Kayaking Team: Dave Miller, Matt Miller
Date: May 2, 2025
Matt found this launch site (Eagle Pass) that was part of the Glen Thompson State Reserve on Trebein Road and Rt. 35. This was two weeks after the huge flooding and the Ohio Scenic Little Miami River was still a little high, making it a fun, fast run. Our goal was to reach the Narrows canoe launch about 1.5 miles downstream. We saw dozens of hardshell turtles and some softshell turtles. We saw both a large and a smaller black Northern Watersnake (also called a Common Watersnake) curled up on wood and tree debris piles along the river. One time a giant tree had fallen across the river, and we barely squeezed through but later downstream we were stopped cold by a massive pack of downed trees, wood and debris (Photo#4). We had to portage our kayaks around the blockage and return to the swift current. Near the end we saw a lot of cranes flying around the river and above. We looked up and saw over twenty crane nests (Photo #5) nestled in the trees. Looking closely, we could see a crane’s neck and head poking out of most of the nests. Fifteen minutes later we docked and loaded the kayaks just before the rain began.
