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Wynoochie River, WA

8/12/07

It didn't feel like August. Not cold, exactly, but damp and chilly. It seemed like October maybe, except the trees were still full of green leaves. It seemed like canoeing weather.

First time in a canoe for Micah. He and Mary rounded out the crew, and we put in at Black Creek on the lower Wynoochie at about Noon. A fair contingent of fishermen lined the banks in places and we skittered past them in the shallow water, trying to find the faster channel. It's a low gradient here on the lower portion of the river, but it was just about the right speed for a seven-month-old. He was a trooper.

The river wound though overhanging trees in many places and quiet pools shared time with braided, shallow passages. Even this late in the season, there was enough water to float our canoe for the entire length of the trip. (The river is dam-controlled, which accounts for the good flow year-round).

After passing under the highway bridge and nearing the takeout on Devonshire Road, we swung to the river right and came ashore at a spot where a few fishermen cast from the reeds. The sky, that had threatened all day, finally let go as we loaded the last of our gear for the drive home.

Ken Campbell