I think this is the first time I have paddled when the color of the air quality alert was the same color as my boat – Purple. Despite the particulates from Canada, one open boater and 7 kayakers had an enjoyable trip. Participants: Owen D, OC-1; and kayakers Sasha S, Mark B, Ken C, Hugh H , Greg L, David M, Gary S. Owen styled his first personal descent of LF : )
This was a Thursday trip moved to Friday to get a slightly cooler day. We had air temp in the high 80’s, with the LF gauge at 3.07. We took off shortly after high tide, and appreciated the relatively hospitable take out floating over the mud and rocks exposed at low tide.
I find 3.07 a nice level for LF, as most of the sometimes pesky rocks in the first part of the trip are comfortably under water, and there are lots of bouncy waves downriver. We enjoyed seeing herons, cormorants, and ducks at different locations along the way.
While the following is not new, I note that there is still wood jammed against the rocks in the center of the last drop in Z Channel, and that this probably poses a hazard to a swimmer should someone flip above or at the drop. We all ran river right with no problems. The far-left slot was barely runnable at this water level, but one would probably need to scout from shore to be certain of this, it’s not easy to read from a boat above the drop.
Gary Steinberg