July 2nd: Below Dalles Dam to Cascade Locks and then on to Camas
What a day this was!
First, I must say our day in Seattle was great. We saw two great baseball games on June 30 and July 1, plus it was good just to joke around with my friend Jim without worrying about paddling. Only downside was our motel. I always look for the cheap one. Cheapest we could find was for $75.00 and I would not recommend it to anyone. In all my adventures I've stayed in some real dumps and this rates right with some of the $25.00 ones I stayed in in New Mexico when I did my bike ride. Hurts that I had to pay $75.00 for worse than those!
Last night we decided to drive back to Cascade Locks and get a room there because that is where I expected to end after today's paddle. We got a room at the Cascade Motel which is actually a number of very nice cabins. (see picture) As bad as our motel was in Seattle, this was a real treat. If you ever come through this area I recommend it very highly. The couple that own it are very nice and will do all in their power to make sure your stay is a pleasant one. In fact, we thought we'd stay two nights, but the events of the day changed that.
We were on the road back up to The Dalles by 5:00 in the morning. My hope was that with an early start I'd be able to beat the wind. Again, this is wind surfing area all the way to Cascade Locks. In fact the owners at the Cascade Motel said that the Olympic Sailing team practiced in this area. Not what I needed to hear.
Well, everything start well, but ended quickly. After about 10 miles the winds started up and within 15 minutes they were howling. Again I was paddling in waves and when I decided to give it up I could no longer make headway. I called Jim and told him I was going back about two miles where he could come to my rescue.
On my paddle back I was really down. Nothing was going the way I planned and now I have 30 miles still to go to Cascade Locks and it was going to be another bike portage. I thought about having Jim take me back to Cascade Locks and paddling back upstream but dashed that idea on my paddle back to meet Jim because some of the waves hitting me from behind were swinging my canoe sideways which was a little nerve-racking.
So here I am again biking, not what I want to do. Only good thing is I'm getting a good workout and when I get to Cascade Locks this wind-surfing dammed up area is over. At Cascade Locks is the Bonneville Dam which is the last dam . From here to the ocean I'm supposed to have less wind trouble plus current which can be up to 5 miles an hour when the tide is on its way out. Surprisingly the tide comes all the way back to this area some 160 miles inland.
Now as bad and as down as I was this morning, things really changed around this afternoon.
At about 2:00 Jim and I decided to continue on and go down to the portage below the Bonneville Dam. He would continue on to Camas, WA about 30 miles downstream and I would paddle as far as I could and camp and meet him in the morning.
Off he went and I headed out. What a change in what I've experienced above these dams. I have a good current and I have little wave action. It felt like I was back on the Ohio River. I was moving, scenery was spectacular and I was once again enjoying the trip. In fact I was enjoying it so much by 8:30 PM I was in Camas and calling Jim to pick me up.
A day that started so bad really ended on a high note. For the first time in a long time I was looking forward to tomorrow.
I guess Jim summed up the day best. When he came to pick me up we was just shaking his head and said, "You're an animal." I said what is that supposed to mean? He said he meant it in a good way, explaining that you just paddled 15 plus miles in extremely difficult conditions this morning only to get on a little bike and pedal 32 miles and then paddle another 30 miles and you look like you just finished a walk around the block.
I stopped to think about what he said. Yeah, I guess it was a good day, but honestly and I've said this before, the toughest part about this trip is the mental part (which is now a whole lot better). The physical for whatever reason is the fun part. I hope the fun continues, because I dread the mental part when I cannot move forward. Time to get a bite to eat. I think even my dad would say it was good half day's work!
First, I must say our day in Seattle was great. We saw two great baseball games on June 30 and July 1, plus it was good just to joke around with my friend Jim without worrying about paddling. Only downside was our motel. I always look for the cheap one. Cheapest we could find was for $75.00 and I would not recommend it to anyone. In all my adventures I've stayed in some real dumps and this rates right with some of the $25.00 ones I stayed in in New Mexico when I did my bike ride. Hurts that I had to pay $75.00 for worse than those!
Last night we decided to drive back to Cascade Locks and get a room there because that is where I expected to end after today's paddle. We got a room at the Cascade Motel which is actually a number of very nice cabins. (see picture) As bad as our motel was in Seattle, this was a real treat. If you ever come through this area I recommend it very highly. The couple that own it are very nice and will do all in their power to make sure your stay is a pleasant one. In fact, we thought we'd stay two nights, but the events of the day changed that.
We were on the road back up to The Dalles by 5:00 in the morning. My hope was that with an early start I'd be able to beat the wind. Again, this is wind surfing area all the way to Cascade Locks. In fact the owners at the Cascade Motel said that the Olympic Sailing team practiced in this area. Not what I needed to hear.
Well, everything start well, but ended quickly. After about 10 miles the winds started up and within 15 minutes they were howling. Again I was paddling in waves and when I decided to give it up I could no longer make headway. I called Jim and told him I was going back about two miles where he could come to my rescue.
On my paddle back I was really down. Nothing was going the way I planned and now I have 30 miles still to go to Cascade Locks and it was going to be another bike portage. I thought about having Jim take me back to Cascade Locks and paddling back upstream but dashed that idea on my paddle back to meet Jim because some of the waves hitting me from behind were swinging my canoe sideways which was a little nerve-racking.
So here I am again biking, not what I want to do. Only good thing is I'm getting a good workout and when I get to Cascade Locks this wind-surfing dammed up area is over. At Cascade Locks is the Bonneville Dam which is the last dam . From here to the ocean I'm supposed to have less wind trouble plus current which can be up to 5 miles an hour when the tide is on its way out. Surprisingly the tide comes all the way back to this area some 160 miles inland.
Now as bad and as down as I was this morning, things really changed around this afternoon.
At about 2:00 Jim and I decided to continue on and go down to the portage below the Bonneville Dam. He would continue on to Camas, WA about 30 miles downstream and I would paddle as far as I could and camp and meet him in the morning.
Off he went and I headed out. What a change in what I've experienced above these dams. I have a good current and I have little wave action. It felt like I was back on the Ohio River. I was moving, scenery was spectacular and I was once again enjoying the trip. In fact I was enjoying it so much by 8:30 PM I was in Camas and calling Jim to pick me up.
A day that started so bad really ended on a high note. For the first time in a long time I was looking forward to tomorrow.
I guess Jim summed up the day best. When he came to pick me up we was just shaking his head and said, "You're an animal." I said what is that supposed to mean? He said he meant it in a good way, explaining that you just paddled 15 plus miles in extremely difficult conditions this morning only to get on a little bike and pedal 32 miles and then paddle another 30 miles and you look like you just finished a walk around the block.
I stopped to think about what he said. Yeah, I guess it was a good day, but honestly and I've said this before, the toughest part about this trip is the mental part (which is now a whole lot better). The physical for whatever reason is the fun part. I hope the fun continues, because I dread the mental part when I cannot move forward. Time to get a bite to eat. I think even my dad would say it was good half day's work!
posted by Coach at 7:12 PM
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