stretching our sore muscles after nearly 60 miles of paddling over 2
days.
We have come from the wilderness into civilization - last night we
camped on a gravel bar at Battle Creek Unit and were met with skies so
clear we could see stars, constellations and galaxies, a bald eagle,
beautiful fish and a rapid flow of water on its way to Southern
California to support the ever growing population.
We watched massive changes, from running through whirlpools in the
river trapped between red and black bluffs of hardened lava and skree,
found a mineral spring budbbling out of the middle of the river that
is under water most of the year and are now sitting in a park next to
a massive dam that provides water for our farmers that produce 2/3's
of America's food and supports a growing central and southern
california population.
Most striking on a personal level is that just this morning, we went
for a swim in beautiful, clear algae free water with smooth rocks.
Looking down into the water on our final approach today, I was loathe
to put my feet in, as the bottom of the river is composed of algae
covered rocks and plants.
Some significant changes occured in both water quality and abundance
of life, but we are excited to continue downstream and hope to
re-discover more pristine areas.
--
Jared Robinson Criscuolo
BELOW THE SURFACE
A coast-to-coast exploration of America's waterways
203 887 3272
www.belowthesurface.org
http://www.uniflip.com/online-magazines/3/16916/29716/pub/index.html
No comments:
Post a Comment