5/11/2019 Irving to Melrose Trip

Well, we did our third trip of the season.  Finally had some real excitement.  We had a newbie with us today that misunderstood our directions for today’s mission.  He thought he was just supposed to take the kayak to the first tree in the River and then swim the next 12 miles.  He soon found out what 50° water felt like when it is running at 8830 cfs. and 9.1 feet deep.  His day ended early, but we still had to tow his kayak a mile or so down the river to the nearest landing.  Billy could retrieve it at that camp ground and take it,  and Austin back home for the day.  A little cold and wet, would not have made for a comfortable trip for him.  We will try another day when the temperature is something more than the 54° we had today.

Our total trip was 12.6 miles and with an average speed of 4.3 mph so we finished our travels in 2 hours and 57 minutes.  The travelers for the day were:  Austin, for a short time and Billy who had to take them both home.  The rest of us–Teresa, Steve Dunn, Tom Hundt, Kroggi, and I finished the trip.  We saw a couple of Eagles but only got a picture of one large, young, Eagle–his head was not even white yet.  The water was high enough for us to be able to paddle right up to the “Lost Falls” which normally you need to walk to see.  The water kept rising all day and rose another 6 in. before we finished the day’s trip.  The water at the Falls was actually warmer, (54°) than the rest of the river, but it is that temperature all year long.  It feels really cold when you go there in the summer time.

In spite of the troubled start, we did have a great day, although cloudy and almost some rain with fairly high winds, but it beats sitting on the couch all day.

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