Dark Waters

On Sunday , 18:45, my wife and I headed to the Verdigris. Sun was going down fast. With dinner in a plastic bag, launched and headed north to the confluence of the V. River where it meets the Port. My goal was to demonstrate the way the right bend in the river can carry you upstream. We stopped at such a point for the evening meal. The quarter moon in the sky, the stars out, everything now pretty dark with a faint indication that the middle of the river was flowing pretty briskly just a few feet from where we rested. Both the site and the sounds and even the various scents in the air we passed through on the way up made for a very enjoyable experience.
As a bonus, on our way back, now going with the flow in the dark, we heard the gathering roar of a freight train as we watched its headlight reveal more clearly the bridge some 30 feet ahead of us and 90 feet above us.
The darkness, the black sky and faint moon, the sense of floating on top of deep, moving water underneath the heaviness of the train passing overhead ...and all shared with someone close by.... looking wide-eyed at each other through what dim light there was.... a night to remember.

Friday, Oct 03

Struck out at 1130 for a casual photo paddle (again choosing the nearby Verdigris). After getting some photos of the Port of Catoosa activity, I could not resist the Siren's Call and swung around to venture up the west bank of the Verdigris (usually scrape up the east bank for the first half of the upriver journey).

Note to self- the west bank is more a bit easier going, at first...then need to cross at the 'bump' (need to mark this on the GPS) to the east bank to finish the trip north.

Following the east bank the rest of the trip upriver worked great. There were still a few points that required a pause, then attack to get around an obstruction without getting swept downstream. Going upriver is akin to running intervals since there are some pretty intense exertion sprinkled at various points along the way. I look at is as earning the right to enjoy the delight of the white water ride down.
On the way back, cruising through the waves heading downriver, I tried something new: turning around and facing upriver to ride the wave. Surprisingly, it didn't take much paddling effort to stay stationary (glancing over at the bank). I didn't remain in that position for more than 30 seconds or so but I can tell it is something I'd like to make a habit of. It feels like being pushed upriver as a counterweight to the river's flow, reaching a kind of equilibrium...ironic in the middle of all the noise and motion of the rushing river.
I was wondering how maneuvering back to a downriver orientation was going to work out... wanting to avoid going broadside over the standing waves, but all was fine.
I may eventually do some reading on the subject but right now I'm enjoying the element of experiment and discovery.

Note to self- Find a more secure means of protecting the camera in order to remove the inhibitions created by the the risk of losing the thing in a spill.

Location of the rapids:
Lattitude:
Longitude:

September 30...

Used my birthday-gift Garmin Forerunner 101 to 'gauge' the trip up the Virdigris. Worked wonderfully. I discovered it takes 1:12 to get up the river to the fun spot. After a 7 minute rest it took 24 minutes to get back down.... an 8.13k round-trip that took 1:45 to complete.
I need to find someone who can "classify" this white water (class I, II ?) to get a feel for what I'm dealing with.

Paddling Relatively

Enjoyed a 1 hour kayak excursion (10-11am) with (sister-in-law) Brenda on/near the Verdigris River this morning. The water was a bit low. We were able to make it as far as the first BIG CLIFF just past the MYSTERIOUS CANVAS TENT beyond Molly's Landing, Catoosa. No wind. Temperature about 65F. Blue cloudless sky.
River Conditions.