Жители штата Пенсильвания массово катаются на лодках и трубах по реке Брандайвин, чтобы спастись от жары

With record high temperatures over our July Fourth weekend, many folks in our area resorted to live streaming to beat the heat. To some that meant hunkering down in an air-conditioned TV room watching their favorite programs on NetFlix. But to many others it meant live live streaming on an actual stream to cool off in sweltering heat that exceeded 100 degrees on Saturday with ‘feels like’ temps climbing to 107 degrees or even higher. And there is no shortage of rivers and streams in our corner of the state to accommodate these folks. In my Northbrook neighborhood that stream is the West Branch of the Brandywine Creek where plenty of people could be found splashing away their overheated troubles in the pool just below Corcoran’s Bridge this weekend. Others opted to launch their canoes, kayaks, or tubes into the roiling waters and row, row, row their boats (or tubes) merrily down the stream. While many of these weekend paddlers were do-it-yourselfers, most of the others relied on the friendly folks at the Northbrook Canoe Company to assist with their downstream voyages and help them celebrate the nation’s 250th Birthday. I caught up with two of the canoe company’s stalwarts charged with launching the rented crafts some two miles upstream from the company’s dock in Northbrook. One of those was Brian Tutolo of Northbrook who has worked for the company since 1991. “Over that time, I’ve watched it change from primarily canoe rentals to a lot more tubes,” he said. “I’ve also seen the Brandywine environment and eco- system greatly improve over that same time,” he added, “with more wildlife, like bald eagles, now thriving here.” Another Canoe Company employee who assisted Tutolo with the launching tasks, was Steven Gallatig of Pocopson who has worked for the company since 2019. He attested to how busy the scorching weekend temperatures had made the demand for trips down the cooling Brandywine. “(Friday) we got hammered and put loads of tubes and boats in the water,” he said. I then checked in with Northbrook Canoe Company owner in partnership Zeke Hubbard who coincidentally is marking his 50 th year of proprietorship of the company the same year that America is celebrating its 250 th birthday. Hubbard began the business in 1976, the year of the country’s Bicentennial, and while now celebrating the country’s Semiquincentennial, his company is still going strong 50 years later. In the meantime, Hubbard confirmed that Friday had been Northbrook’s busiest day of the year thus far when the company rented 68 canoes, 33 kayaks, and 286 tubes. That’s a total of 600 people who went live streaming on the Brandywine that day (not counting the do-it-yourselfers). As they dispatched a handful of canoes from the Embreeville launch followed by dozens of tubes on Saturday, both Gallatig and Tutulo issued everyone life vests and advised the eager but amateur sailors on orientation, safety precautions, and other tips about successfully navigating the Brandywine waters. “Right now our lack of any significant rain has made the water extremely low on the creek,” noted Tutulo. “That makes it rough on canoers and kayakers who’ll have to get out and drag their canoes and kayaks through some of the riffles and shallows. It’s not too much of a problem for the tubers though.” Once launched, the folks headed downstream faced a two-mile float back to Northbrook, a trip that would take the tubers about two and a half hours to complete, although most of them, stopping to play, take a swim, fish, and snack, would take longer. “We charge them for the distance, not the time,” Tutulo added, “so they can take as long as they want.” For canoes and kayaks the company offers four trips of varying lengths to get back to Northbrook. From Embreeville it’s about an hour; from Corcoran’s Bridge about 1.5 hours. From Harvey’s Bridge about 2.5 hours; and from Mortonville around 3.5 hours. The longer trips from Harvey’s Bridge and Mortonville involve portaging around the dam at the KOA campground. Tubers can choose from between two trips – Embreeville to Northbrook for around two hours or Corcoran’s Bridge to Northbrook for about three hours. My own preference when steering my own kayak down the Brandywine is to put in at Corcoran’s Bridge and take my time fishing for smallmouth bass and sunfish until I disembark at the Northbrook Bridge. While I haven’t done that yet this year, it’s only a matter of time before I get back on the Brandywine. For more information about tubing, canoeing, or kayaking options on the West Branch of Brandywine Creek, check out the Northbrook Canoe Company website at NorthbrookCanoe.com. **** Tom Tatum is the outdoors columnist for MediaNews Group. You can reach him at [email protected].