Short trip report for a short trip: Saturday, April 24, 1999. Woke up. Looked outside. A perfect day, no rain. On a scale of 1-10, a perfect 12. Couldn't stand to waste such a day. Loaded the truck with boat and gear. Headed for Lewis and Clarke State Park boat ramp. A new sign by the ramp said "No personal watercraft allowed on the Sandy River". Wow. No canoes, kayaks, rafts, driftboats, etc., only tugboats and oceanliners. Finally decided the State of Oregon gibberish meant no jetskis. Why don't they just say so. Launched the kayak and skimmed across some shallow gravel bars, and then cruised down the river towards the confluence with the mighty Columbia. Just a few fishermen in their personal fishing boats. Blue sky forever, little wind, brilliant sunshine, some ducks and geese scattered about, no sign of fish. Fishermen are catching nada, but enjoying the day. Paddled up the Columbia against a stiff current, found a nice little sand island. Stopped here. Couldn't resist this quaint little spit of sand. Ate a little lunch, caught a little sun, get down tonight, get down tonight. Finally forced myself to leave and paddle the reverse course back to the ramp. Fell in love twice at the ramp, once with a golden retriever named C.J., and again with a female black lab puppy. What a picture perfect day. And the forecast for Sunday? Rain, rain, rain. BRC ********************************************************************** Bradford R. Crain E-mail: brad_at_mth.pdx.edu Dept. of Mathematics Phone: (503) 725-3127 Portland State Univ. FAX: (503) 725-3661 P.O. Box 751 Portland, Or. 97207 ********************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Brad wrote: >"... for Lewis and Clarke State Park boat ramp. A new sign by the ramp > said "No personal watercraft allowed on the Sandy River". Wow. No > canoes, kayaks, rafts, driftboats, etc., only tugboats and > oceanliners. Finally decided the State of Oregon gibberish meant no > jetskis. Why don't they just say so." News from Helsinki! To put it short: our club, with 14 others made a proposal to the City Council (or whatsoever) that the jetskis should be forbidden to reach some coastal areas and bays around the capital. The committees (or whatsoever) have agreed, so it is possible that during this year some eastern and western waters around the peninsula where the capital lies will be jetski-free... Cheers, Ari Saarto "Home of the Traditional & Famous Scandinavian Skinny-dipping [TM]" Finland - Europe GSM +358 - 50 - 526 5892 fax. +358 - 3 - 828 2815 e-mail: asaarto_at_lpt.fi *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
We had about 25 fools out there, but winds probably about 40-45 mph, and nobody stayed very long on the tower. BRC From: "Gerald Foodman" <gfoodma_at_earthlink.net> On a November trip to Portland about 10 years ago I drove out to the same spot in a storm with wife and daughter. Winds were reported above 60. From the tower we could not see anything because the wind driven spray and sand made it impossible to look. We were the only fools on the tower or in the parking lot. On Nov 24, 2009, at 7:45 PM, Bradford R. Crain wrote: > Two of us drove to the south jetty of the Columbia River in Oregon. > We did not bring kayaks. Our attire was standard cross-country skiing > garb. > (There had been a Pacific storm the night before, with high winds and > drenching rain. The power went out just after 3 am.) We climbed the > observation tower that overlooks the south jetty. The view was stunning. > Winds of 40+ knots buffeted us. The tower, which is constructed of > heavy timbers, was swaying back and forth. The scene was nuclear. > Large breakers could be seen everywhere, and extended virtually to > the horizon. Water was exploding over the jetty in majestic plumes. > There were no surfers to be seen. It was difficult to see salt water, > as 99.99% of the water's surface was breakers and sea foam. I had never > seen anything as wild and dynamic as we did this weekend. After some > time spent on the platform, we were driven off back to the parking > lot by a rain squall. It was very comforting to be able to retreat > into the car. On the way back to town we noticed many downed trees > and much standing water. We saw no kayakers or surfers anywhere. > Just as well, since they would have needed rescue in short order. > I think my next trip will be across the living room to the TV remote > control and a few football games. I've had enough excitement for now. > > BRC *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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