SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Not everyone is able to experience in the annual Schuylkill River Sojourn as a participant, but everyone can experience the excitement of the seven-day adventure by attending the Friday evening kickoff activities held on Island Park in Schuylkill Haven.
This year’s 17th annual 112-mile guided canoe and kayak trip from Schuylkill Haven to Philadelphia has the theme “Legacy and Landmarks,” setting off Saturday, June 6, and reaching its destination at Lloyd Hall on Boathouse Row, Friday, June 12. Along the way there are overnight stops, with this year’s special programs focusing on the historical landmarks along the Schuylkill River.
Friday, June 5, beginning at 4 p.m., paddlers, well-wishers and supporters of the SRS begin arriving at Island Park for what has become an event unto itself, the Pre-Sojourn. By the close of registration at 8 p.m. the area takes on the appearance of a multi-day rock festival with a colorful array of tents having been pitched and kayaks and canoes prepped for the next morning’s departure.
A limited number of commemorative souvenir items are available, but those that are available for non-participants are limited and sell out quickly. Adding to the festive atmosphere is the chicken barbeque dinner, which can be ordered by emailing bookkeeper@schuylkillhaven.org. That benefits Island Park and is capped by an ice cream social beginning at 6 p.m.
Registration for the full 112-mile guided trip is filled, but a limited number of openings remain for some of the daily segments. Non-participants are also invited to attend the evening programs at the end of each daily run.
“Sometimes it is wet and wild; at other times it is peaceful and inspiring,” Schuylkill River Heritage Area spokesperson Laura Catalano said of the sojourn. “There are a few rapids, calm water, plenty of laughs, songs at the campsites and celebrations in the river towns.
“There is a little bit of everything for paddlers throughout the week-long sojourn. Although the same route is paddled every year, a different river greets us every June.”
Sojourn guides are Allan, Betsy and Jeremy Quant of Canoe Susquehanna and Matt Stan of The Bad Adventure Company. The sojourn outfitter is Doug Chapman, owner of Take it Outdoors Adventure Group. New this year is kayak rentals being available from Take it Outdoors Adventure Group.
Included are three meals a day, other than dinner Friday; water and Gatorade at water stops; camping arrangements; shuttle service back to cars; commemorative T-shirts; gear and boat transport for multi-day participants and educational programs and/or musical entertainment at all lunch and evening stops.
For information or daily registration for the Schuylkill River Sojourn, contact the Schuylkill River Heritage area at (484) 945-0200 or sojourn@schuylkillriver.org; for information about daily kayak rentals, access the Take it Outdoors Adventures website at www.takeitoutdoorsadventures.com/adventures/schuylkill-sojourn-kayak-rentals.
Schuylkill Sojourn schedule
Day 1: Saturday, June 6, 15.5 miles, Schuylkill Haven to Port Clinton; Lunch, Noon, Auburn Dam; Schuylkill Haven historian Rick Nagle will give a brief history of the early days of the canal when Landingville had a tunnel and Schuylkill Haven was a coal-loading depot; Evening: Port Clinton Fire Company serves a spaghetti dinner as a fundraiser from 4-7 p.m.; Port Clinton Transportation Museum is open from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Day 2: Sunday, June 7, 18.5 miles, Port Clinton to Jim Dietrich Park, Muhlenberg Township; Lunch, 12:30 p.m., Peter Yarnell Park, singer/songwriter Haley Sheeler will perform original music followed by program about the Leesport Lock House by members of the Leesport Historical Society dressed in period costumes; Evening: Camp at Jim Dietrich Park, Berks County Heritage Center volunteer/re-enactor Nancy Bossler will present “A Canaler’s Life: A Woman’s Perspective.’’
Day 3: Monday, June 8, 16.3 miles, Jim Dietrich Park to Gibraltar; Lunch, Noon, Reading Riverfront Park; Program TBA; Evening: Allegheny Aqueduct Park 7:30 p.m., historian Sue Speros will lead a tour of the aqueduct and talk about The Gristmill, Saw Mill and Canal Early Industry in the Gibraltar Neighborhood.
Day 4: Tuesday, June 9, 13.9 miles, Gibraltar to Pottstown; Lunch, Noon, Historic Morlatton Village; Sojourner Dave Kohler will talk about Irish contributions to the Schuylkill Canal, with a focus on Port Union, located directly across the river from Morlatton Village; Evening: Pottstown Riverfront Park, 7 p.m., “Battle of the Bands” will celebrate Pottstown’s Bicentennial.
Day 5: Wednesday, June 10, 17.8 miles, Pottstown to Mont Clare Lock 60; Lunch: Noon, Victory Park, Royersford, Betsy Daley of the Schuylkill Canal Association will discuss Lock 60’s history and the renovation project that saved the canal’s only remaining restored lock. Evening: Paddling through Lock 60, Otterbein United Methodist Church will serve a spaghetti dinner at 6 p.m. at St. Michael’s Park; 7 p.m., author Charlie Adams will speak about “Pirates on the Schuylkill: The Schuylkill Rangers.”
Day 6: Thursday, June 11, 14 miles, Mont Clare to West Conshohocken; Lunch, 1 p.m., Valley Forge National Historical Park, park chief of Planning and Resource Management Deirdre Gibson will talk about the park’s desilting basin; Evening: 7:30 p.m., West Conshohocken, Manayunk Development Corporation executive director Kay Sykora will give a presentation about the Manayunk Canal.
Day 7: Friday, June 12, 16 miles, West Conshohocken to Philadelphia; Lunch: 12:15, Philadelphia Canoe Club; Final take out: 3:30 p.m., Lloyd Hall, Boathouse Row.