictated by the location of the boat launch and by what's available. The river has a few bends, but otherwise is a wide open body of flat water."
The event is scheduled to end with a cookout at Little Buffalo State Park in Newport at 6 p.m.
Stull got into kayaking last year and came up with the idea for the float after seeing kayaking groups put together similar events.
She decided to try putting an event together and promoting it on social media.
Last year's float drew participants from neighboring communities like Shamokin and as far away as Philadelphia. "We had 350-some people interested, but there were a lot of last minute cancellations," Stull said. "We don't have a ton of commitments this year. Weather permitting, we should have around the same number."
Last year's float was held in Mifflin County, with the start in Mattawana and the ending in Granville.
Stull said there will be rides available from Millerstown back to the start in Mifflintown. "We'll see how many people we have and hopefully we'll get enough roof racks."
Besides the weather, Stull hopes the water levels of the Juniata River cooperate. Ideally, the waterway should be about five feet deep.
"It's good to be closer to the five-foot mark, so people aren't scrapping and bottoming their kayaks out," Stull said.
There weren't any really crazy or creative rides last year. Stull was going to float down the river in a giant inflatable unicorn; however, the river wasn't deep enough. "The water level was so low, it would have popped," Stull said. "Kayaks and innertubes are the common things that people have."
For more information, visit the Juniata Valley Float's page on Facebook.