S2.10 Willamette River - Willamette Boat Landing to Hyak Park

 What a gorgeous day to kayak! We decided to float a section of river that we had not done before, putting in at Willamette Boat Landing, or Crystal Lake boat ramp in Corvallis, and taking out at Hyak Park outside of Albany. As I've mentioned before, each of these parks have plenty of parking, a nice boat ramp, and bathrooms (gold star to Hyak for the clean flush toilets).

There were a few large groups putting in before us, and the Benton County Sheriff boat was moored at the end of the dock, checking to make sure that everyone had the right safety equipment. Specifically a PFD, whistle, and permit for watercraft over 10 feet long. 

We had our group of 5 in kayaks, plugs double checked, and we set off for our almost 11 mile float.




The temperature was in the 70s, and we had a bit of a headwind to start off with. Nothing serious, but it kept swinging the bow of our kayaks to the side.

The river here is wide, calm, and clean. There is some road noise at first, since we are next to downtown Corvallis, but eventually it got quiet.






The Boat Oregon map shows a section of the river just after the bridge as a motorboat testing area, and lists some specific times that can happen. The OSU crew building is also set up close by. We were lucky on this Saturday afternoon to miss both of these events.








We ended up floating for almost 31/2 hours, and most of the river is similar. Wide, calm, beautiful. We saw a bunch of herons, hawks, eagles, and swifts. This is also the first time I have been pooped on. One of the swifts managed to hit my knee from a good height. Fortunately there was plenty of water to clean it off.








We passed several signs for Greenways along the river, including Bowers Rock State Park, Truax Island Greenway, and Half Moon Bend Landing, which has space for camping on the gravel bar, and apparently some picnic areas, only accessible from the river. We did not stop to explore, but it looks nice enough. Also, if you click on the links, it helps to realize just how much work is going into making the Willamette, and other rivers, healthy and open.







One interesting feature that I have not seen before I noticed as we passed by a Golf Course. It's obvious that there is a lot of runoff from the course of grass seed, and fertilizer. The bank next to the golf course is very green, and it is like that downriver for a good way. 








The current picks up a bit before Hyak, but not dangerous. just fun. Again, we made this float of about 11 river miles in under 3 1/2 hours, with minimal paddling. We did get out to stretch our legs once for a few minutes, but it's a great afternoon float, which I highly recommend.

And then, while loading our kayaks, 2 of our straps broke. Thankfully they broke when we pulled to tighten them, and not when we hit a bump in the road at 55 mph. And fortunately, we happened to have 2 extra straps (not planned) in the truck. So my new plan is to buy a new set of straps at the beginning of each season. Always learning. Lucky so far. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

S2.7 - Trillium Lake.

Image
  Trillium Lake is just past Government Camp, on the foothills of Mount Hood. The boat ramp area is decent, with a small loading and unloading area, and a pit toilet. There is a decent amount of parking, and we got there around 9am, so no trouble finding a spot. However, it got a lot busier as the day went on. There is a day use area on past the boat ramp, and that's where most people go who are just coming to swim. It's always nice to get that first glimpse of the water you will be floating for the day, but the view you get when you get to the bottom of the boat ramp is breathtaking. Everyone who comes down always stops to enjoy the view, and usually to take some pictures. During our time on the lake, I took quite a few breaks to just enjoy the view. And take lots of pictures. There is a day use area on one end of the lake, and a campground on another. A 2 mile trail goes around the lake, although part of it was closed when we were there. The campsites are spaced quite a ways ...
Read more

#6 - Ermie Walters - Alsea River

Image
  We went camping at Beachside, just south of Waldport. Our intent was to try the Alsea water trail, which starts at the mouth of the Alsea, heads upriver, and into Drift Creek. Leanna's sister was with us, and so we called around to rent a kayak for her to join us. The advice of the renter was to skip the water trail due to wind and waves, and head upriver about 19 miles to the Ermie Walters Boat Ramp . So we did. Ermie Walters is a nice boat ramp with decent parking lot for this far upriver. No bathrooms. There were 2 other cars in the parking lot. One waiting to rent kayaks, like us, and another belonging to a couple who had set up shop at the bottom of the boat ramp, and were cooking up some crawfish they had caught. Once our other kayak arrived, we put in. I got all the way in, unintentionally, as I was trying to get in my kayak. The water level was pretty low, and I had to pull my kayak into a deeper channel from the ramp. Just slipped on slippery rocks. Good news is the wat...
Read more

2.3 Waldo Lake - North Waldo Campground

Image
  Waldo Lake is infamous for a few things. Beauty. Clarity. Mosquitoes. All are justified. The boat ramp at North Waldo is large and well maintained. There is plenty of parking, and there are relatively new composting toilets all through the campground, including the boat ramp. We ended up kayaking 2 days here, so this post includes both days. We stayed at the North Waldo Campground. The sites are large, well spaced, and come complete with friendly chipmunks and birds. Especially when you have food out. The mosquitoes were very annoying. We used a lot of mosquito repellent, and had 2 citronella candles burning most of the time. The campfire also helped. Between all 3 of those precautions, and the long sleeves and pants, the mosquitoes were manageable. There are quite a few first come, first serve campsites, which is what we got.  The boat ramp is in a small bay, with an island in the middle, so it is well protected from the wind. Once you pass the island, you are subject to wa...
Read more