DANVILLE - About 50 kayakers and canoeists stopped in Danville today before heading out on the last leg of a 100-mile journey on the Susquehanna River.



Friendship Fire Company hosted the group before they launched their watercraft in the nearby north branch of the Susquehanna River bound for the Shikellamy State Park Marina. Fire company members moved out their apparatus to make way for the cook-out.



The group, at its peak numbering 80, began the sojourn June 18, said Trish Carothers, development/outreach officer with the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership and one of the trip sponsors. Carothers is from Lewisburg.



The group had planned to drive with their watercraft to Lake Chillisquaque but found the river had crested and water levels had fallen enough for them to paddle through the river water.



About 20 scouts and leaders from Delaware left after the lunch with between 30 and 35 people expected to travel the approximately 13 miles to Island Park, near Sunbury, by Tuesday evening.



Among area residents participating were Allan and Betsy Quant, their son Jeremy and Matt Stan, all of Lewisburg; and Sue and Will Goddack and their family of Mifflinburg.



“The big deal was all the rain they had in New York that was coming down from there. It’s dropping faster than we thought,” Allan Quant said of the river levels. The Quants served as safety officers for the trip.



Carothers said they started their sojourn in Wyoming County. They continued to Tunkhannock and reached Shickshinny Sunday. Because the river was high, they attended an educational program at PPL Riverlands Monday.



They drove, with watercraft on top of their vehicles or in trucks or on trailers, from Bloomsburg to Danville earlier Tuesday.



“We have had people from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia on the trip,” Carothers said. A poll of participants showed 90 percent live more than 50 miles away, she said.



During the stop in Danville, Montour Area Recreation Commission Director Dave Decoteau spoke about improvements along Danville’s riverfront and the commission’s activities.



“We try to get fire companies, churches and local restaurants to provide meals for us,” Carothers said, adding the canoeists and kayakers pay for the food.



Other sponsors for the trip included Woolrich, PPL, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resource and the Montour-Columbia Visitors Bureau.



The Susquehanna Greenway Partnership is dedicated to developing and sustaining the Susquehanna Greenway. It tries to bring benefits to the region such as enhanced recreation, community revitalization, healthy living opportunities, economic prosperity, environmental stewardship and increased awareness of the river.



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