Tag: Abby

Kayaking Recreation Creek


I am visiting Mo in Oregon for a few days, and once again, we launched our kayaks on our favorite local canoe trail, part of the Upper Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge. It’s less than a mile from home to the launch at Rocky Point, but this time we decided to launch at Malone Spring and travel north to Crystal Spring.

Every season has a different feeling on the refuge, and this was no exception. We realized that it had been awhile since we traveled this route in full summer, and the tules were nearly 10 feet high. The water was lower than we have experienced, and filled with plants, but as usual, crystal clear. This is the kind of waterway that makes kayaking such a treasure. There is really no other way than a kayak or a canoe to really experience this kind of wild land.

The water was still and sweet, and for the first time, the air was still as well. With temperatures in the low 80’s and no winds, it was just about as perfect as kayaking can be on still water with a slight current. Crystal Springs was green and clear and deep, and on the way back down the river the current carried us along with very little effort. We saw two sandhill cranes flying over the marsh, with their unique croaking sounds, and great egrets, white herons, merganser ducks, blackbirds, and willets, and some pelicans cruising in the distance. A highlight was the pair of otters watching us with curiosity from their playground along the banks of the marsh.

Abby finally learned that she can actually relax in the kayak, and I had great fun attempting to video part of the trip with the camera perched on the bill of my cap. Check it out here

Later in the week we again took advantage of the west side of the Upper Refuge. It was nearly 5pm, a little early for supper, so we thought, “why not? let’s go out for a short kayak”. In 10 minutes we were on the water, launching this time from Rocky Point. Even though it wasn’t a weekend, the launch was busy with boats and canoes, fishermen, and kids. The breeze was blowing but we thought heading south into Pelican Bay might be a different trip so we took off and in minutes were out of the congestion.

Pelican Bay is a western arm of Klamath Lake, and Crystal Creek leads north directly into the marsh from this bay. We paddled along the tules, and in spite of the late hour couldn’t resist going just a little bit into the marsh on the creek. Once protected by the tules and carex there was much less wind, and for no reason that we could figure out, in spite of paddling upstream, it felt as though we were being pulled north by an invisible tide. Smooth, quiet, deep water. It’s been a long time since we were on this part of the canoe trail, and we had never done it upstream. Time slid by like the water, and before long we knew that we were going to attempt to go all the way and connect up again with Recreation Creek to the west.

Just a little bit of adrenalin makes everything a bit more fun, because it was getting later, we weren’t sure how far it was to the Wocus Cut, and neither of us wanted to be on the marsh in the dark. Finally we found the Wocus Cut signs, and noticed just how low the water was at this time of year. The cut is about a mile crossing shallow areas of the marsh filled with wocus and open water. What we discovered on this late evening was that the water was barely 4 inches deep. Paddling a mile in shallow water, with our boats sometimes sliding along the silty mucky marsh soils was challenging, with our paddles often digging into the muck to try to move forward. Getting out of your boat in these organic mucky soils is not an option. You will sink to your armpits and become food for whatever. Finally, just after the sun set behind Pelican Butte we reached Recreation Creek and paddled effortlessly downstream to the Rocky Point launch and home..

Maybe August isn’t a good time to attempt the Wocus Cut across the marsh!

Camping at Topsy

The Klamath River winds in lazy arcs south from Klamath Falls through wide agricultural fields, but as it approaches the California state line, the canyons begin to close and the river becomes a torrent once again. Above this wild river, however, there are several dams, some involved in the controversy over fish, both salmon and suckers, farmers, and water. Topsy is one of the dams that may or may not be removed, but in the mean time, there is a delightful little campground along the eastern shore managed by the BLM.

Mo and I thought a short overnighter in the MoHo would be fun, so we drove about an hour from home to camp. It was the first time I had been on this part of the Klamath and I look forward to exploring it all a bit more someday. But for the time being, a simple overnight with a nice wide clean space on the lake’s edge, a great campfire, and a lovely cool morning hike was just perfect.

The pelicans are part of the Klamath basin, and this year it seems that there are more than usual. Kayaking Pelican Bay on the lake later in the week allowed us to slip in among some very large groups of juvenile birds, but on that day I didn’t take my camera. Here at Topsy, there were pelicans and ducks, several blue herons, ospreys, and other birds that I didn’t identify. The birdsong was great.

In spite of the heat, Abby was the only one who really cared to get into the green water. Because of all that farmland, or maybe because the water comes from the rich food source called Klamath Lake, there was a lot of algae and duckweed in the water. Abby swam and we lounged around in the late afternoon in the shade of huge ponderosas doing nothing. Nothing is really very nice sometimes!

Day 2 Dog days of summer

It is 7:30 in the morning and the temperature outside is about 83 degrees, probably as hot as it ever gets at my home, so I think to myself, “why am I here?” We awoke to bright sunlight and 77 degrees at 5:30 AM.  But the answer is easy, I needed a road trip.  I often need road trips, which is why I love having the MoHo!  Combining it with an opportunity to visit old time friends was a great reason to get out and on the road.
This day was spent relaxing, swimming, and walking, wtih three swimming sessions for Abby to keep cool.  I  finished one book and started another and we took one walk.  Mosquitoes are out here in the evenings, but not as much during the day, and there are nice breezes in the mornings.  Farewell Bend State Park is very well maintained with workers out and about, watering, trimming, and cruising around checking things.  The spaces are large and separated by nice hedges to maintain privacy.  The older part of the park has large trees, but only 20 amp power; the newer part with higher amps required for the AC doesn’t have the shade.  At this time of year, the amps were more important than the shade, for sure.  Still, I had to be careful not to use too many appliances at once so the breakers wouldn’t get tripped when the AC was running. Catfish loop has less privacy but does have 30 amp power.

I give people credit who tent camp and pitch a tent for just one night.  Too much packing and unpacking for me at this stage in my life. 

Day 1 Visiting old friends

With Sue busy finishing her work in California, I (Mo) decided to travel to Eastern Oregon and Idaho to visit old time friends from my pre-college days living in Columbia City, Oregon.  Abby is a great travel companion, and at 6am we left home and headed east via HWY 140 to 395N at Lakeview.  Lake Abert is a saline lake on the west side of the highway and it was surprisingly full for this time of year.  I found a side road off 395 that took off toward Christmas Valley to the west near milepost 36, and thought that it might be an interesting way to go back home on my return trip.  Although the weather was pleasant when I left home, by the time I was east of Drinkwater Pass on highway 20 things started to heat up.  It was 102 degrees when I reached Fruitdale, ID in the afternoon.

As I mentioned previously, Abby is a great travel companion, but her ability to follow the maps and read directions while I drive isn’t all that great.  Usually when Sue and I are together, one of us can navigate while the other one drives.  This time, going through Ontario, I got lost since I was having trouble reading the directions that I received from my friends while driving the motorhome.  When I left home, gas was 2.65 and I filled up in Fruitdale at 2.76 per gallon.  Certainly not anywhere as bad as things were a year ago for gas prices.
The late afternoon visit with my friends was delightful, catching up on old times and laughing.  I had a reservation for the evening at Farewell Bend State Park, about 25 miles north on I-84.  The campground wasn’t full, however, possibly because of the 102 degree weather!  I set up camp and turned on the AC and all was fine.  Abby went for a swim in the Snake River so she was happy.  One more time, she was like a kid in the water, refusing to come out because she was having so much fun.  I had to actually pretend to leave and get completely out of sight before she would reluctantly follow.
After her swim, we walked around the campground and I spent some time reading, had a simple sandwich for supper, with fresh lettuce from my friend’s garden, and built a campfire as the sun went down.  Of course, in the heat I really didn’t need it to keep warm, but I love the ambience of the fire when I am out camping.  I set the AC for 77 degrees and it went on and off repeatedly as the rig would heat up even during the night. All in all a good day, especially with the convenience of air conditioning and available electricity.

Day 6 Biking Diamond Lake

The John Dellenback trail around Diamond Lake is about 12 miles of paved, easy trail that circles the lake with no more than an 8 percent grade. We tried biking this trail over Memorial Day, but it was still snowed in too deeply to complete the ride. This time we left from the southern end of the lake, near the south boat launch and rode west to the Theilsen View campground, where we were stopped by snow in the spring.

It was a great ride, with Abby enjoying the small lakes for a cooling swim. We had her on the leash at the beginning of the ride, but with very few people on the trail, decided that she could run on her own. Abby is the kind of dog that doesn’t want to stray any distance from her mother, Mo, so we don’t have to worry about her running off. Even the tempting squirrel or two will only take her for a moment and she is right back. If we saw people coming, Mo would call her to her side and she would wait patiently for them to pass.

When we left, the skies were clear and it was warm with lots of mosquitos. Bring LOTS of mosquito dope because they are thick here, especially on the southern end of the trail. If you keep moving, most of the time they won’t catch you, but stop for just a moment and they are everywhere.

On the way back we heard thunder and the clouds started forming over Mt Theilsen. To our delight, the great thunderstorm and downpour waited until we were conveniently loading up the bikes and climbing back into the protection of the MoHo, where the kitties were patiently waiting for us again. Abby had a great run, some great swims, and it was a good way to end the week. Home to Rocky Point via HWY 138 down to HWY 97 was much faster than the way we went previously and we were home from Diamond Lake in less than 2 hours.