S2.8 - Willamette River - Hyak Park (Not Calapooia at Bryant Park)

 Today's adventure was going to be exploring the Calapooia River, starting at Bryant Park in Albany, which is where the Calapooia empties into the Willamette. (And then an ABBA tribute band concert in Albany afterwards. Honestly, that was the main reason for the trip, and this was close to the venue.) We didn't know much about the water levels of the Calapooia, but we went anyway, because, why not? Bryant Park has a boat ramp according to their park map. But when we went to Bryant Park, there is no boat ramp. It seems to have been filled in. You could carry kayaks down to either river, but it's a bit of a trip. Also, the Calapooia seemed low, and it was obvious that we would be portaging around rocks a lot. So. Change of plans.

Instead, we drove to Hyak Park, which is only a few minutes away on Hwy 20, on the opposite side of the river. I've driven past this many times, but never stopped. It's a nice clean park, with a nice ramp, and decent parking. Also, there are flush toilets, and they were even clean!





The ramp is off the main current, and has a concrete dock, of sorts. Because we didn't have a shuttle, we decided that we would go upstream first, like we do with our pedal kayaks. It was a gorgeous day, and almost no one around. 





The current was very weak along the North shore, and we were able to make some good time against the current. But then, where the river bends, we hit the current, and it was hard going. We crossed the river to try the other side, but that wasn't much better. So, we decided to turn around and check out a small creek at the bend. 




This creek led to Bowers Slough, which is basically a shallow (at least in early August) swamp. While the water is murky, there is a lot of wildlife. We saw 2 herons, and a multitude of other small birds. 



On the way back, we took advantage of a small eddy, and went for a swim. There was plenty of room to swim without hitting the main current, and it felt great. It wasn't far to get back to Hyak, where we changed for our concert in the spacious and clean bathrooms. 

So not quite according to plan, and not as long on the river as we usually like to spend. But definitely worth it.

And the concert was great too!






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