Basalt wall on the Upper Klickitat
Normally, we would have done a second day on the White Salmon, but some of the people on the trip had come from very far away and it was worth doing another run nearby. The Klickitat flow was medium-low but was still fine for IKs, and probably better for a first run. We had met a couple the day before who wanted to do the run with us.
We chose a takeout that cut off the last hour or so of mostly flatwater, and then headed up to the put-in. The run started off with no real problems. We got to a place where there had been a river-wide log when I ran this back in the Spring, and I saw people pulling over to the right bank. I figured people were going to portage, but then I realized that the log was gone and one person had lost the backrest out of his boat and it was floating downstream. This was one of the people we had just met. I pulled over and he walked up to me and said "I'm done. I'm walking out". I responded "There's no walking out. Look behind you. There's a 200 foot cliff to the road, which is probably a mile away. Look behind me. There's a 50 foot cliff with nothing beyond it". After a couple of minutes of discussion, I convinced him that he had to continue.
Not long after this, someone flipped and lost a paddle. We had 2 spares in the group, so that took care of one. A little later, another person broke a paddle, so we had no more spares. Luckily, not far above the fish hatchery, I saw the lost paddle floating in an eddy and I was able to retrieve it.
This was my 3rd run on the Klickitat, and I always run the fish hatchery dam. I had never seen it at low water, and I didn't realize how many rebar spikes are actually sticking out. I was able to locate a route wide enough for my boat, but it was close.
The rest of the day was easy and we all had a great time. I did hear that the couple who went with us sold their kayaks the next week, but I'm hoping that it was to buy better kayaks, and not because they were quitting.
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