Due to the large amount of rain we have recently received, today’s journey took me to the area of Minto Brown Island Park. My favorite four fellow kayakers joined me and it was a lot of fun!
We met at Salem’s Riverfront Park. The only downside to using the boat dock here is that it’s a long downhill walk to the dock. Normally, I can throw my kayak up to my shoulder and carry it wherever I need to. However, the length here is just too far. I don’t yet have a kayak cart and so I had to use use the muscle of another person in our group to get my kayak down to the water. So, if you’re going to kayak here, bring your cart or someone to help you!
Once we got down to the boat dock, there is a kayak launch at the end of the dock. You just have to lift your kayak up over the sides of the launch, step inside your kayak and then push off. It’s very nice and very easy to use. I wish there were more of these in popular kayaking places.
The folks kayaking with me today commented that they wished the launch was on the side of the dock rather than at the end. And this makes sense because just before the launch there is a gigantic steel post that holds the dock into place. So, you have to maneuver around the post. But, it’s still doable.
Once you leave the launch, you travel to the left, going under the “Taco Bridge.” It’s official name is the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge. Phew, that’s a mouthful! Ha!
When looking at this photo, you can see what it’s referred to as the “Taco Bridge.” During the summer time, you can’t kayak under the bridge because the water level is so low that it’s completely dry underneath. So, this is a winter kayak adventure!
Once we paddled up to the bridge, we noticed a large body of water to the right, so we went to explore. This was the best decision we made! As we were paddling along, we weren’t sure where we were going and what we might encounter, but we went anyways. Well, it was fabulous. There is a main waterway that leads to the right and so we followed it. It was stupendous. We saw all sorts of displays of mother nature’s grandeur.
We encountered the above tree. The poor tree has been completely enveloped by Ivy. However, without any leaves on it yet, it looked like a giant outstretched hand. I thought it was very cool! The water was so perfect. It was an easy and smooth paddling adventure. We reached the end when we came to the Willamette River. I paddled out as close as I could get to the river. It was really neat to sit there and watch how fast the river was moving! Impressive, for sure!
From here, we turned around and went back the way we came. Once we got back to the main waterway, we turned right and continued our journey.
Everything was so beautiful. Even though there aren’t any leaves on all of the deciduous plants yet, they were still very pretty. Normally, you can only kayak out a certain distance, as you normally come upon the opening to a large water area that is completely blocked by logs and branches. Not today! The water was so high that we kayaked right across the top of them. This became all new unchartered territory for us.
We were able to kayak all the way into Minto Brown Island park. Walkways were completely covered with water. We were able to kayak to different areas that are normally dry land.
The first picture is me floating behind a park sign that gives directions to different walkways. This sign is approximately 8ft tall. That gives you an idea of just how much water there was today. The second sign is just before one of the walkways. I don’t know whether it’s there all year, but it was definitely appropriate for today. We exited our kayaks to go look around. We walked a short distance up the walkway and encountered the above sign. It showed us where we were in the park and the picture shows that there is normally no water where we had traversed.
This entire part of our journey was absolutely fantastic!
It was at this point that we turned around to head back. Because there was so much water, my return journey took me around trees and bushes that are normally dry. It was during one of these turns that I encountered the above Beaver. Normally, when I’ve come across one, they immediately duck under the water to stay safe. However, this one stayed on top and kept swimming to where he wanted to go. I was able to follow along with him for quite a distance. This was my first Beaver encounter! (Not including my alma mater – Oregon State University Beavers!)
All in all – absolutely FANTASTIC kayak adventure!!!
For those who may want to experience all of this, here are the charts showing the water levels today. So, after days of a lot of rain, check the levels and go embark!
The one and only (and large) negative part of our trip was the enormous amount of garbage we saw along the water’s edge just west of the Taco Bridge. These photos are only an example. There is enough garbage to fill several dump trucks! These homeless camps were all abandoned and they really need to be picked up!!!! I’ve never seen anything like it before!
My hope is that enough folks read this post and organize a garbage pickup day! This is going to require an organized effort with the city of Salem participating as well. When it does happen, send me a message, because I’ll help out!
2024 – Kayak Trip #3
