31st Annual Sprig Outing
| River: | Other |
| Skill: | All |
| Trip Date: | 12/07/2013 |
by Ron Miller
Members of Carolina Canoe Club and Carolina Kayak Club gathered with Forrest Altman on Saturday, Dec. 7, for the 31st Annual Sprig Outing in Lillington, NC.
The mission of this paddle trip is to locate and collect mistletoe, the 'sprig', from low-lying trees along the banks of the stream. The group carpooled from Lillington to a private access of a tributary of the Cape Fear. Last year's trip drew widespread publicity from the Associated Press. This year was a little more low-key, with 10 paddlers on hand (but no reporter). Reed and Sebastian Altman (Forrest's son and grandson) manned a tandem canoe. Forrest and Ron Miller teamed up in a tandem recreation boat. These boats were the primary collecting vessels. The other six participants (Phyllis Arrington, Camille Warren, Debrorah Copeland, Eliot Mintzer, Andrea Sordean-Mintzer, and Steve Eckard) were in solo craft. Their role was to help spot clumps of the sought-after prize, as well as to help steady the collecting vessels–'thwarting'.
The weather this year was cool and cloudy. The mistletoe was quite plentiful. Originally the plan was to paddle about two miles upstream of the put-in, have lunch, then paddle back to the starting point. The group collected four trashbags of mistletoe within the first mile, so they returned ahead of schedule.
Following the gathering, Ron broke out the hot chocolate to punctuate the successful conclusion of the trip. Forrest indicated that this would likely be his last time organizing this event, but at Forrest's request, Ron has volunteered to carry on this holiday tradition.