It is now after Independence Day – and that means that summer is well under way. Which means that it is time (past time, really) to start making plans for summer fun – like our annual Canoe Trip on the Youghiogheny River and the Shrimp Boil at Cedar Creek Park for the halfway point of the trip. Of course, for those not necessarily inclined toward watercraft activities, you are more than welcome to just attend the shrimp boil picnic. Or bike on the Allegheny Passage Trail that runs along the river and right through Cedar Creek Park. But however you wish to enjoy yourselves, come on out and join some like-minded folks for a pleasant summer day. The date for this year’s event is Saturday, August 19th. So mark your calendars!
For those not familiar with our annual event, here are some particulars: the Canoe Trip is a gentle, leisurely float down the Yough, from the put-in at Smithton downriver to the outfitter’s facility in West Newton, a distance of about 7 miles. There are no rapids or serious whitewater to contend with. We meet at Youghiogheny Outfitters in West Newton at 9:30 am. After registration and fitting of flotation devices, we are transported upriver to the put-in at Smithton. About halfway to the pull-out in West Newton, at a fairly large right bend in the river, there is a boat ramp on the left. That is Cedar Creek Park. If you are joining everybody for the Shrimp Boil or lunch, pull your craft out of the river and put it safely clear of the ramp. About two hundred yards to the left, past the concession stand, is Pavilion #19 where the picnic takes place. When you come up the boat ramp, across the road there are rest rooms.
If you are not going on the water and want to come directly to the picnic, just follow the signs to the park and enter on the park’s main road. Follow that road to where it seems to end in a small parking lot. It doesn’t. It crosses over the bike trail to the right and turns left past several more pavilions. We will be in Pavilion #19, the last one before the concession stand.
This year, we have a new feature, an upgrade as it were. For this year’s shrimp boil, we have acquired an 80-qt cooking pot. To borrow a term from one of our national political figures – a yuuuuge one. It will bigly cook enough food for everybody to eat together, at one time, rather than having to wait and eat in shifts, though we might have to use both rows of tables.
Details: Youghiogheny Canoe Outfitters, 226 Collinsburg Rd., West Newton, PA 15089
Canoes or tandem kayaks: $53 (canoes can have a 3rd person under 60 lbs for an add’l $4)
Single kayaks, sit-in or sit-on: $32
Shrimp Boil: $12 for adults; $7 for children under 12; n/c for toddlers
To reserve your spot(s), email BillK at unkabeard@verizon.net before August 4th and submit payment to:
CFI-Pittsburgh, PO Box 81003, Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Make checks payable to CFI-Pittsburgh. Payment must be received by August 12th, 2017
