September 11 - Boardman River - Brown Bridge Dam to Beitner
Who came?
Angie Willis, Karen Amidon, Pat Power, Marv and Marlene Puska, John Heiam, Lois Goldstein, Jocelyn Trepte, Henry Eckhardt, and Jim Feiker
What kind of boats were there?
10 kayaks, including 3 matching ones that were out for their maiden voyage
How was it?
Very enjoyable, excellent weather - mostly sunny in the high 70's, moderately fast current, several interesting wildlife sightings.
Anything noteworthy?
This was the maiden voyage for three veteran paddlers (Lois, John, and Jocelyn) in their new, sleek Hurricane Tampico 135L kayaks, (adding yet another boat to their large fleets of 4 to 6 boats each). Editor's note: As famed canoeist & author Bill Mason said, when asked why he owned 19 Canadian Prospector canoes, "At some point, you have to make do". Actually, we are all trying to sell our sea kayaks - any buyers out there? It seems there is always another new boat out there to surpass earlier ones for the right conditions.
Two new members, Pat and Karen, joined the group for the first time. Karen immediately learned how to do a back ferry while we were still in sight of the dam. Pat surged forward ahead of everyone in her yellow "Rascal". She was fearful of slowing down the group with the newer streamlined kayaks. No problem there! I ended up near the front with Pat trying to slow her down and yet keeping company with her as we made several great wildlife sightings.
The first was a great blue heron flying 15 feet in front of us and perching overhead on a high branch of a dead tree. Next we saw 8 mallards crowding into a tight covey as we passed 6 feet from them. Then we saw a large female common merganser lying motionless on a log 2 feet from our boats looking like a decoy. Finally, we quietly observed two white-tailed deer grazing just 20 feet from us on a lush green lawn.
Near the end of our paddle a frisky little white terrier leaped headlong into the river barking at Pat's yellow Rascal, but staying quietly shoulder deep in the water ignoring my Hurricane Santee. Other surprises included a fake palm tree, a life-like alligator basking in the sun, and a large tepee made of cedar poles.
Midway through our journey John asked Henry to get up on a bridge to take the all important photos of the three new kayaks, shown below. The only mishap occurred when Karen got out of her kayak at the Beitner take-out and slipped on a rock and fell backwards into the refreshing river water. This reminded everyone of the need for better accesses along the Boardman, catering to kayaks as well as canoes and larger boats.
Our congenial Paddle Club president Marv and his wife Marlene (M&M) added to their record number of outings this season. Most of us headed for Red Lobster for an enjoyable meal together after a very pleasant trip on the great river in our own backyard.
Submitted by Jim Feiker
