I have spent quite a few days in some pretty isolated, backwater places. We have been paddling through the northern tip of the Sonoran Desert. The landscape is gorgeous, with huge hills and jagged basalt boulders. It has been refreshing to leave behind the trains and Walmarts that lined the first portion of the route. The Columbia is one of the most dammed rivers in the world and the skyline has changed dramatically since Thompson's time. The once wild, free-flowing river is now restrained in enormous reservoirs such as Lake Roosevelt, a 150 mile long, 4 day paddle. Downstream dams have been opened to prepare for the on going snow melt in the Canadian Rockies, dropping the level in some of the reservoirs dozens of feet. The shoreline stripped but the construction of the dams is a moonscape, surreal to paddle past when it is exposed.
Because of prevailing westerly winds every morning has been early. Wake up at 5am and on the water but 630 or 700. The Zetteks provided us with 100lbs of granola which has been a quick source of 'paddle fuel' every morning in the rush to get on the water, an is by now half gone. Because weather and rivers are fickle, we often arrive at our crew-change and lunch spot at 10 in the morning, meaning early lunch, which I am of course not opposed to eating! The crew (or at least some of it) swaps out with the support vehicle team and charges ahead to set up camp.
Yesterday we had a relatively short day of only 40km which we paddled in about 3 hours. The crew spent the rest of the day bouldering, swimming, rock jumping and canoeing the river. On our way up one "coulee" (what locals call the rocky hills) we encountered several cow skeletons and lots of prickly scrub brush! I felt like I was in an old spaghetti western! We scrambled up an 80 ft pile of rubble to the top of a boulder that dominated the landscape. It was glorious. Katie, Natalie and our brigade friend Jay had a rather startling encounter with a rattle snake who shared their desire to sun himself on top of one of the rocks! He rattled, they shrieked and friends and foe took off in opposite directions, post-haste!
Tonight we are in Pateros and we are preparing for a grand arrival and welcome back to civilization. Time to go tune the pipes!
Until the next WiFi hotspot,
Clear skies and fair winds
Graham
Because of prevailing westerly winds every morning has been early. Wake up at 5am and on the water but 630 or 700. The Zetteks provided us with 100lbs of granola which has been a quick source of 'paddle fuel' every morning in the rush to get on the water, an is by now half gone. Because weather and rivers are fickle, we often arrive at our crew-change and lunch spot at 10 in the morning, meaning early lunch, which I am of course not opposed to eating! The crew (or at least some of it) swaps out with the support vehicle team and charges ahead to set up camp.
Yesterday we had a relatively short day of only 40km which we paddled in about 3 hours. The crew spent the rest of the day bouldering, swimming, rock jumping and canoeing the river. On our way up one "coulee" (what locals call the rocky hills) we encountered several cow skeletons and lots of prickly scrub brush! I felt like I was in an old spaghetti western! We scrambled up an 80 ft pile of rubble to the top of a boulder that dominated the landscape. It was glorious. Katie, Natalie and our brigade friend Jay had a rather startling encounter with a rattle snake who shared their desire to sun himself on top of one of the rocks! He rattled, they shrieked and friends and foe took off in opposite directions, post-haste!
Tonight we are in Pateros and we are preparing for a grand arrival and welcome back to civilization. Time to go tune the pipes!
Until the next WiFi hotspot,
Clear skies and fair winds
Graham
RSS Feed