I asked Charlotte on a scale of 1 to 10 how much adventure she wanted on our float trip this weekend - 1 being flatwater and 10 being Class IV rapids. She shrugged and said "Seven?"
For seasoned whitewater enthusiasts the section between
Riverside Campground and the Hatchery Ford takeout is not "big water", but for our little socially distanced group it was the cat's meow.
We traveled up to our campsite near the takeout which is maintained by the USFS. We appreciated that the one pit toilet there (suitably designated #1) had been cleaned twice this season.
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| Camp setup |
After arriving at the river the girls surveyed the camping options and chose to gather around the one established fire ring within parking area that was a big more forested, providing lots of options for setting up our hammocks for the night.
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| Hammock-eye view |
Dinner per the girls' request was a campfire standby - hot dogs. We roasted onions in tin foil and made liberal use of
Freddy's Fry Sauce to complement the roasted weenies and brats.
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| Mmm... Freddy's Fry Sauce |
The girls were anxious to "go swimming", and probably didn't wait the requisite hour before heading out into the river.
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| Sunset bathing |
However, they limited their water activities mostly to wading and flower gathering.
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| Flower Girl |
The results of their adventures graced our table that evening as we returned to camp and had Root Beer floats. Our favorites of this taste test were
Bedford Root Beer (Necco wafer fruity) and
Bulldog Root Beer (smooth); which complemented the
Ben & Jerry's Vanilla Ice Cream perfectly. Sadly after those offerings Charlotte's favorite - A&W tasted more like cream soda than root beer.
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| Sleepy time |
Then after some chatting around the campfire the girls retired to their hammocks, to continue chatting until tired fathers asked for reprieve. When setting up the hammock and tying them to the limber lodgepole pines we warned that they'd sag overnight, and sag they did...
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| Nearly dragging bottom... |
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| Name that expression... |
Fortunately there's a few millimeters between the hammock and mother earth. We awoke to a beautiful mild morning and took our time boiling eggs, toasting cheese sandwiches and packing up before heading out to the Riverside Campground.
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| Pre-flight checks done! |
Upon arrival at the put-in at Riverside we quickly inflated the two kayaks (duckies) and headed out into the unknown or perhaps Ahtohallan?
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| Rock dodgers |
We had fun looking for and riding the biggest waves we could while dodging (most of) the many rocks and trees on the hour long float.
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| Baby waves |
The girls swam for a bit longer at the take out and then we bundled everything up and had a pleasant ride out and home, hungry for more Whitewater!
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