And boaters can journey along its bucolic shores, gaining a thrill now and then from the patches of white water. The Delaware River Sojourn, this year titled 2001 A River Odyssey, is an annual event whose purpose is to heighten awareness of, and appreciation for, the Delaware. This year s sojourn will take place June 15 through June 23. The eight-day trip covers over 70 miles, combining canoeing, camping and educational programs. The sojourn will begin at Hankins, New York, in the Catskill Mountains, and end on New Jersey s Maurice River, a tributary to the Delaware Bay.
Participants can sign up for individual days or elect to go the full distance.
The trip offers a chance to experience the diversity of the Delaware River system, which drains 13,539 square miles in four states New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. The Delaware is as steeped in history as it is variant in its natural wonders, a fascinating stretch of water that lures thousands every year. Most every citizen recalls the image of George Washington and his troops, rowing across the ice-clogged Delaware just upstream of Trenton, on Christmas night of 1776. The Revolutionary War was fought up and down the banks of the Delaware, and many historic sites and landmarks recall the struggle to win independence. Minisink Battleground, near Barryville, New York, is now a park with hiking trails, commemorating the sight of a slaughter of militiamen by the fierce Mohawk chieftain, Joseph Brandt, accompanied by Tory fighters.