Mayer Park to Klickitat

From klickitat_apr09

It felt like summer. We were out on the Columbia and Klickitat Rivers today between Hood River and The Dalles. Sunny, about 80 degrees. It felt great.

Neil and Tom organized this OOPS trip. The plan was to put in at Mayer State Park near Rowena Oregon (near The Dalles) and paddle across the Columbia to the Klickitat, up the Klickitat to the first few rapids and play there til the afternoon west wind built up in the Gorge. Then return to the Columbia and surf the wind waves back to Mayer Park.

Well, by this morning it was pretty clear that the typical west wind was not going to materialize today. So Neil suggested we just spend the day playing in the moving water at the first few rapids on the Klickitat. Practicing peeling out of eddies, ferry gliding, etc.

It was a beautiful day. Sunny, blue skies. No wind.

There were eight of us total. Neil and Tom, Bob, Jay (another one), Ken Scholtz, Dave and Karen Dalbey and me. We got on the water a bit after 10am and paddled across the Columbia to the mouth of the Klickitat and headed upstream. I mentioned to Karen "Hey, this paddling upstream isn't bad". She noted that I probably shouldn't have said that...

We got up to the first fast water and all put our helmets on. Played for awhile in the first eddy and eddyline. Then worked to get up to the next eddy. Felt like work at the time anyway. We played on that eddyline a bit as well. There was a nice beach above the fast water and Neil worked pretty hard and took a fair while get to it. Looked like alot of work. Then Tom informed us that that was our intended lunch spot. And if we didn't get there we couldn't eat :) Great motivational speaker.

Dave Dalbey went for it and got there pretty handily. Looked like the key was to have alot of speed crossing the eddline and cross the eddyline to ferry across rather than turn in any way downstream.

I went for it. I had good speed crossing the eddyline and ferried to the other side fairly easily. Then got bogged down in the fast current near the rocks on the other side. Just couldn't make any progress. I was out of energy when Neil pointed out a little eddy I could rest in. Got it. Rested a minute then pulled hard for the last 20 or 30 yards to the beach. That was exercise. I was tired and ready for lunch!

That beach was a great spot for lunch.

After lunch most folks went up to the next set of rapids. I was enjoying the beach alot so napped a bit. Once they all came back we played for quite awhile in the current near our lunch beach. I hadn't been in current in a sea kayak since last summer so it was great to get the practice. And nice to do it on such a warm day so if one dumped ones boat the water felt great. Most folks were rolling periodically just to keep cool.

Finally we headed back. We floated lazily down the last bit of the Klickitat down to the Columbia. The area is just beautiful this time of year. Still green and fresh with spring. Lots of flowers. Hawks and eagles and osprey, oh my. I saw a nice steelhead jump a couple times.

Got back to the Columbia and as expected no wind. But it was a pleasant paddle upstream the short ways back to Mayer State Park. A good group of folks and a good day on the water.

Dalton Point to Chinook Landing

From DaltonPoint_090329

On a gray and sleety morning in late March an intrepid band of OOPS kayakers launched from Dalton Point on the Oregon side of the Columbia (near Multnomah Falls) headed toward Chinook Landing (near Fairview, Oregon).

Tom Argent and Neil Schulman did a great job of organizing this trip. There were eight of us altogether: Tom, Neil, Mike, Bob, Kevin, Becky, Stacy and myself. We met and Chinook Landing and did all the shuttle stuff to get us and boats up to Dalton Point. We launched at appr 10am and paddled across to Phoca Rock. We explored around it a bit, then headed over to Cape Horn on the Washington side and really enjoyed exploring that area. The cliffs and waterfalls there were beautiful.

As we left Cape Horn and headed west we got a bit of west wind, but not much. Maybe 8 mph. Sometimes it was there, sometimes not, til we got to Reed Island.

We paddled on the north side of Reed Island to find a lunch spot. No wind at all on that side. By now it was warm and sunny. A very relaxing lunch.

After lunch we headed to the west end of Reed Island then threaded our way through the maze of drift nets. I find it hard to believe that commercial salmon fishing with nets is still allowed in the Columbia given the precarious state of these salmon runs. Sure, commercial salmon fishing in Alaska still makes sense. But not on the Columbia. With millions of people out of work in this country it's impossible to justify keeping a couple thousand fishing jobs (at most) that threaten these fish with extinction. People will live. Extinction is forever.

But eventually we crossed the Columbia and paddled behind Gary Island, then along the outside edge of the Sandy River Delta. While paddling in that shallow brush-filled water a large carp hurled itself at Stacy's boat. It made a "twack!" that was audible for quite a ways and a nice large splash! That really got her attention :) Just like the carp Kristin and I encountered in Scappoose Bay.

From there it was on to a few large rocks (with power pylons on them) at Troutdale. We found a nice eddyline coming off one of those rocks and stopped there to play for awhile. A nice warm day, a fun little eddyline... life is good.

But eventually it's time for all of us to get home so we headed west the now short distance back to Chinook Landing. We landed at appr 17:00.

According to Mike's trusty GPS: 17.7 miles. A good day on the water.

From DaltonPoint_090329

Hanford Reach June 1 2008

On a beautiful Eastern Washington sunny Sunday a group of OOPS paddlers kayaked part of the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. This was a scheduled OOPS trip led by Pat Daly and co-led by Tim Mattson and Don Beale. The rest of us paddlers were: Dave Beckett, Frank Blangeard, Jay Buckingham, Ed Kraft and Greg (didn't catch his last name).

I'd heard about the Hanford Reach of the Columbia for years. The last free-flowing non-tidal stretch of the Columbia in this country. Pretty much undeveloped due to it being a restricted area since the 1940's. Well, except for an old reactor here and there. Basically a wildlife refuge now. I've wanted to visit there for a long time. So when I saw that an OOPS trip was going there I was really excited. And I was thrilled when I heard that it was being led by Pat Daly, a guide who really knows the paddling in that area.

The plan was to launch near Vernita Bridge (where Washington Highway 24 crosses the Columbia about 30 miles north of Richland). We would then paddle about 21 miles of the Hanford Reach and take out at the White Bluffs boat ramp.

We met at the beach on the north side of the river just west of Vernita Bridge, got boats and gear situated, then did the car shuttle to the take-out. We got on the water about 11am.



The water was pretty high (not surprisingly), running at appr 200,000 cfs. So once we got paddling we were moving -- soon about 6 - 7 kt. Though there was alot of water, it looked pretty clean to me. Often a few upwellings here and there. And some nice crisp eddylines. With the current it was pretty easy paddling watching the scenery breeze by.

I borrowed a Greenland paddle from Don. I'd used one for the first time at OOPTIKS and really enjoyed it. Now I wanted to know how it would feel to use one on an all-day trip. Short story: I loved it.

After about 4.5 miles we got to Reactor B, the first of the large-scale plutonium production reactors. It's of course closed down now. The juxtaposition of the undeveloped desert landscape and these Cold War edifices was striking. Also striking was the wildlife. Since non-Hanford people are allowed on such a small fraction of the Hanford Reservation area, animals pretty much have it to themselves. We saw lots of deer, some otter, some large fish, and lots and lots of birds from hawks to geese to swallows.

About 6 miles from the launch we got to Coyote Rapids. Pat described the rapid to us and we all decided that yes, it sounded like alot of fun. We were told that at typical flow levels it's not much of anything, but given the high water we had it might be fun. The rapid can be easily avoided by going river left, so of course we were all hugging river right. We got to a little riffle and Tim and Don stopped to play in it. Pat called them onward: "Hey, the real rapid is down there!" There hadn't been much life-threatening excitement thus far on the trip so they were taking advantage of every feature they could find. But when we got to the rapid... we were all impressed. A couple nice clean waves with some bouncier waves behind. And a nice big eddy on river right that allowed easy access to the rapid. Again and again :)





We played there for quite awhile. The Hanford folks could do great things with that location... I'm thinkin a little parking area, we don't need a fancy launch site, just put kayaks in using the river's beach either above the rapid or in the eddy, a nice cafe selling cappuccino and ice cream with a deck to watch the kayakers play in the rapid, a barbecue place and microbrewery, maybe some cabins and a B&B...

I went through the rapid four or five times. It was my first time working with strong current and rapids using a Greenland paddle. I was pretty happy with it. Bracing worked very well. Stern rudder worked well. Had a bit more trouble getting up to speed quickly. Once I managed to get across to the smooth waves and surfed for just a bit. I'm sure it wasn't very long, but it felt great. Anyway, I had a great time. I could have stayed there all day. Like Deception Pass, but with sunshine!

After the rapids we continued our fast and easy trip to our lunch spot. More wildlife, more sunshine, a couple more old reactors, some dead-fish polo.



We stopped for lunch at the point where the river bends to the south (see map). Yep, still sunny.

After lunch we paddled pretty much south along the White Bluffs. Beautiful scenery, and very different than the Lower Columbia where I paddle so often. Kayaking in the desert, a nice change.



As we got closer to our take out a S wind kicked up against us, making us work a bit for the first time that day. Since the wind slowed me down I was able to really focus on various aspects of my forward stroke using the Greenland paddle.

We got the the take out, which is one end of an old ferry route, got boats and gear packed up, and we all headed for home. A really nice day on the river!

On the water: 11:05
Off the water: 15:50
Distance: 18.4 nm
Max speed 11.1 kt
Average speed 4.9 kt

Circumnavigation of Lord and Walker Islands

On a pleasant Sunday in mid-April an intrepid band of OOPS paddlers kayaked around Lord and Walker Islands (in the Columbia River near Longview).

This was an OOPS trip. Joanne Barta organized the trip and was one of the leaders. Don Beale and Ken Durbin were co-leaders. There were 11 of us total. The plan was to meet at Dibblee Beach on the Oregon side of the Columbia River at 9am and be on the water by 10am, paddle downstream in the main channel taking advantage of the current, have lunch at the north end of Walker Island, and return to Dibblee Beach upstream via the slough on the Oregon side. High tide in Longview was at appr 9:40 and the next low tide was at appr 18:40, so we'd be paddling on an ebb the entire trip.

The weather prediction was chance of showers, winds W - NW 7 - 10 mph.

After everyone got their gear ready and we talked about the plan for the day and safety we got on the water at 10:10.

The day started off overcast and cool, with very little wind, but it looked like we could get some showers. We headed out into the main channel of the Columbia and it was easy paddling with the current. We watched a freighter pass a tug pulling a barge. Looked like a very slow-motion drag race.



The day had warmed up a bit by the time we stopped for lunch at the north end of Walker Island. We had a very nice lunch stop. We even had entertainment! Joanne was practicing throwing her harpoon and then giving others who wanted to try it a bit of instruction.



After lunch we meandered in the wetlands of Lord Island. Very pleasant paddling. We saw eagles, ospreys, geese and lots of different ducks. We stopped for a bit to stretch our legs and Joanne and Don showed us that you don't need to be near dry land to do that!



The paddle back to Dibblee Beach gave us a nice bit of exercise paddling upstream. That promised west wind never did really get very strong so not much wave action at all. Since the day was so nice we took some time to practice towing. The water was still pretty cold so folks weren't too enthusiastic about practicing rescues quite yet :) But some of us did practice our rolls just before getting back to the beach. And it never did end up raining :)

All in all a very pleasant day paddling and hanging out with a good group of folks.

Date: 4/13/2008
On the water: 10:10
Off the water: 15:40
Total: 9.9 nm

(Click on any of the photos for larger versions.)