Gone fishin' or fish gone?

I fished for 3 hours without seeing anything in the river. No fish jumping, just algae covered rocks along the littered shore of the levee. Pigeons, seagulls, and crows in place of osprey, bald eagles, and salmon.

Day 7 - Sacramento!

Kristian and I paddled through increasingly still and turbid waters
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

Hold On To Your Butt

hold onto your butt

While driving down the 113, we noticed a fire to the side of the offramp and quickly pulled over and called 911.  The fire chief said it was most likely caused by someone throwing a cigarette butt out the window.  The passenger in the truck that day was Manase Mansur from Surfrider and he promotes a campaign entitled "Hold On To Your Butt" that aims to prevent pollution through cigarette butt litter and also the damage that flaming embers cause to property.  Once the authorities were called, we took the opportunity to promote this campaign with the visual evidence of the damage of a "wildfire" caused by an irresponsible smoker throwing their butt out the window.  If you see someone do this, you can report them to the authorities by calling 1-877-211-2888 and providing their license plate to the CHP.

Day 6 - The Media Blitz

What would a good water expedition be without some high profile media
exposure? We spent today resting weary appendiges after 5 days of
continuous paddling in a Starbucks (Schultz for Future Sponsor?) in
the quaint village of Knights Landing, CA. After hours of phone calls
to friends old and new and a few iterations of a media alert, we hope
to host a press conference at the Capitol Dome in Sacramento on
Friday. The only wildcard is that we are waiting on final word from
the CHP on our permit (please help us out guys!)

When we get the final go-ahead, we will release a draft box full of
emails announcing the date/time/location.

Tomorrow, Kristian and I are back on the river, making for Rio Ramaza
Marina tomorrow night, and then heading through West Sacramento on
Thursday. May the road rise up to meet us... may the wind be at our
backs (unlike Monday)..

Brutal headwinds but still making miles

Day 5 - Sutton County boat ramp, heading back to camp to prepare for press conference on Friday in Sacramento.

Almost Halfway There!

Undaunted by sore shoulders, arms and backs, oppressive heat and the
occaisional angry cow, we are pressing on south. Pulling out of
Colusa State Park, we're getting into a narrow section of river with
swamp areas choked with algae and plants, rocks and trees are covered
in river slime and we are surounded by farms. Water quality is
visually worse (and smells a bit less than satisfactory). We've seen
fertilizer facilities, farms, and still wildlife, all existing in and
around one of the main drinking and irrigation water supplies for
California.

--
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

River!