Green River

Vertical Slickrock

One of the first things I thought about when I learned that I was going to have the fall free this year was to do a trip down the Stillwater section of the Green River. This is a trip I had done twice before during Spring Breaks at school, but everyone I had ever spoken to described the Fall as the best time to paddle the river.

Another perfect campsite

Starting this past summer, I began recruiting folks who could take the time in October and I quickly had a group of six hardy souls ready to go. Predictably, two dropped out and we were four. Then another. And another. Soon we were down to a party of two, but Kim was game to carry on. Following some menu-planing and the requisite logistics, we were ready to put a canoe and my well-traveled kayak into the river. The Green is one of my favorite places to paddle and the reports of autumn paddling were dead on. What a fantastic place. We spent five days lazily traveling down the river, camping on sand bars and beautiful shore sites each night. Herons and Canyon Wrens greeted us as we drifted past the red rock cliffs. I got some fantastic pictures, only a couple I have space to post here. The weather was fantastic and we didn't see a lick of rain. A couple of nights were chilly, but the days were sunny and just a perfect temperature.

Face it, kayaks are more fun

With the river giving us a know or so of current, we didn't need to be on the water for more than five or six hours a day. This left plenty of time for lazy mornings, day hikes and an evening glass of wine or two. A very laid-back wilderness experience for sure. We visited the cool slot canyon of Anderson Bottom as well as hikes to ruins of both European settlers and Anasazi cliff dwellings.

Nice spot, eh?

We got pulled off the river and traveled up the Colorado via jet boat. It was then that we learned that the weather was supposed to turn with rain and even snow predicted for the following day. Talk about perfect timing! I have a long list of places I want to visit, but the Green is near the top of my "revisit" list for sure.

Wyoming Bound

Lake Coeur d'Alene

My ultimate destination on this leg of the trip is Yellowstone National Park. However there's a whole lot of Washington, a bit of Idaho and a bunch of Montana between here and there. Central Washington, dry and a bit dull in most cases was quite hazy with several active wildfires burning. It didn't impact my travels, but it was impressive to see all the smoke in the air. I pretty much got through Washington as quickly as possible and really didn't make any significant stop till Coeur d'Alene in Idaho. The huge beautiful lake and the continuing sunshine made for a great two-day paddle stop. This is a beautiful area and I'd love to come back and do some more paddling.

My well-traveled little boat

Continuing eastward, I rapidly passed through through the rest of Idaho and cut the corner of Montana on my way to the West Gate of Yellowstone. My good friends Craig and Karen from the Cape were here on vacation and I was looking forward to spending a couple of days with them before returning home. I was on a schedule now as I had promised to come in and sub for a day at Waterford. Yellowstone was amazing and I took lots of pictures. I had last visited the park some 15 or so years earlier on a winter ski trip so it was fun to see the place without snow on the ground. We did a couple of excellent day hikes and of course visited the prolific thermal features. After Iceland and Lassen, I felt like I was seeing the real stuff now. If I had been able to spend a couple more days I probably would have paid the eight dollars to get a permit to put my boat into the lake. Yellowstone is an incredible place, I hope it doesn't blow up soon...

The visit was too short and all too soon I was driving past the beautiful Tetons and heading back to SLC. Best September ever.

The Olympics!

Northern Washington coastline

I used to go to Vancouver Island all the time. One of the schools I was responsible for when I worked for The School for Field Studies was located on the west coast, and I would travel through Victoria and Nanaimo all the time. Many times I would look across the Juan de Fuca Straight at the beautiful Olympic range and it has been long on my list of places to visit. Departing Portland, I did just that.

There's a tree in there somewhere

Traveling clockwise, I traveled along the beautiful coastline, stopping for lunch in the scenic town of Forks. All you Twilight fans out there know this town well. You can go on Twilight tours and dance in the Twilight Club, neither of which I elected to do. Instead, I continued northward and found a place to camp outside the National Park. The next day I went into the Hoh Forest and spent some time hiking. What an amazing place. Huge old growth trees with mosses and lichens everywhere. Ten minutes down the trail and the bright sunshine had become softly muted and my footfalls cushioned by soft loam. The silence was nearly complete.

The Olympic Range

After spending a couple of days on the west side, I traveled around to the northern edge and visited the Hurricane Ridge area of the park. With so many options in the park, I might have missed this gem. My good friend Ellie recommended it to me and boy was I glad to see this place. The weather had remained clear, although there was a strong haze in the air from wildfires in Central Washington. This incredibly rainy part of the world continued sunny and beautiful. I spent a lot more time above tree line than I expected on this paddling trip. The waters I had come here to see - the Strait of Juan de Fuca was completely shrouded in fog below me although I could see the shorter peaks of Vancouver Island sticking out of the fog. Truly beautiful. I did several hikes over the next couple of days, staying at the campground at the base of Hurricane Ridge - one of the few places I had stayed more than one night in a row. Along with the beautiful sights, I also got a short look at an Olympic Marmot, an endangered species endemic to the area. I wasn't able to take the time to get into the backcountry in any sort of significant way, but I now have something new on my ever-expanding list of things I want to do and see.

After over two weeks of sunshine, the weather finally "broke" and a small cold front moved in giving me a couple of days of cloudy weather. Ironically, this meant that while there was no sunshine, the fog lifted and a got a couple of great paddling days on the north coast. I found a couple of embayments that were well protected although one had a strong tidal current that was fun to play in. After only one short paddle in Oregon, it was nice to get out and play with the boat. The water was clear and cold, giving me great views of kelp and sea stars. I'd love to spend some time diving up here, with the correct cold-water gear of course.

Soon enough it was time to head out to Bainbridge Island for a short visit with my friends Ellie and Dave. I got to meet their two beautiful daughters and take a short walk with Ellie. She and I hadn't seen each other in far too long and it was fun to catch up. The next day was a quick ferry ride across the bay to Seattle, an unnerving drive through the city and off across the state. More to follow...

Pacific Northwest

Pacific Northwest

If you’ve been reading this thing, you know that I had a pretty full summer. That was all accomplished in the time I would have had off from school in a regular year. I was now presented with an entire autumn – something I never expected to see until I retired. Not wanting to waste such an amazing opportunity, I put together a plan to travel to the Pacific Northwest with my kayak. This is a trip I have been dreaming of for a long time and this was the perfect opportunity to strike.

In early September I put the (relatively) new kayak on the roof and headed westward. I had never traveled on I-80 further than the depressing town of Wendover for a poker tournament and it was all new desert as I crossed Nevada. I overnighted in Reno at my friend Bob’s and even got a small amount of poker in. I then continued west and crossed into the Golden State.

Lava flow remnants

Looking at my atlas, I noticed a big green spot between me and the ocean. In northeastern California lies “Lassan Volcanic National Park”, a place I had frankly never heard of. It turns out to be the most beautiful place I had never heard of. If you haven’t been there, put it on your list. Huge volcanic peaks, little cinder cones, thermal features and thick forest litter the park. I spent two days there and enjoyed some amazing hiking throughout the park. The weather was amazing and it was a nice break after two days of driving across the deserts of Nevada.

Coastal Oregon

Departing Lassen, I continued west towards the coast. I quickly crossed into Oregon and made my way up the coastal route. This is much slower than just taking the interstate, but the weather was so beautiful and I wanted to find a place to paddle. Herein lies an irony best appreciated I imagine with a degree in meteorology, with some oceanography thrown in for good measure. Sitting over the entire northwestern portion of North America was a huge high pressure system. The skies were clear, the sun warm and here in the rainiest part of the country was the most beautiful weather you could imagine. However, when warm air meets the cold gyre currents of the North Pacific you get, yes, coastal fog. It was 90 degrees and sunny two miles from the coast and when you got to the beach, it was 65 degrees and a hundred feet of visibility. Beautiful in its own way, but not ideal paddling weather for a solo paddler who doesn’t know the area. So I changed my plans a bit and did a bit of beach combing and hiking in various state parks along the coast. My plan was to get up to Puget Sound and hopefully find some more clear conditions there.

The beautiful coastline on a precious break in the fog

Not every moment was foggy, but between the bold nature of the western coastline and the ample opportunity to play on foot, I kept the boat on the roof of the truck. The seascape in this part of the world is absolutely beautiful and so different from the coves and embayments of New England. I had no problem finding ways to play outside. I particularly enjoyed the beautiful dunes of the northern Oregon coastline. And yes, I did manage to pick up a new beach sand for the collection.  

I made a brief trip inland to visit Reed college and a recent AP Biology alum Jonas. He gave me a great tour of the campus, quite the beautiful place. I've lived in apartments smaller than his dorm room! I then continued northward to Olympic National Park. More to follow....