Notes from Windward: #70

 

Enjoying the Klickitat

November 20:

Walt:

     One of the ironic qualities of life is that people rarely take full advantage of the nearby attractions, often preferring to travel long distances to enjoy the recreational offerings of someone else's backyard.

enjoying the swimming hole
on the Little Klickitat

  

     For a long time we were especially guilty of this in that while we live in the middle of some truly remarkable ecotourist attractions, we rarely would put down our tools and take time to enjoy them. Each time we'd make the drive into town for supplies, we'd pass scores of people who've traveled long distances to fish, tube, kayak or just camp out on the Klickitat, but we'd rarely take out time to join them.

     One of the many positive changes that our interns have made in Windward is a recommitment to regularly laying down our tools and getting out there to enjoy the remarkable riches this region has to offer. It's fun to share this incredible place with them, and doing so reconnects us with our landbase. And that reconnection manifests itself in a renewal of our commitment to the Klickitat and its watershed.

     An example of one of those explorations is described in last year's blog where Lindsay describes hiking Swale Canyon section of the former railroad bed. Work is moving steadily ahead on converting the old railbed into a beautiful hiking trail; for info and pics, check out the Klickitat Trail Conservancy.

     What triggered these thoughts this morning was coming across a series of YouTube videos featuring the Klickitat. Even if one's not drawn to the sport of catch and release, the videos offer fascinating views of this wild river and its environs.

     The first video shows some steelhead taken with light tackle and then released. The video also gives an idea of how rapid the river flows; it's fed by either the winter rains, or the summer snow-melt off of Mt. Adams, so it doesn't go dry like many western rivers.

     The second video has some commercial content, but it also offers some beautiful scenes of drift boating on the Klickitat.

     The third video is a promotional video from a company that offers white water rafting runs down the Klickitat.


Notes From Windward - Index - Vol. 70