SHORELINES

11 a p c s hor e l i n e s.c om | 2015 Vol :3 For most folks, spending almost two months in an open canoe paddling some of the most scenic waters in all the United States would be the adventure of a lifetime. For Trevor Clark, it was nearly 60 days in the most wonderful classroom he could ever imagine. Wait a minute. Canoeing, adventure,classroom — those things don't mix! They did for Clark, who in late July completed the 650-mile journey down the length of the Alabama Scenic River Trail (ASRT), en route covering dozens of miles on the waters of the Coosa River managed by Alabama Power. Clark put in on Weiss Lake near Cedar Bluff, just a few miles from the Alabama-Georgia border, on May 20, and on July 15 he paddled into Fort Morgan in Mobile Bay at the Gulf of Mexico, his trek complete and his mind electrified with the knowledge he collected along the way. "I wasn't on the river (trail) to conquer it," said Clark, who laughs when asked if he is an adventurer. "I had not been in a canoe in probably seven years before I went on this trip. I just really like to study plants, especially medicinal plants. "I like being outdoors, but my interest for the last eight years or so has been studying medicinal plants after my life was saved by a medicinal plant." Rewind to when Clark, now 29, was a 17-year-old senior at Hoover High School and his car was rear-ended along the interstate and slammed into the back of a heavy-duty Ford F-450 pickup. Clark didn't go to the hospital because he didn't think he was badly hurt. His neck was a little stiff, but he thought it was just a little whiplash that would soon get better on its own. Left: Photo by Bernard Troncale — Trevor Clark, pictured on the Coosa River, canoed the entirety of the Alabama Scenic River Trail this summer.

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