Home

10%

Northwest Paddle Passage

A journey to standup paddle the length of the mighty Columbia River from the Canadian border to Portland - Part 3

By KAVU

September 12^th, 2016

back on our way

After the Festival, we took it easy getting back on the river, paddling south towards the Saddle Mountains and the Hanford Reach.

a time past...

The sky was a grim and cloudy when we paddled past Hanford. Thousands of nuclear weapons were produced here, creating millions of tons of nuclear waste.

history

Some of the old buildings, like this pumphouse, look medieval. Right before this picture, a beaver slipped into the water on the right. This place is deeply ironic: it’s one of the most heavily-polluted places in the western hemisphere, and yet wildlife thrives along its undeveloped riverbank.

White Bluffs curled around the Columbia’s north bank

Kamu the dog waited patiently for the paddlers to arrive at the end of the Reach

We took a break to pick some cherries, and then got the GoPro going again to paddle down through the Tri-Cities

… bathed us beside the granaries and bridges of Pasco and Kennewick.

South of town, we paddle through the Wallula Gap, where the Columbia swings west, blasting through basalt, and begins its push towards the Cascades and the Pacific

Write your story here. (Optional)

down river

From the moment we crossed into Oregon, train tracks followed beside us along the river’s course

Near The Dalles...

Yakama Nation members fish from platforms and extended branches, many using dipnets, as their ancestors did for 10,000 years when the Columbia was the most productive salmon river on this planet

Wrapping up the paddle after a long, hot hot day

Write your story here. (Optional)

We camped at a friend’s lot on the bluffs at White Salmon, watching the sun set over the Columbia River Gorge

…as we prepared to embark from the boat launch at Beacon Rock to paddle the last 30 miles to Portland!

Almost immediately, the winds picked up. Things got a little splashy. After going just one mile in an hour and a half, we realized that the day was a blowout

almost there

Work obligations forced us to get off the river at this point, so after paddling 570 miles, we paused our mission before going the last 30, promising to each other that we’d finish the trip soon.

Stay tuned…..

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.

Button Label

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 3

FootNotes

By: Julia Botelho Morgan

Hartman Rector

By: Neil Amonson

By: Neil Amonson

By: Felicia Sturgeon

By Nick Greece