Thursday, October 8, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Day 9 - The Grand Finale, Winds and Waves
We are in the Delta - after much effort and fighting a current that switched to flow south to north. The final day of our expedition met us with increasingly strong winds blowing upstream into the Sacramento from the South, and an ever increasing tidal current flowing upstream against our progress. We reached a point where we simply weren't making any ground, as we were able to paddle only as fast as the current was coming in - sort of like being trapped in time.
The trip has been extraordinary, we've seen and learned much about navigating rivers, about the unique factors and issues the Sacramento faces and about the generosity of people along the way. Many individuals helped us out along the way, the human element made this trip go from successful to inspiring.
On the drive home, we saw many reminders of how Sacramento River issues are being borne out downstream - signs along I-5 south declaring "Congress Created Dust Bowl", decrying the fact that Sacramento's sewage disposal becomes drinking water for 20 million Californians and green orchards lie starkly contrasted against brown and yellowed hillsides. We made our way down the California Aqueduct and marveled at the massive infrastructure required to move water through the State - including an off-road foray along the massive pumping system that sends water up and over the Tehachapi Mountain Range north and east of Los Angeles.
We have much to do now, to learn about the EPA discharge requirements, what is permitted to enter these waterways and contrast these findings with what we saw. We'll be working hard to gather this information and develop educational materials focused on the river and what individuals can do to help clean it up.
Thanks to everyone from the crew at The Fly Shop and Yaaks downstream to John at Tony's who made this trip possible, to Guy McClellan, our web designer for coming along and driving our chase truck, for attempting to catch dinner for us while we were hard at work paddling and filming, and for keeping our web content updated. Most importantly, thanks again to Clif Bar, Ecousable, Hadronex, Ocean Minded and Go Pro for helping us out along the way.
Keep checking out our website over the next few months for updates on our Sacramento River work, and for our plans to step up our expeditions and research on the Mississippi River next year and beyond.
Jared
The trip has been extraordinary, we've seen and learned much about navigating rivers, about the unique factors and issues the Sacramento faces and about the generosity of people along the way. Many individuals helped us out along the way, the human element made this trip go from successful to inspiring.
On the drive home, we saw many reminders of how Sacramento River issues are being borne out downstream - signs along I-5 south declaring "Congress Created Dust Bowl", decrying the fact that Sacramento's sewage disposal becomes drinking water for 20 million Californians and green orchards lie starkly contrasted against brown and yellowed hillsides. We made our way down the California Aqueduct and marveled at the massive infrastructure required to move water through the State - including an off-road foray along the massive pumping system that sends water up and over the Tehachapi Mountain Range north and east of Los Angeles.
We have much to do now, to learn about the EPA discharge requirements, what is permitted to enter these waterways and contrast these findings with what we saw. We'll be working hard to gather this information and develop educational materials focused on the river and what individuals can do to help clean it up.
Thanks to everyone from the crew at The Fly Shop and Yaaks downstream to John at Tony's who made this trip possible, to Guy McClellan, our web designer for coming along and driving our chase truck, for attempting to catch dinner for us while we were hard at work paddling and filming, and for keeping our web content updated. Most importantly, thanks again to Clif Bar, Ecousable, Hadronex, Ocean Minded and Go Pro for helping us out along the way.
Keep checking out our website over the next few months for updates on our Sacramento River work, and for our plans to step up our expeditions and research on the Mississippi River next year and beyond.
Jared
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