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Northwest Paddle Passage

A journey to standup paddle the length of the mighty Columbia River from the Canadian border to Portland - Part 1

By KAVU

September 6^th, 2016

On day one...

we loaded up the car with two paddleboards, three paddles, two tents, a camp kitchen, all the gear needed for three weeks outdoors…. including just enough KAVU hats.

Oh... and four humans and one big puppy

From the first day of planning, we wanted this journey to be about more than ourselves. After studying the history and ecology of the Columbia, we learned that a huge part of the river‘s story is about environmental and cultural degradation. That’s why we decided to raise money for the Northwest Indian College, to give scholarships to students pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Native Environmental Science — an incredible program of study. On our way out to the river, we got to visit their campus, check out their rocket lab, and do silly poses under a sweet totem arch.

adventure is ahead

We were thankful to have our life jackets on during the very first leg

hail storm

Paddleboarding through features like “Deadman’s Eddy” can get a little hairy!

china Bend

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Big Nature

When the wind turns against you, your progress inevitably slows. Big winds forced us into paddling through the sunset and into the night.

camping kavu style

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progress

Everything about Lake Roosevelt, the reservoir that backs up behind the gargantuan Grand Coulee Dam, is enormous: It’s the biggest lake in Washington, a home for enormous sturgeons and bald eagles, and surrounded by huge, rugged, timber-tufted cliffs.

After 150 miles...

we reached the biggest concrete slab on the continent: the Grand Coulee Dam….

KAVU: “Stay tuned for Part 2 of this epic journey!”

Footnotes

Sale and Mericos Rhodes, Sally Landefeld, & Jeremy Nadison, are four adventurous explorers who wanted to experience the beauty and spirit of the Pacific Northwest’s most important river.

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FootNotes

Sale and Mericos Rhodes, Sally Landefeld, & Jeremy Nadison, are four adventurous explorers who wanted to experience the beauty and spirit of the Pacific Northwest’s most important river.

Havasupai 2025

Northwest Paddle Passage

A journey to standup paddle the length of the mighty Columbia River from the Canadian border to Portland - Part 1

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