Willamette River – Cedaroak park to
Willamette Park.
I recommend that all young inspiring
technical engineer types go into the weather prediction sciences. God
knows there is a LOT of work to be done there and a lot of money to
be made by someone that can do the hard stuff, like predict if it
will rain tomorrow.
As it happens, Chip and I cancelled our
epic overnight trip down the Multnomah channel of the Mighty
Columbia river because of the not quite super storm that was
predicted to roll through here on Saturday. Yes, Yes, why would a
transplanted Oregon boy be afraid of a little rain, don't you have
the gear? Of course I have the gear. It was the wind and possible
waves on the exposed river that freaked me out. And Chip was gracious
enough to let me cancel without an over abundance of abuse.
And then....... nothing. A little
water. Oooops, storm now coming on Monday !!
So, we decided to do a day trip on
Sunday.
We picked up Kayaks at Portland Kayak
(right in front of Willamette Park) left a car there and used my
Subaru to transport our boats up river (also up tide and up wind) to
Cedar Oak Boat ramp (usually written as Cedaroak. But Apple red
underlines that. And what could a Cedar Oak possibly be, anyway?). I
got to reserve my new (and hopefully ongoing) favorite kayak, an
Eddyline Journey.
From the kayak store, you just drive up the
road by the river until you get far enough away for your tastes.
Since we are still trying out this whole trip thing and since the
weatherman was still making some nasty (and wrong) wind predictions,
we chose 7 miles. (Thus Cedaroak). There is a nice 2 dock launch
ramp there and just one other Subaru in the parking lot. (by the way, my little Forester did great carrying the 2 kayaks on my new roof-rack and thule stacker) We loaded up
and took off.
One amusing start to the trip was a
sign way up at the top of the posts that moor the floating docks. It
was at least 30 feet over our heads and it read “High Water, 1996”.
Explains why the huge expensive houses are set so back from the
river.
The River at this point immediately
starts off being ….. interesting. This must be a rocky area where
the river is compressed. Not only is the current greater (perhaps a
knot or so) but there are a lot of cross currents and strange
upwellings that cause eddys and mini-maelstrom. The consequence is
nothing drastic but in a little (mostly flatbottomed) kayak, you do
find yourself gently but firmly pushed around in unexpected
directions. Just don't fight it and relax. Most of the current seems
to be going down river.
And no matter where you look, there is
a house that you wish you could afford. Or maybe that your best
friend could afford and would let you keep your kayak there; perhaps
next to his yacht and float plane.
Not much traffic on the river today. A
few kayaks. A stream of yachts that were so identical we thought 1
guy was circling us (how did he get back upriver so fast), and , just
beyond us as she turned around, The Portland Spirit (largest boat on
the river. A dinner cruise ship).
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| Lake Osswego Park |
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| That would be a great Kayak Boat House. |
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| Float Boat |
The predominant wildlife was Mallard
and Cormorant. Lots of those. Cormorants do make lovely pictures as
they pose up on the poles, especially when you can put the sky in the
background.
One nice house to comment on, we hit it
just after we passed the Lake Osswego park area. It is a huge
beautiful house, with another huge beautiful house attached to it and
its own little Vineyard. And behind it, he has his own Railroad
bridge !!! We even saw a train go by while we were waiting. So much
noise!! I wonder if he knew about the train when he bought the place?
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| My little place on the River. |
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| Da Train !! |
At the halfway mark, we can to Elk Rock
Island, where we set up a little camp for lunch. Elk Rock Island is
a park with people out walking and fishing. It is really only an
Island when the river is up, This time of year it is a peninsula.
Back in the 30's (perhaps Prohibition?) it used to be a very hot
night spot. I guess people would tool up in their boats, or perhaps
walk out to the island where there was a Pavilion setup for Dancing
and drinks. I was told that it was a substantial building and very
famous at the time, but I could see no sign of it. Perhaps I need to
explore the depths of the 100 yard wide island a little more.
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| The Beach on Elk Rock Island |
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| Beaver |
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| A little Rain. No Big Deal |
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| Our lunch View. |
Continuing on down the river. When ever
you pass a bridge or get close to the shore, you can tell how fast
the current is running. I am glad we are not trying to go in the
other direction. We could do it, but we would be doing 2 knots
instead of 4. And it is calming to stop and rest on your paddle while
you watch the shore slip by. Gives you a chance to take some
pictures. I believe that if you want good pictures of yourself, you
have to spend some time taking pictures of the other people in the
group. (well, in this case it was just Chip, but we are working on
adding more to the team).
The controversial construction on the
Sellwood bridge is underway. When ever I see these things I wonder
what we are doing, letting our infrastructure get so worn down. Don't
we aspire to the works of our Grandfathers?
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| Construction at Selwood Bridge |
We did a water takeout at Willamette
Park, just because I didn't want any embarrassing pictures of me
doing a Dock exit.
Total Paddle Time, around 3 hours (with
an hour or so lunch).
Some things to consider: We had an
outgoing tide. It is unclear if an incoming tide would have changed
the current. It has rained a bit lately. The river was up, but my no
means high. I could see how a spring flood could make some things
much more exciting. I can also see how it could be pretty glorious on
a nice summer day. There are put-ins listed up and down the river at
various mile marks. I like the idea of leaving a car at either end of
your trip and traveling mainly downriver.
(KAYAK UPDATE: I ordered a Journey)