Washington
Kayaking the Lower Columbia River: Exploration and Discovery
Program No. 2288RJ
Paddle along the basalt cliffs, Sitka spruce swamps and tidal marshes of the Columbia River estuary with experts as you improve your kayak technique and learn about this grand region.
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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date.
Read More.
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
14 meals (
5B, 4L, 5D
)
3 expert-led lectures
10 expert-led field trips
2 hands-on experiences
An experienced Group Leader
5 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Check-in, Registration, Orientation, Welcome Dinner, Class
Location:
Skamokawa, WA
Meals:
D
Stay:
Skamokawa Resort
Dinner:
All dinners will be served the Conference Room by The Duck Inn Restaurant.
Evening:
Orientation. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Next, we will have a slide presentation by the Group Leader on the history of Skamokawa. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Day
2
Kayak Introduction, Julia Butler Hansen National Refuge
Location:
Skamokawa, WA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Skamokawa Resort
Breakfast:
8:00 a.m. in the Conference Room by The Duck Inn. Each day, we will have pack lunches provided and take them with us on our field trips. At 8:45, you will be transported to the kayak put-in or to a field-trip destination.
Morning:
We will drive to Cathlamet for a one-way kayak trip to Skamokawa with the outgoing tide. We will begin with an introduction to kayaking in protected Elochoman Slough. We will paddle along the exact route of Lewis & Clark, who were led through this slough by Wahkiakum Indians who brought them to the village of Elochoman to trade. The area near the former village site is part of the wildlife refuge that still resembles the forest Lewis & Clark saw in 1805, including individual trees that were standing at the time.
Lunch:
We will emerge from Elochoman Slough to a sand beach on the main channel of the Columbia where we will eat the pack lunches provided by The Duck Inn.
Afternoon:
After lunch we will have a short paddle on the main channel of the Columbia before entering historic Steamboat Slough, another protected section of the wildlife refuge dominated by Sitka spruce swamp. We will continue down river with the outgoing tide to Skamokawa. After returning to Skamokawa, the guides will present a demonstration of all the commonly used kayak rolls and rescues. There will then be an opportunity for any participants who want to try learning these skills to don a wetsuit and practice. There usually will be about an hour and a half of free time before dinner on this day.
Dinner:
In the Conference Room by The Duck Inn.
Evening:
Historian Irene Martin won the 2000 Governor's Heritage Award for her work documenting the cultures of the Lower Columbia. Author of six books on the history of the region, she is also a gillnetter and an Episcopal priest. Her wide-ranging interests and intellect make for a fascinating presentation.
Day
3
Kayak along the 90-foot basalt cliffs of the Lower Gorge.
Location:
Skamokawa, WA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Skamokawa Resort
Activity Note
To take advantage of better tides or weather, the Day 3 and Day 4 itineraries may be switched.
Breakfast:
At 8:00 am by The Duck Inn in The Conference Room. At 8:45, you will be transported to the kayak put-in or to a field-trip destination.
Morning:
We will start along the historic waterfront of Cathlamet, including the 1868 Warren Cannery. We will then proceed along the cliffs, formed 16 million years ago as part of the world's second-largest basalt flows. Many interesting formations can be seen along these 90-foot cliffs, including the cast of a tree that was engulfed in lava and left an imprint of its bark before being consumed in flames. Multiple waterfalls cascade into the Columbia from the cliff top, and native wildflowers are abundant from April through June.
Lunch:
Our pack lunch will be eaten on a tiny cobble beach tucked among the cliffs. The pebbles on the beach include rounded examples of quartzite and petrified wood carried from what is now Montana during the Missoula Floods of the Pleistocene, the world's largest freshwater floods.
Afternoon:
Depending on time and weather, we may return to Cathlamet via Cathlamet Channel or cross the channel to Birnie Slough to paddle a longer loop through the homes and farms of Puget Island before crossing back to Cathlamet. After driving back to Skamokawa Center, we will walk across the road to the 1894 schoolhouse that has been lovingly restored as the River Life Interpretive Center. It serves as historical museum, bookstore and community center.
Dinner:
In the Conference Room by The Duck Inn.
Evening:
Wahkiakum was historically known for its award-winning creameries. We will take the vans to Little Island Creamery, located on Puget Island, where we will tour their 54-acre farm. Little Island Creamery is known for its award-winning Brie at the American Cheese Society's Annual Conference. We will meet their staff, who will teach us about biological farming and what makes their farm unique. You will also test your cheese-making skills with a ricotta cheese-making lesson and sample a variety of cheeses.
Day
4
Paddle Skamokawa Creek/hike Vista Park forested trails.
Location:
Skamokawa, WA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Skamokawa Resort
Breakfast:
Served in the Conference Room by The Duck Inn at 8:00 a.m. At 8:45, you will paddle from the Skamokawa Resort.
Morning:
We will paddle up the protected waters of Skamokawa Creek. It is a four-mile round trip to the pool at the head of tidewater where the headwaters of Wilson and Skamokawa Creek tumble in to join together.
Lunch:
We will return to Skamokawa Resort to eat our bag lunch.
Afternoon:
After lunch, you will be transported where we will take a 1.5-mile interpretive hike on the wooded trails of Skamokawa Vista Park. The trail features mature second-growth temperate rainforest and a pebble beach on the Columbia at the the former townsite of Bayview.
Dinner:
Served by The Duck Inn in The Conference Room.
Evening:
Presentation to be announced.
Day
5
Kayak Welch Island the Lewis & Clark National Refuge
Location:
Skamokawa, WA
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Skamokawa Resort
Breakfast:
Served by The Duck Inn at 8 a.m. in The Conference Room. At 8:45, we will walk to the dock with our kayaks and launch.
Morning:
We will paddle across the main channel to Welch Island, the easternmost of a chain of tidal marsh islands that comprise the 35,000-acre Lewis & Clark National Wildlife Refuge. Some of the big old cottonwood trees there house active Bald Eagle nests. We will paddle around this 1,800-acre island in the center of the Columbia before landing on another island for lunch.
Lunch:
We will have lunch on a small sand beach on Tenasillahe Island. This island has a dike trail that will give us a chance to take a walk and look for wildlife before crossing back to Skamokawa.
Afternoon:
We will paddle back across the channel to Skamokawa.
Dinner:
Our final dinner at Skamokawa Resort showcases wild-caught salmon along with other fresh local foods.
Evening:
We will enjoy one last evening in the conference room, sharing our favorite highlights of the week over a scrumptious, seasonal dessert. Prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Day
6
Departure Day
Location:
Skamokawa, WA
Meals:
B
Breakfast:
Served in the Conference Room by The Duck Inn. Breakfast is usually at 8:00 am.
Morning:
Our program ends after the 8 a.m. breakfast at your lodging. No program is scheduled, but you are welcome to continue sharing remembrances of the week. Check-out time is 10 a.m.
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