We woke to jets taking off from Portland, and the moon setting over the Sandy River delta. The clearing skies and calm wind made for a promising day, so we shook the rain off our gear and ate scrambled eggs on pita for breakfast before heading out. Heading downstream from Reed, we passed Cottonwood Point again, then the Camas marina. 
The on-water café was tempting, but the early morning calm was too good to pass up. We started to head into the Camas slough, then realized it would take us under Highway 14 and by the paper mill with all its lovely smells. Lady Island was a much more peaceful alternative. We paddled along the south shore, and noticed other potential camping spots. The paddle into Portland was uneventful. Plenty of jet boats with fisherman, but little traffic otherwise. We stopped at Government Island for a rest break, and checked out the yachts moored in the marina. One even had a couple of kayaks strapped to the bow. After a couple more miles, I realized I’d forgotten to refill my water jug. We stopped at the top of a small island, then pushed on into Portland. The airport slid by on our left, and jets on approach flew directly overhead. We headed toward Alder Creek and a replacement crimp for my rudder cable. Rudder parts would of course be the only thing I left out of the repair kit, and the only thing we needed the whole trip. 
After finding the right spot in the maze of marinas, we walked into the shop, and realized even in a kayak shop, you get strange looks when you’re dressed in paddle gear. We found Dave Slover, and he hooked us up with what we needed, as well as advice on camping for the evening. Thanks, Dave! We sat on the dock eating lunch, and talking to the man in the sailboat next to us. He grilled up salmon, and we talked about fishing down in Astoria. I’m not sure if he leaves his boat all that much, and I’m not sure I blame him. If you have to live in the city, a sailboat wouldn’t be a bad place to be. 
After leaving Alder Creek, we continued down Tomahawk slough, past an amazing variety of floating homes and boats. We slid under I-5 and past the Jantzen Beach sprawl, into the less developed end of the slough. After the marinas, bridges, and homes of the first part of the day, the calm was a nice change. Soon enough, though, the towering loading docks near the end of the island gave us our first clue things we about to change. We came around the corner, just downstream of the Portland shipyards. The change in dynamic was intimidating. We stopped next to a moored set of barges
(coincidentally, one had passed us on Saturday), and stared at the oceangoing freights lined up to load and unload. After making sure nothing was immediately going to run us over, we sprinted across to the Washington side, and made our way downstream. Directly across from the confluence with the Willamette, we found a large sandy beach with a couple of different campsites. We headed toward the downstream end, and found a great spot with a couple of large driftwood logs for seats. We set up camp, and hiked up behind to a great view of Mount St. Helens catching the afternoon sun. A large tanker anchored offshore, but other than one ringing boom, it’s stayed quiet. The view from camp had a split personality - across and downstream, we were looking into a semi-rural setting. Upstream was a sea of lights and ships. It made for an interesting comparison, and seemed to sum up much of what the Columbia so far. Every bend in the river so far has brought a different view, and even though the paddling is mellow, the anticipation keeps our interest up. After a multi-hued sunset, we spent the evening watching the lights on the water, talking of caves and other adventures. 
Turning in early, we wonder what tomorrow will bring. We’ve covered a little over 40 miles in the first two days. Tomorrow we’ll start making the bend to the north, and see what lies downstream of Portland.
Next - Crazy 85 and the smell of burning driftwood
0 comments:
Post a Comment