April 1998 Volume V Number 3.

 

First Tuesday of every month, 6:30 p.m.

Episcopal Church of the Resurrection

3925 Hilyard St., Eugene

 

First Tuesday of every month, 6:30 p.m.

Various boating sites

Watch Newsletter for details

 

May 5, 1998

7:00 P.M. Episcopal Church of the Resurrection

 

Next Newsletter: Deadline May 20,

 

April Meeting Minutes:

by Lyn Gilman-Garrick <lyngg@efn.org>

The Cascade Canoe Club met on Tuesday, April 7th, at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection. Robert Horner, president, presided. As the first order of business, Robert announced that the sweatshirts with the club logo were ready to be picked up.

Robert then asked Mike Harrington to comment on the "state of the newsletter." The April issue was Mike's first as newsletter editor. Mike said that it was harder than he had expected and encouraged everyone to submit information or articles.

Lana Lindstrom announced that there would be a skill building trip for white water enthusiasts on Saturday, April 11th. Participants would practice paddle strokes on class 2 rapids and eddy turns.

Omar Nelson and Becky Koble talked about the annual Earth Day clean up of a local stretch of the Willamette River on Saturday, April 18th. Omar advised everyone to bring gloves, rain gear and boots. He also said that the clean up would start at Island Park at 8:15 for those members who needed a shuttle and 9:00 for those who didn't. After the clean up there will be a chili feed at River Runners Supply.

Lana discussed the upcoming overnight trip to Klamath Lake on May 2nd and 3rd. She said that the first day would be spent paddling the meandering Woods River and the second day would be spent on either the Upper Klamath Lake Canoe Trail or the Williamson River. Camping was available at Kimble State Park and lodging at Rocky Point Resort.

John McCoy reminded everyone about the John Day River trip over Memorial Day, May 23rd to 25th. He estimated that the trip was approximately 47 miles long. A raft would be available for those who were reluctant to paddle and to carry gear. For more information, members should contact Phil Backman, trip organizer.

.

As the last order of business, Dan Geiger asked members for their support in the efforts to save Waldo Lake. Dan works with the University of Oregon Outdoor Program and serves on the Waldo Wilderness Council. Dan talked about the threats to the outstanding water quality of Waldo Lake - fish stocking, inadequate septic systems in the campgrounds, over use, and the wide-spread use of fire retardant. He said that the US Forest Service is beginning to address the problem by ending camping on the large island in the middle of the lake and in the burn sections and by eliminating dump stations and updating the septic systems. He also said that the USFS is developing a management plan which would address closing surrounding roads and banning motor boats. In addition to the USFS efforts, the Oregon Natural Resources Council and the Waldo Wilderness Council are working to increase the wilderness area surrounding the lake and to stop a proposed ski park.

After the business meeting, Roger Bailey presented a slide show on his 10 day, 300 mile trip down the Forty Mile and the Yukon Rivers in Alaska last summer. His slides were beautiful and his commentary entertaining, capturing both the area's fascinating natural and human histories.

 

Notes from the Prez:

by Robt. Horner

As Earth Day approaches, I’m excited about joining other paddlers for our annual clean-up of the Willamette River. Yes it’s a small section of the waterway but it shows our respect for "Mother Nature" and pays tribute to an important river in Oregon’s history. It is also a visible action to some of those slobs out there who toss their tires, lawn chairs, cans and bottles in the river. Hoping that their trash will float out of sight and mind. The clean-up is fun and gives the participants a nice warm feeling of giving something back. Hope we see you there!!! (Editor note: See Special reportsJ )

 

Trip leaders needed:

The last few months we’ve gotten quite a few new paddlers joining our ranks. If any of you want to lead a trip and show us your special waterway, call either Omar, the flatwater chairperson or Helen Vidal, the white water chair for assistance. You could also come to the meeting and tell us where it is and when you would like go go. It really is fun leading a trip, "Try it you’ll like it!!"

 

Thanks Roger ! Great slides!

That was a great slide show of the Yukon and 40-Mile rivers at our last meeting. Thanks go out to Roger Bailey! If anyone has a slide presentation for either our May or June meetings give me a call. July will begin our outdoor meetings to be posted in the newsletter, prior to each meeting.

 

Donation Made:

This may fall into the "I should of gotten membership approval" category but I made a club donation of $25.00 to the Waldo Wilderness Council to show and help support the work being done by their group. The protection of this lake basin is important to all and as a canoe club we should support such projects

Sweatshirts:

I think the "sweats" turned out great; hope you all liked them. Gladis, Phil Backman, and Frieda I have yours, call me! For those paddlers who didn’t get in their order but a dying for one, call me for information on starting a second "15" which is the minimum order size.

Special Places to paddle:

by Robt. Horner

Cascade Lakes:

This is a paddlers paradise! Not to mention camping, fishing and hiking. Some of my favorite places to paddle are Sparks, Hosmer, Little Lava, and Todd Lakes. There are many more places to explore and also lots of short hikes into the Cascades to Lucky, Blow, and Dorris Lakes. Next newsletter there will be info about our annual camp-out at Hosmer Lake in June after school is out. Mark your calendar.

It’s a wonderful area to experience.

 

Orcas Island, in the San Juans:

by Robt. Horner

Our experience here has always been enjoyable with a combo of touristing, hiking, and paddling. We camp at Moran St. Park and canoe either Mountain Lake or Cascade Lake, the former being quieter and layed-back than the latter. The salt waters surrounding the islands is certainly canoeable if you pay careful attention to the weather, tides and currents. It’s a fun island and the ferries are fun, also.

 

Trip Reports:

Row, Mollala, and N Fk. M. Fk. Willamette Rivers

by Jo Christensen

In a desperate bid to avoid work and domestic responsibilities, I managed to get 4 straight days of white-water boating! This extravaganza started on Thursday, April 7th, when Michael Allender (in his I.K, Le Petit Canard Bleu) and I in my cat-yak (Phantom Midge) headed down the Upper Row for some white-water fun and serious work avoidance. Since there were only two of us, we boated conservatively. We ran the infamous river wide ledge on the right, managed not to dump, and thus avoided the need to spend "quality time" in that clingy reversal at the bottom. The wildlife highlight was seeing an osprey sitting on the bank a few feet away, zealously guarding a fish from some nearby vultures and crows.

Next day, my husband Bret came up and we rented the Mad River Synergy white-water tandem from Oregon River Sports. Bret and I used to tandem quite a bit but have branched off into solo boating. However, because our marriage was going along so smoothly, we decided to get into the tandem again. Nothing like a tandem canoeing to break up a happy marriage, right?

Since flows weren’t really cooperating anywhere else in the Willamette basin, we headed with Michael A. to the Row River again. Early on, Michael set the tone for the day by biffing mid-surf (but remember, if you dump while playing, it doesn’t count). Bret and I made it fine through the "gorge" section but we got complacent, struck a large rock and received deep "inner ear cleansing" for our trouble. Well, it was hot and we needed to cool off. But alas, we put a dent in the front of the beautiful, rented Synergy!

The river level during the remainder of the run starting rising very quickly. Although it wasn’t raining much where we were, we figured that there must have been a rain-on-snow event up in the Cascades. In particular, putting in below the Class 4 (which we portaged) was very turbulent and tricky-a real marriage tester. The ledge drops and adjacent waves just above the takeout were huge and we discovered that the Synergy is a very wet boat; we filled it on the first drop and were forced to run the rest of the ledges and holes submarine-fashion, relying on bracing and luck to keep from biffing a second time.

Next day (Saturday), we packed the now-not-so-new Synergy up to the Mollala along with a bunch of club folks and their solo canoes: Lana Lindstrom, Becky, Mark, and Sean Koble, Mari & Kenny Jones, new member Lew Bowen (an excellent canoeist) and the redoubtable Michael A. The Mollala is a fun Class 2 run and everyone did great (especially considering that it was the first trip of the season for several folks). Flows were a little bit on the low side, creating the need for good rock-dodging skills. Additionally, there was a fair amount of wood in the channel so close attention was required. Bret and I were still married at the end (though just barely and don’t expect kids any time soon). That evening, we skulked back to Oregon River Sports, towing the poor, wounded Synergy and not-so-proudly bearing our new reputation as "boat-wreckers."

Exhaustion from 3 straight days of paddling weakened Bret’s and my resistance to temptation, and we succumbed to Michael A’s suggestion of a 4th day of boating- on the N. Fk. M. Fk. Willamette (this time back in our solo boats). Mari & Kenny Jones went along as well, and Kenny bravely loaned Bret his extra Encore solo canoe. We put in below the gorge and floated to the takeout above Ledges. We had a great time- Mari was a surfing animal, Kenny ran Shotgun in the middle chute without batting an eye, Michael side-surfed himself to oblivion, Bret pulled an incredible last-minute "save" to avoid going over Bullseye sideways, and I actually made it to the bottom of that pesky rapids just below Bullseye without getting turned around backwards.

Now Bret and I are back at work, looking at our overflowing in-boxes, popping Ibuprofen for our sore boating muscles, and trying to get the courage to call Guy at O.R.S. to beg for absolution for our boating sins. But as soon as we get caught up, we hope to get folks back together for another go at a river somewhere!

 

Trip Reports: Continued

Another Piece of the Siuslaw

by Neila Campbell<neilac@pacinfo.com>

Morning low clouds burn away to bright sunlight as we caravan our way to Mapleton and a consult with the tide table and our communal knowledge. After some discussion Herb suggests that we paddle on the back side of Duncan Island. An excellent idea. We put in at Tiernan Landing. The tide is going out as we leisurely paddle into this quiet backwater on river left just below the landing. Large sitka spruce trees line our way at the beginning making way on the island for a salt-marsh wildlife preserve. Mallards, mergansers, Canada geese, kingfishers, marsh wrens and red wing blackbirds make their presence known as we drift along the meandering course. Of course no trip on the water can be complete without at least one great blue heron rising up in front of us.

We get to the end of the island as our thoughts turn to lunch so we head back up just a little way to the mouth of Bernhardt Creek where we find a not great landing but a nice sunny place to enjoy lunch and a rest with funny conversation while we wait the half hour or so till the tide changes and carries us back up to Tiernan. We should have napped a little longer, the remp at Tiernan is quite muddy at lower water levels.

All in all it was another wonderfun day on the river as Jay made good use of the McCoy's umbrella canoe propulsion system and great good humor lightened the already easy paddling. Thanks to Denise for paddling with me so I could share in this special day.

P.S. Fern Ridge is near full pool and the osprey are back. Denise and I stopped at Coyote Creek on the way back to town and watched an osprey rearranging sticks in the nest across from the highway bridge.

Special Report:

 

Earth Day 98 Willamette River Cleanup

by Neila Campbell <neilac@pacinfo.com>

On a typical rainy earth day the cascade raft club started its annual river clean sweep. So much for April Fool's although with 4 rafts, a drift boat, just one canoe and two kayaks it felt like a raft club outing. Saturday, April 18 was a beautiful spring day - sunshine, wild flowers, baby ducks, all the stuff that makes the Willy great this time of year.

With two barge rafts from River House and two from River Runners Supply the 17 or so intrepid cleaners began their cleanliness and godliness project at Day Island Park. Sweeping the banks of the debris brought by winter high waters and local homeless camps the group gathered enough stuff to fill a pickup truck and a trailer by the time they got to the Aspen Street boat landing. At least as much was collected from there to the takeout in Alton Baker Park.

The largest single piece collected was a single mattress and Mark Koble and crew get the prize for largest tire, a monster equipment tire. The only other contestant was a wheelbarrow tire and wheel.

The general feeling among the regular participants was that we are making some progress. There seemed to be less trash this year and only two tires.

Many thanks to all the people who helped in one way or another. Marilyn at River House for letting us use rafts, getting Sanipac to donate a dumpster and coordinating the city workers who helped put stuff into the dumpster and hauled off the recyclables, Becky Koble for getting pizza and sodas, Tom Mooney and the staff at River Runners Supply for use of rafts and the store for our post clean up pizza party, Pat of McKenzie Flyfishers for bringing his drift boat and working with us, and most of all - all you people who gave up a day to give something to our riverine environment. I especially want to thank the Kobles, Marilyn Kalstad and Ian Whitelaw for helping put away the River House boats, a huge task considering the mess I left when I took the boats out.

 

Trip Notices:

Lana & Jack Lindstrom, 541-683-1409 will lead a Woods River/Klamath Lake trip on Sat, May 2 and Sun May 3. On Sat, we'll canoe the Woods River, a meandering, creek which requires some turning ability, but is flat water.

On Sun, we'll either canoe the Klamath Lake Canoe trail or explore the Williamson River, another flat, but moving water creek. Accommodations -either camping or in cottages.

 

Scheduled trips:

May 2nd and 3rd Woods river/Klamath lake

Leaders Lana and Jack Lindstrom

(541) 683-1409

 

May 9th, Scoville Creek, Reedsport,

Leader: Phil Backman

 

May 23rd to 25th (Memorial Day weekend), John Day River,

Leader:Phil Backman

 

June 6th, Lower Santiam River,

Leader: John McCoy

 

June __ Hosmer Lake trip

(To be discussed at next meeting)

 

October 3rd, Clear Lake,

Leader: Mary Batton