Swatara Sojourn hits the water for 35th year of Lebanon County kayaking

Around 40 people took part in the 35th Swatara Sojourn on Saturday to kayak or canoe through 15 miles of the Swatara Creek and clean up trash along the way.

The group took several breaks throughout the trek to drop off collected trash, take bathroom breaks, and get some snacks to fuel them from Jonestown to Swatara Watershed Park.

At their stopping point at Water Works Access in Annville, president of the Swatara Watershed Association Bethany Canner said they were trying to keep everyone moving to beat out a possible storm. There wasn’t any rain at lunchtime, but the muggy, gray weather coupled with the forecast said that it could quickly change.

Canner said the association’s Swatara Sojourn is meant to get people outside to enjoy the Lebanon County nature.

“[We] just get people out on the creeks — a lot of the time it’s a section they’ve never done before,” she said. “Sometimes about half of the people come every year, or have been on it before. We always get new people, though, too. Just a great day to get out on the creek and have fun.”

She said it’s a fairly long day on the water, but the group talks to pass the time. Even if they don’t know everyone, they all chat.

“We talk about the wildlife, what you might see,” Canner said. “Some people haven’t been in those sections, some have, so it’s the history of the area, other kayaking experiences you had, or hiking. It’s just whatever anybody wants to talk about. We have good conversations, and everybody kind of talks to everybody.”

The trail stretches about 60 miles, and the Swatara Watershed Association tries to rotate which 15 miles they boat on for each sojourn.

It costs $10 for children and $25 for adults. Anyone without their own boat could rent one from Cocoa Kayak Rentals of Hershey for additional fees. Canner said they look for grant opportunities with the Pennsylvania Organization for Watersheds and Rivers to keep those prices down.

“This is one of the cheaper ones. $25 a person, lunch is included, your shuttling is included,” she said. “We do what we can to get sponsorships and that sort of thing to keep the costs low for everybody, so it’s not out of everybody’s range.”

During the group’s lunch break, there was also a short educational presentation. This year’s was about the Union Canal, which pulled water from Swatara Creek. It bridged the gap between the Schuylkill River and the Susquehanna River and made transportation easier in the pre-railroad era.

Read More: The rise and fall of the Union Canal: A tale of ambition, struggle, and ingenuity

Ed Martel, a volunteer historian and narrator who leads canal tours through Union Canal Tunnel Park, blew a conch shell to quiet the group. This would have been used to signal canal workers to open the locks as boats approach, he said.

Martel gave a brief history lesson about the canal, the creek’s role in replenishing water after workers opened the locks to move ships through, and its eventual demise due to damage and the rise of other transportation options.

With lunch and the presentation over after about an hour of break, the boaters untied their crafts from their resting place along the creek and piled back in to finish the sojourn.