Timing is everything when trying to explore tidal rivers. I was in Grays Harbor on my birthday so a nice, easy float would have made my evening but the tides didn't care. Fair enough, I was mentally prepared to paddle uphill both ways (that is how old I am by the way, already got my grandpa stories ready). What I should have thought about was how difficult it is to paddle when there is no water.
To finish my exploration of the Little Hoquiam River, I launched from the boat ramp on the Little Hoquiam and powered through some of the scenery I shared last
time. Right after you cross under the 109 bridge you get to make a choice. I started on the left (West Fork) and immediately started running over logs. I assumed heading into the sun was making these lurkers invisible but when I turned later, it was worse. On the plus side, the low water did let me sneak beneath some trees as well.
Not too long after that tree there was a full roadblock. I tried ramming it once but there was no give to it... Since the last 50 yards had been all pole work, this felt like far enough. Oddly, right in this stretch was a submerged rocking chair (no sign of grandma).
I made it back down to attempt the North Fork right at slack tide and everything turned to glass. As I was paddling up this beautiful scene I was working on the blog narrative about how civilized the North Fork was compared to its evil sibling (yes, I spend that kind of time thinking about what to write and yes, I realize that investment doesn't seem to be resulting in anything resembling good storytelling). Anyhow, that is right when I ran over the top of another unseen log and plopped down on the other side with slightly wetter undershorts.
After only the second bend there was an impressive log jam and I decided it was time to call it a day. Well almost, there was still the issue of scarfing enough ice cream to cancel out the paddling. I firmly believe in maintaining balance in the universe.
