The Grand Time

Tom's Journal

May 30, 2007 - Day 15

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After a night of very little sleep for me, Lars, Courtney, Noel and I boarded the raft and pushed off from the Potash boat ramp at 8:30 am. It was a bittersweet moment for me as I waved goodbye to my family on shore.

The weather was picture-perfect with very little wind. Thanks to Lars’ strong rowing arms and his ability to read the current in this very flat section, we made miles quickly while I dozed between taking pictures. We even had time to stop for a short hike on the left shore.

There we saw 800 year old grain storage ruins and rock art left by the Anasazi, apparently ancestors to the local indigenous peoples here when the area was “discovered” by European settlers almost 200 years ago.

After a long day perched on the underside of my hard plastic kayak that was loaded on to the rear of the raft, I was happy when we made camp at 6 pm about 34 miles downstream.

Gracious enough to share this expansive beach camp with us was “Lisa the Frog Lady”. She is an employee of the federal government who travels alone with all her food and gear in her kayak; her purpose is to study amphibious life along the river and its side canyons.

She gave us a wealth of information on many river-related topics and, interestingly, her husband is currently (pun intended) on full-length kayak trip down the Klamath River in Oregon. He must be crazy too!

It was another starry night with a nice cool breeze. As I dropped off to sleep I was thinking that the cool, flat sandy beach under my sleeping pad made as comfortable a bed as any I can remember. The rest was much needed, not only from the day before, but because of what I knew was in store the following day.

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Mile by Mile Photos

May 30, 2007 - Day 15
Mile 391 through Mile 423

May 16 2007 - Day 1May 17 2007 - Day 2May 18 2007 - Day 3May 19 2007 - Day 4May 20 2007 - Day 5May 21 2007 - Day 6May 22 2007 - Day 7May 23 2007 - Day 8May 24 2007 - Day 9May 25 2007 - Day 10May 26 2007 - Day 11May 27, 2007 - Day 12May 28, 2007 - Day 13May 29, 2007 - Day 14May 30, 2007 - Day 15May 31, 2007 - Day 16June 1, 2007 - Day 17June 2 - 11, Day 18 - 27June 12, 2007 - Day 28June 13, 2007 - Day 29June 14, 2007 - Day 30June 15, 2007 - Day 31June 16, 2007 - Day 32June 17, 2007 - Day 33June 18, 2007 - Day 34June 19, 2007 - Day 35June 20, 2007 - Day 36June 21, 2007 - Day 37June 22, 2007 - Day 38June 23, 2007 - Day 39June 24, 2007 - Day 40June 25, 2007 - Day 41June 26, 2007 - Day 42June 27, 2007 - Day 43June 28, 2007 - Day 44June 29 2007 - Day 45June 30, 2007 - Day 46July 1 - 13, Day 47 - 58July 15, 2007 - Day 59
The last day; The river’s end