Not Moving

We went back for the tire we spotted yesterday in the middle of the Speed River. Two of us suited up in wetsuits and neoprene waders to keep warm in the chilly October current.

We thought we were well equipped.

But the tire is big enough to show up in satellite photos, and it’s full of rocks and silt.

Even with leverage, we couldn’t budge it. After about an hour of shoving and prying, we wrapped up for the day.

While I was unloading rocks and silt from the tire, Julia retrieved debris from the shoreline: two rubber dinghies full of holes, a basketball, a broken laundry basket, and a bike tire. It wasn’t the tire we came for, but the plastic quickly added up to 12 kg.

The big tire is still there.

Retrievals like this one take gear we don’t have yet. If you’d like to help with the next attempt, you can become a Friend of the Speed River. Every bit goes toward getting material like this one out of the river.

Here’s a quick video of our cleanup: