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Monitor to Wenatchee (R2R Route Practice), April 5, 2003

By Brian Burns and Kathy Spencer

Three canoes paddled at a fairly fast pace down the Wenatchee and the Columbia. Stan Mryzgod and Tim Ahern came from the Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club.

Larry and Nancy Lewis represented Paddle Trails and brought a fast tandem canoe, though their motivation was just to enjoy being on a river. Kathy Spencer of both clubs paddled with Christie Young, who came as a club guest.

When we scouted the first rapid, a canoe dumped as we were walking to the river. When Kathy and Christie did the actual race, there were 4 canoes which were making their way upside down, independently or with human help, toward shore below the second rapid.

But our group used our expert skill and made the trip without mishap. Two canoes took a detour through a channel at the end of the Wenatchee that is more scenic than just going right onto the Columbia. Unfortunately, we didn't see any fowl using the wood duck houses.

All but Christie, who had a bathroom remodel to work on, went to the Spencer's house for some after-paddle refreshments and to commiserate with Dick who was taking it easy after some rafting the week before. His back had not liked the change in watercraft.

At the actual race, Stan and Tim's team came in first in their division with a river time of 53 minutes and Kathy and Christie's team came in second in their division with a river time of 58 minutes.