Me paddling in the rain on Lake Oswego, August 19, 2007.
Baker heading in from our trip on the upper Oswego, August 19, 2007.August 19, 2007
Upper Oswego River / some spots as deep as 3-4' / air temp 74 degrees (downstream gauge reads 2.8' at 30 cfs; pathetic)
One of the best trips I've ever had on the upper end. Me and Baker decided to head out despite the rain just to log some time on the water. Truth is, we weren't expecting much but the heavy rains filled up the upper Oswego quickly -- and it was incredible.
Looming from the muddy banks, trident red maple were already assuming their fiery red color for fall. The smaller maple were full-blown red, but the larger trees were still green-leafed. Cedar hung heavy overhead, soaked like sponges. The river popped with raindrops as we made our way along clear, passable lanes the whole way through.
I got bit on the neck by a spider. Although, I did an instant swat, smash and splash, I think it was a tan one with a black spot on its back. Felt a little pinch, but as of today no mark, no spider powers. Now Baker, on the other hand, got bit by a spider a couple of weeks ago and wound up being hospitalized. I was using Baker' boat so maybe I picked up some of that Baker Mojo.
We were paddling over whole islands of river grass. We even paddled over the old cranberry bog, which is usually a muddy island that's walkable. (Turns out this is where Baker tipped on this trip, landing him in about a foot of water and knee-deep in smelly mud.) We turned around at this point, after about 1 1/2 hours of paddling.
The trip downstream and across the lake took us about a 1/2 hour; we were cruisin'. At the put-in/take-out two canoers were finishing up their rainy river trip too.
My only regret is that we didn't have a camera. Sigh. At the end we managed to snap a few shots with Baker's cell phone. When I get the pics from Baker, I'll get them posted.
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