Doc Fletcher

By AARON MUELLER
Niles Daily Star

Doc Fletcher may be retired but he still works 50 to 60 hours a week.

It’s just now instead of being in a stuffy office, he spends many of those hours on the many sparkling waters Michigan has to offer.

Fletcher, who worked for Duracell battery company for 30 years, retired in 2006 to pursue writing books about his passion – canoeing.

“Instead of 50 to 60 hours in a stressful environment, it’s 50 to 60 hours doing something I love,” Fletcher said in a calm voice that would lead one to believe he was currently floating down a relaxing river.

Fletcher, the author of two books on paddling Michigan rivers, will bring his knowledge of canoeing and kayaking to the Niles District Library Saturday at 1 p.m.

He will give a one-hour presentation discussing seven of his many trips and will sign copies of his books afterward. All those who attend will be entered in a raffle for a free canoe trip on the Dowagiac River. The presentation is part of his book tour of 44 Michigan libraries this year.

Fletcher, a Northville, Mich. resident, has traversed dozens of rivers in Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas and in Wisconsin, featuring 21 of them in his 2009 book “Michigan Rivers Less Traveled.”

Among them is the local Dowagiac River, which Fletcher found to be a pleasant surprise.

“I found it to be one of the nicest of the 41 I’ve paddled,” he said. “It moves with brisk speed, has long straightaways and trees lean over and form a canopy over your head.”

But the Dowagiac is not his favorite Michigan river to paddle. That distinction belongs to the Pere Marquette, a 67-mile long river that flows from Baldwin to Ludington. It was also the first river he ever paddled in 1978.

“After my first trip on the Pere Marquette, I made it a point to get into a canoe as often as possible,” Fletcher said.

The success of Fletcher’s two books even led to an appearance on PBS’s Michigan Outdoors program.

In his books, Fletcher describes each river in detail, outlining the degree of difficulty, length of the trip, the obstacles and the key landmarks. He also gives directions to local taverns for post-trip meals and gives the history of the area.

“Canoeing is a chance to reach out and touch history,” Fletcher said. “Technological change happens so fast, but the canoe today is little different from the ones the Native Americans paddled on 200 or 300 years ago.”

For more information on Doc Fletcher and his canoeing adventures, visit www.canoeingmichiganrivers.com.