Maine Outdoor Journal

Forty-five paddlers, including a number of serious trash collectors, made their way between Mexico and Dixfield yesterday on the Androscoggin River Source-to-the-Sea Trek. Weather-wise it was the most gorgeous day imaginable. Too bad we only did 10 miles! And speaking of the number 10, yesterday was the 10th day of the Trek's total of 20, which began July 6 in Lake Umbagog and will finish July 25 at Fort Popham, on the Gulf of Maine. Yesterday's Androscoggin River Source-to-the-Sea Trek began with unloading cars and getting ready at the Mexico boat launch, which is actually on the Swift River, just upstream of its confluence with the Andro SCOTT ANDREWS PHOTO Getting started yesterday on the Swift River, a few dozen yards upstream of its confluence with the Androscoggin. SCOTT ANDREWS PHOTO Forty-five paddlers, in 15 tandem canoes and 15 solo kayaks, made their way down the Androscoggin River yesterday. NewPage paper company's Rumford Mill is in the background. SCOTT ANDREWS PHOTO About half our numbers comprised employees of the nearby NewPage paper mill, which provided a picnic lunch in Dixfield. Several of our paddlers were members of the Pulp & Paperworkers' Resource Council, a pro-active national enviornmental group. Rumford members have been active in pulling trash from the Andro for years. Scot Grassette drew laughs when he conducted a mock auction of items he and his cohorts had recently hauled out of the river, including an automobile engine, a shopping cart, bicycle, baby carriage and chemical containers. But it was no joke: These items really came out the Andro, and as we paddled along yesterday, the PPRC crew hauled out a bunch of tires and another shopping cart. Scot Grassette conducts a mock auction of items he and fellow members of the Pulp & Paperworkers' Resource Council have pulled out of the Androscoggin River. SCOTT ANDREWS PHOTO Wanna buy some trash? Closeup view of a truckload of trash that was recently hauled out of the Androscoggin River by the Pulp & Paperworkers' Resource Council. SCOTT ANDREWS PHOTO Scot Grassette is a forceful spokesman for the Pulp & Paperworkers' Resource Council, a national organization with an active Rumford chapter. SCOTT ANDREWS PHOTO Scot proved to be an effective spokesman for the PPRC's goal of balancing jobs in the paper industry with environmental concerns. Two other PPRC members with us yesterday were Deano Gilbert and Fran Dragoon, who paddled the organization's officially lettered green canoe. They've been with us for years.