Sun Aug 09, 2009 10:52 pm white river canoe - 2009-08-08
i believe this trip qualifies as a hike and worthy of nwhikers since we had to hoof it in at least 50 yards. that counts, right?
objective: you have 1+ day to get out and do something. warm weather desired. hiking not really an option....
solution: canoe on the east side of the crest
a late night in the office on thursday led to some canoe trip searching. soon, i came across a flatwater paddling book on google books. eventually, through a post in the saloon, i found another group had done the trip a few weeks earlier. off we went!
we drove up the white river road after turning off the main lake wenatchee road. soon, we came upon the sears creek bridge and started paying attention for a small trail heading towards the river. hotpantz, with her eagle eyes, caught it with ease. we dropped off the gear and canoe amidst a swarm of mosquitoes. "hurry, where's the deet?!"
we packed up the boat and hotpantz dragged it in. i drove back to the bridge to park and crutched back to the trail. the trail peters out pretty quickly and reaches the river at a bluff about 10-feet high. we both searched for alternative routes, which is really tough using crutches going through chest-high grass. the best alternative appeared to be back at the bridge, but i thought there was a ramp at the bluff we could make it down. hotpantz led down, said it was good-ish, and i handed down gear and then the canoe. i followed down with some butt scoots and less-than-firm crutch placements.
soon, we were in the boat, en route down the eight miles of winding goodness. i recall quite vividly seeing this river from our trip earlier this year up dirtyface. it feels so weird to think of life from 'back then' - pre-accident. it's like a reset button has been hit on my life and everything before 6/24/09 is some fuzzy image of a different life i had.
still, the river did not disappoint one bit. it was sublime and paddling through waters with origins from the white river glacier of glacier peak and the base of white mountain. perhaps the most enjoyable element of this trip (aside from the company of course) was watching the blade of the paddle enter this crystal clear water that's tinted persian green - a site too many may take for granted. for me, it captures my heart each and every time i see it.
the eight mile stretch is supposedly flatwater paddling conditions. while i'm not knowledgeable of this definition, there seemed to be a few spots where the pace picks up. i think it's the constant assortment of downed trees and submerged logs that adds to the excitement of the trip.
twice, we had to disembark the canoe to drag it over snags. i'd get out first, butt scoot across the log (can't put full weight on the leg yet), then hotpantz would get out, feed the canoe to me, and i'd heave part of it over. she'd finish the job and we'd be on our way again. it was quite fun. it's not often you get to sit in the center of a glacier-fed river, on top of a log 2-ft in diameter, and just kind of hang out.
the crux of the trip was definitely crossing the weir - something that apparently was formerly used to perform a fish count. it was a system of two PVC pipes, roughly 8-inches in diameter. the left side of the river was littered with rocks and whitewater (and we later found out, rebar protruding from the ground). the center was similar. so, right side it was. there was one spot that looked free enough of rocks. getting over the actual weir was tough - the PVC didn't budge. we scooted the canoe forward - slowly. soon, it crossed the tipping point and we were on our short ride forward, aimed at a downed root system. some deft paddling moves and a brief moment of tension and we were okay and filled with a relief of laughter.
there were plenty of sandbars along the river. one we saw near the entrance to lake wenatchee looked particularly appearling. we paddled out to the lake, pondered our options, and decided to head back upriver to the wonderful spot to camp.
strong winds coming down the valley nearly launched the tent into the river, but a quick, already airborne grab saved the day (err... the night). we moved location slightly to protect the tent better and then headed back out to where the wind kept the bugs down.
by the time morning arrived, everything was perfectly still. the flow of the river at this spot so close to the lake must be quite low, since it seemed more lake-like than river-like.
we paddled to shore along lake wenatchee and hotpantz hopped out to retrieve the car via a 6 mile run back up the road. we moved the gear to the front of the canoe and i headed out for some solo paddling. the wind fetch distance proved interesting for the moment when i actually had to turn the boat around 180 degrees. i had to paddle with all my might to get the thing to actually turn. for a moment, i didn't think i'd get it, but perserverance paid off again.
-------------- “to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” -steve prefontaine
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Outstanding documentation of a side of the mountains that we don't often see.
