today. Despite the fact that we intersected with another river, the
Feather River, the flow rate appeared to decrease (it took us nearly 8
hours to cover approximately 25 miles - one of the slowest days yet).
Nevertheless, we have made it to Sacramento - we'll be passing through
West Sacramento near the Capitol building tomorrow.
The confluence of the Feather and Sacramento Rivers is a beautiful
sight. The isthmus between the two rivers draws a stark contrast
between the highly turbid algal green hue of the Lower Sacramento and
the healthy clear blue of the Feather River. Alas, this is merely a
Maginot Line, as the distinct colors meld into the shade of green
reminiscent of the Sacramento River we've traveled over the last few
days.
Over our rather humdrum paddle, we counted 2 car doors, Kristian
pointed out the well decomposed shell of a car, the seat from a car, a
sofa and assorted trash and post consumer waste. One person was so
considerate as to at least bag the trash prior to leaving it on the
river bank. It is frustrating to see our drinking water source (and
the downstream portion of such a beautiful body of water and sustainer
of life) treated with such disregard. This is, nevertheless, a strong
call to action for all of us. Rivers provide an element that is the
essence of life, and it is our duty to protect them - lest we destroy
our means of survival.
Fortunately, the wind was across the starboard side of the boat and
against our stern today, so we weren't fighting Ma' Nature the entire
way.
We'll be hosting a press conference at Discovery Park in Sacramento
near the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers on Friday
October 2 2009 at 10 am. email me - jared@belowthesurface.org for the
media alert, and please tell at least 3 people about it. Thanks for
the support!
--
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
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