Paddling sojourn on Conemaugh, Kiski rivers returns after pandemic hiatus
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Paddlers will have an opportunity to explore the “Past, Present and Future” of a key local waterway when the Stony-Kiski-Conemaugh Rivers Sojourn returns on June 3-6, after last year’s cancellation because of covid-19 pandemic concerns.
The 44-mile float downstream from Johnstown to Apollo, on mostly flat water, is appropriate for all skill levels and includes scenic stretches through the Conemaugh and Packsaddle gaps. Participants can choose one or all four of the daily water trail segments, which are organized by the Conemaugh Valley Conservancy.
Registration costs $40 per day, $35 for conservancy members, and includes meals and shuttling between put-in and take-out locations. Kids, who must be accompanied by an adult, can register for the June 5 leg of the sojourn at a special $10 rate.
Participants can bring their own gear or rent from local outfitters.
“It’s a very popular event that’s been going on for 20 years,” said Mike Burk, a Conemaugh Valley Conservancy board member. “We get a lot of people that have returned year after year.”
The growing popularity of kayaking down the connected Stonycreek, Conemaugh and Kiskiminetas rivers is reflected in the growth of those outfitters in recent years, from just one to a handful, noted Laura Hawkins, Mainline Canal Greenway coordinator for the Allegheny Ridge Corporation and sojourn committee member.
“We were so disappointed that we didn’t get to do it last year,” she said of the sojourn. With plans made months in advance, this year’s event will be limited to 50 people, to allow for any needed social distancing.
“Fifty is a little low for us, about half of capacity,” Hawkins said. “The covid situation is evolving, and we didn’t know what the situation would be the first weekend in June.”
Gov. Tom Wolf announced Tuesday that the covid-related state requirement for residents to wear face masks will end once 70% of Pennsylvania adults are fully vaccinated against the virus. Other state-ordered pandemic restrictions will be lifted on Memorial Day.
The June 5 segment of the sojourn begins with breakfast at the Conemaugh Dam and ends with a dinner at Avonmore. At lunchtime, as in previous years, the paddlers will disembark in Saltsburg — during that town’s annual Canal Days Festival, which celebrates its heyday as a stop along a 19th-century canal that crossed the state.
In the spirit of the festival, the participants will be encouraged to dress as a character from the past or the future. During the last sojourn, in 2019, they donned pirate garb.
“People were extremely creative with the pirate theme, and I think they’ll be creative again this year,” Hawkins said. “When we come into Saltsburg, it makes even more of an impression.”
Sojourn participants may be able to glimpse remnants of some canal infrastructure along the river.
The sojourners will end their days on the water with presentations on the ecology, cultural legacy and future potential of the local rivers.
At the June 5 dinner, two recent graduates of Apollo-Ridge School District, Megan Tipton and Ben Seevers, will address the topic, “What Future Do You Want?” The program on June 4 will examine the industrial heritage along the rivers.
On June 3, Len Lichvar, district manager of the Somerset County Conservation District, will discuss water quality in the rivers.
Lichvar explained the conservation district, with the help of a state grant program, is halfway through reconstructing four ponds that have reached the end of their expected lifespan, treating acid mine drainage before it flows into Oven Run, a tributary to Stonycreek. State officials are handling reconstruction of a fifth pond.
Donations are being accepted through the Community Foundation of the Alleghenies to the Oven Run Sites A, D, E and F Trust Fund, to help cover the conservation district’s ongoing costs of maintaining and operating its ponds.
When working properly, Lichvar noted, the ponds “remove thousands of pounds of iron from the headwaters of the rivers. They’ve had a tremendous positive impact on the entire (Stonycreek) watershed. It’s also had a cumulative impact on the Conemaugh, the Kiski and the Allegheny River.”
Visit conemaughvalleyconservancy.com for more information about the sojourn and to register.