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Expedition 2001, The Completion

By Pat Harbine

The project is done! On Sept. 6 the short section above the border, between Boundary and Waneta Dams was completed.

Phase 2 required three separate attempts due to interruptions in my own schedule. Progress as far as Rock Island Dam has been reported previously. The last leg of the trip from Crescent Bar was planned as a leisurely 4 day paddle to Sacajawea Park below Pasco at the confluence with the Snake River. I planned to maintain contact with my wife by cell phone and camp along the river.

Departing at noon I began the 5 hour paddle to Vantage. Head winds slowed my pace but I managed to make good time through the Gorge using the shelter of headland and an occasional wind shadow to aid in crossing open reaches. The city campsite was crowded and noisy with concert patrons flocking to a 3 day event at the ampitheater. The noise and activity ceased at about 2 am but the camp was lifeless at my 8 am launch. I had pre-arranged my arrival with the controllers at each of the two dams and while approaching Wannapum Dam I called again. The full-sized truck I requested was crossing as I landed (it is important to use a vehicle that supports the full length of a fragile fiberglass craft). Portage was complete in 15 minutes. I bid my 2 helpers goodbye and pressed on toward Sentinal-Gap and Priest Rapids Dam. Landing at the Desert Aire boat ramp I was met by a high school classmate who retired as a controller and whose influence prompted a quick portage around Priest Rapids Dam with only one minor incident! While getting out of my boat I slipped on the algae-covered concrete ramp and found myself and the boat thrust 25 or more feet from the shore. Each time I attempted to stand I would slip back out. Finally I gained traction on large stones along the edge and waded ashore as the truck arrived, the driver was sympathetic to my plight because he also had slipped in earlier this year!

Past the dam on a rocky beach at the end of a primitive road I climbed into my kayak and headed for Vernita Bridge and for a hard-scrabble campground. All evening the sound of 4x4 vehicles laboring to extract boats over the rough launch road kept me awake. Several partly grown dogs roamed the area trying to mark my boat or tent. I woke early just as one of the mongrels was about to lift his leg over my tent and felt it was time to be on my way.

Vernita Bridge is considered the entry into an area known as the Columbia Reach, all the property along the river belongs to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and is posted against trespassers. Soon the outlines of old deserted buildings built during the 1940s and 1950s were visible. No sign of life but there were probably hidden cameras monitoring each boats passage. Large white cliffs line the left river bank for several miles as the stream narrows and the current becomes more intense. One launch ramp where I ate was so solidly built that it must have been used to ferry tanks across the river. Very little shade, but paddling was better than resting on shore. I was startled as a fishing boat drew alongside. The occupants asked if I could use water and gave me a fillet of freshly smoked salmon, Life Is Good!

Arrival at the Ringold Hatchery was much earlier than I predicted and the area didn't look good for camping. At 2 pm with a strong current under my boat I drifted downstream to a wide beach with shade trees above it, a likely spot to camp?

The pre-arranged time to call my wife was at 6 pm so I rested in the shade for the balance of the afternoon. I discovered the last of my series of map, the one for the Tri-Cities was missing and I had not brought the G. P. S. so I was dependent on the advice of others to determine how many miles remained. Two resources assured me that I was near the city limits of Richland, and Pasco would be only 10 to 15 miles further. While I spoke with my wife at 6 p. m. we agreed that I could easily paddle that distance and head home that evening. Big mistake! With my gear re-packed on top of the cell-phone and flashlights I sped toward Sacajawea Park pausing only to ask about distances. Imagine my surprise when the next two informants estimated it was probably 28 miles to my take-out -they were right! Knowing my wife would arrive as much as 3 hours ahead of me increased my motivation.

Darkness fell and the current disappeared, the moonlight reflected the water surface and the shore lights outlined my path. I stayed close to the shore to avoid collision with other water-craft but several groundings and near misses of rocks forced me further from shore. The boat traffic ceased at 9 p.m so I was able to use lights from the bridges and streets to guide me but then there were no shore lights, only dark shapes of trees and islands. A blue light flashed intermittently in the distance that could be it but how would I recognize the park which would be closed now? The flashing light was close now and I could make out the silhouettes of swim buoys and the vast expanse of the Snake River. I was there, 11:30 pm. but there!

A few hundred yards into the park I saw two vehicles approaching, my wife and the Ranger, also a kayaker,. They were worried but had resolved they could do nothing 'till morning so they had not alerted the authorities. The gear was loaded in the car and the kayak lashed to the car and we headed for the safety of Spokane and home, closing the book on Expedition 2001.

Calculations done after the fact indicated the entire 58 miles of the Hanford Reach was traversed in 10 hours of paddling time. The leg from Crescent Bar in 2.5 days and the entire distance from Columbia Falls in 25 days.