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. 

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