Cruising the Upper Willamette River 2006- Above the Locks

9 September 2006- Saturday

Care joins me for this trip. We have planned far ahead to coordinate our schedules and the schedules of the Willamette River Locks. Since the locks are only open on certain days, one has to compute all this into locking up and down. I hate to boat on the weekends as the traffic is always hectic, but have to surrender to the Lock Schedules.

We depart Scappoose Moorage at 1400 hrs and spend the night at Hadleys landing, a state marine dock on the upper Multnomah Channel. There are no longer Porta Potties at the dock, so we hike into the nearest ones and pick blackberries along the way. Its a quite day and evening as only one other boat is here with us.
Days Run 5.2 nm

The Willamette River Hadleys Landing to Oregon City

10 September 2006- Sunday
We get an early start 0845 and at 0925 we are on the Willamette River. We pass many ships tied to docks for loading and unloading cargo and pass under about 11 bridges, all of which we pass under without difficulty. That’s what I like about Shatoosh; shoal draft and 9 ft. height. We cruise past River Place Marina in downtown Portland at 1045 and head upriver to Staff Jennings and take on 7 gallons of fuel. They are having Dragon Boat races across the river. Our timing here is perfect as they will be closing for the winter season. We have a lovely cruise upriver checking out all the expensive homes as they cascade down the steep granite walls of the Willamette River. Many homes have float planes in addition to boats tied up to their private docks. As the river winds around numerous rocky outcroppings and islands we pay close attention to the water depths and follow the designated channel. At times you might be in 10 feet and minutes later you are in over 100 feet of water. You begin to get a clearer perspective of how deep this gorge really is. The Willamette River is interesting as it runs from south to north from its origin in southern origin near Springfield. We run into lots of salmon fisherman upriver and the Clackamas River is full of jumping salmon as we arrive at the beautiful new Oregon City docks at 1255 and take an inside tie-up, as the wakes from all the boats make it pretty sloppy. We use our afternoon by pumping up our fenders and adding several new ones port and starboard. I call and leave a message for the lockmaster and apprise him of our intent to lock up in the morning. In the evening Care and I walk a few blocks over to a wonderful restaurant and have a lovely dinner.
Days run 22.6 nm
Total 27.8

The Willamette River Cruise Locking Up River to Champoeg State Park

11 September 2006- Monday
Having previously surveyed many boaters along the waves, not many have cruised above the falls. Somehow people are intimidated by locks. I do have lock experience from cruising with Pat on her Danish sailboat, Skua II. We cruised across Florida using the lock system around Lake Okeechobee and I have been through the Ballard Locks in Seattle to get into Lake Union, so I do feel confident about this adventure. I did find one large cruiser who had made the upper Willamette River cruise the year before and had taken notes from his story. These are the oldest working locks in the USA and can be a little leaky, I’m told. We have to go through 4 locks to gain the 50 feet in river height. I also have preprinted locking instructions from the internet. Care and I review them and have our strategy coordinated.

We arrive at the locks at 0845 and I am unable to raise the lockmaster on my VHF, but get him on my cell phone. We wait a while and listen to the bag pipes playing to honor the 5th anniversary of 911 on the overhead bridge going into Oregon City. Finally he opens the gates and flashes the green light for us to enter the lock. The locks are situated between a paper producing company on the port side and the mainland. The locks are carved out of solid granite walls with ancient timber sidings. The lock master throws down 2 lines and in this case, you do not tie them to your boat. Someone on the bow holds a line and someone on the stern takes the stern line. Care is the bow person with a boat hook and I remain in the cockpit with the stern line and a boat hook. As the locks fill, water is swirling everywhere and it is a bit tricky to keep the boat off the walls and keep the excess line from swirling in the water catching on a prop. The locking takes about 45 minutes. I look up to see a low lying road in front of me as I am about to exit the last lock. I yell to Care to put the VHF antenna down thinking we have to travel under this road. Then it is pulled back from the paper factory to the mainland so that we can exit. My heart beat slows knowing we have made it through the locks and the sun is shining on our faces. A pay close attention as we leave noticing markers, what the entryway looks like so when we return in a few days I can find the entry to the locks and not head over the falls.

Just above the locks we notice a lovely State park with a dock named Bernert Landing
And I tell Care this would be a great place to overnight on the way down river so we could be in the locks at morning time. We agree that we will stay here. The Upper Willamette River is a combination of rural areas with rocky outcroppings and islands and there are lots of very expensive homes. The docks have huge pilings on them which indicates that this river can reach enormous heights during their rainy and runoff seasons. It reminded me of the Sacramento River docks. We arrive at another state park and dock at 1140.It is named Hebb State Park. We tie up and fix lunch and walk around afterwards. We give way to a cable ferry along the way. At 1330 we arrive at Boone Ferry Marina and meet BJ who owns the store. We take on ice, there is a pump out and enjoy an ice cream cone. We watch all the trout feeding on fish food BJ throws in. It looks like paranas in the amazon river. Just about every boat in the marina is a wake boarder, which means during the summer this would be one crazy place. Glad we are here after Labor Day. They do have gas here but no diesel. Up river we see gravel barges being filled. At 1500 we dock Shatoosh at Champoeg State Park. It is just downriver from Newburgh, Oregon.
Days run 19.4 nm

Total run47.2 nm

The Willamette River Cruise Champoeg To Ash Island and Back

12 September 2006 Tuesday

Champoeg State Park is a gold mine of a find. What a wonderful site, over 100 acres, RV Park, bike and hiking trails, old oak trees, lots of birds, a wonderful interpretive center, an old barn with a living garden that you can pick your own vegetables which we did.
There were lots of blackberries to pick and eat and we stored on a supply of them. After a long morning of exploring we return to Shatoosh and meet a couple in a canoe with a yellow lab. They are paddling from Springfield to Rainier, OR on the Columbia River. They will be camping along the way. He has previously paddled the entire Columbia River which originates in BC and is over 300 miles long.

Care takes a picture of me pointing to a high water mark on the pilings. Whoa Nellie, this was quite the flood.

At 1300 hrs we depart and head up river to the Newburg dock. We don’t stop as I’m told it is a long walk into town and then there is not much to see. We proceed past Ash Island for a little bit. This is the end of our chart and we have deep water, but without charts I’m turning around. I ask Care if she wants me to unload Pashmina so she can row on the backside of Ash Island and bird watch. She declines my offer so we head back to Champoeg and tie up at 1505 hr.

Days run 12.6 nm

Total run 59.8 nm

The Willamette River Cruise The Wish Full Filling Dock

13 September 2006 Wednesday

We have a leisurely morning on board and reluctantly depart this wonderful park and dock at noon. Retracing our route we pass through an area of rocky outcroppings and islands and see our canoe friends settled in for the afternoon and evening. We toot our horn and wave to them. At 1420 we tie up at Bernert State Park. I call this the Wish Full Filling Dock in my Children’s Version of the Adventures of Shatoosh and Pashmina. We need ice and I tell Care that maybe a store is nearby and we can pick some up, if the walk is not too far. Not long after we tie up 2 men come walking down the dock to check out Shatoosh. We strike up a conversation and they have Masonic emblems on their rings or belts. I said my maternal line were Masons and even had Mason for their name. I asked them where the nearest store for ice was and they said it wasn’t within walking distance, but they would make a run for us. It wasn’t long before they were back with ice in hand. I asked how much I owed them and they replied it was on them. They were happy to have helped us. A good deed done by these Masons. Care and I hike over the way to the Tualitin River as it empties into the Willamette River. There were lots of Canada Geese and Merganzers. We had an enjoyable hike and walk through the park.

Days run 14.7 nm
Total Run 74.5 nm

Locking Down to Coon Island

14 September 2008
Thursday

Morning brings a light misting rain and the temperature has dropped. There is a cold wind blowing. After an early breakfast I start a hike up to the land toilets before we pull out. I look up and see our canoe friends paddling towards the dock. They have their slickers on and do not look like they are having fun. “Have you had coffee this morning”, I ask? The lady says, “no, and I have been wishing for a cup for the last hour.” They are going to lock down this morning, so I tell them to go to Shatoosh and we will fix them some hot drinks. I return to tell Care to put on the kettle on the stove, as we have
company coming. After my pit stop I return to Shatoosh and fix up some hot coffee. They are most grateful for our kind deed. Remember this is the Wish Full Filling Dock. We got ice and she got her coffee.

At 0845 we depart and meet our canoe friends at the lock waiting area on the starboard side of the locks. We pull the cord to notify the lockmaster and soon the gates open and we get our green light to enter. We follow the canoe in and tie up on the port side of the lock. Locking down is a much smoother ride and we can see the gates leaking. It looks like a waterfall inside the lock. At 0940 we are out of the locks and circle around our canoeists to take their pictures. I fix Care and I some hot chocolate to celebrate. We proceed down river and have lunch underway just prior to entering the Multnomah channel. We decide to bypass Scappoose Moorage and go to Coon Island for another night on the water. Lots of Sandhill cranes are landing at Sauvie Island for their wintering at the refuge. We tie up at Coon Island and late afternoon brings some powerful lightning and thunder storms with some torrential rains which move through very fast. We spend some time cleaning up the boat and Care gets to clean the stove and I get the ice chest and refrigerator. My friend Pat on the Skua II always said,

"a busy crew is a happy crew."

Days run 33.5 nm
Total run 108 nm

Willamette River Cruise Coon Island to Scappose Moorage

15 September 2008 Friday

We depart Coon Island at 0830 and arrive at Scappoose Moorage at 0915 with a
days run of 4 nm
Total trip 112 nm
What a wonderful trip and it is such a delight to have Care onboard. We spent many evenings playing some of her favorite card and dice games. I must have lost every round of cribbage. Aside from locking through, the highlight of the trip was experiencing Champoeg State Park. It is really a must place to visit and are both very happy that we explored the Upper Willamette River.