S.5 Kayak #1 Buena Vista to Independence

 Buena Vista

Starting Location: Boat Ramp at Buena Vista Park

Point of Interest : Willamette River, just downstream from the confluence of Santiam and Luckiamute Rivers

Distance: about 11 river miles.

Time on float: Just over 3 hours

Bathrooms: Yes, brand new vault toilets

Parking: just paved, with plenty of parking for trailers

EV Chargers: No

Rentals: No



Our First float of the year, so we went somewhere relatively close, and had a friend shuttle our truck down to Independence for us. That was nice.

The weather was great, although a bit windy.

We were waiting for the ferry to head across, and then go behind, but the driver actually reversed back to shore, and waved us through. I'm assuming this is due to the kayaker who died under the ferry last year.
No big surprises on this float, having done it several times before. We did stop to pee on one of the unnamed islands, but did not swim today.

We only saw 2 other boats, both pulled up on shore, and only saw 2 other people, who had a nice shade tent set up, and were just enjoying the peace and isolation.



The wind did pick up here and there. We kept a slow pedal on our pedal drives to keep heading into the wind. It was really choppy coming to the Independence Bridge. After the bridge, we got caught in a shallow bar. I managed to pull my drive up, but then I could not get over to the right, where the main channel was. I moved over to the left bank, which was fine, but I should have seen that coming. There were some grassy hillocks peeking up above the water.


All in all, a nice first float. We hope to try someplace new this summer, just not sure where.

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