The Licking River

Keeping in tune with my vow to visit new places during my remaining time here in KY, I paddled the Licking River this past weekend. It was a Sierra Club outing with the theme of fresh water mussels. Our guest speaker was Monte McGregor, an Aquatic Scientist and Malacologist from the Kentucky Dept of Fish and Wildlife Resources. I've never heard of a Malacologist! Apparently, it is one who studies mussels. And, lo and behold, the Licking River is a hot spot for fresh water mussels. I learned that the river is rich and healthy because it is one of the longest free flowing river in the world (meaning, no dams). This river runs right through northern KY and dumps out at the Ohio River (yup, it flows northbound, another oddity). 

That is me in the back, with my friend, Chrisula, paddling out on a beautiful day. The weather was perfect!

That is Monte with the sunglasses, in the canoe with his two children. They were great at finding the mussels for us to examine. 

We found 20 different species of mussels. Slight variations in the shells told our expert the species. We even found shells of the endangered Fantail Mussel. Muskrats also live on the river and they love to eat mussels. Unfortunately, they eat all kinds, endangered or not. 

This is how we pulled up the live ones, just digging in the bottom of the river. As you can see, the river is not at all deep. The bottom was covered with small rocks and pebbles, so digging destroyed you fingernails. Of course, if you are a Sierra Club member on a paddling trip to look at mussels, chances are, you are not out there with a fresh manicure :)

The Licking River was very nice. The water was calm, and banks were pretty. Nothing spectacular, no white water, cliff faces, or waterfalls, but pretty in its own way. I would definitely recommend a day on this river for a relaxing trip.

Our group rented the canoes and kayaks from Thaxton's Canoe in Butler, KY. They did a wonderful job of outfitting us and shuttling us upriver for the float back down to their property. Check them out at here.