Scout'n the Olympics

For the drive out to La Push i grabbed a map. As we made our way around Discovery Bay i started to zero in on river drainages.   Maps, rivers, and geology, these are problems i have. They are becoming more and more acute with the Ford out of commission, and a unknown group of boaters to find. Anyway here are the hits, first off the Dungeness River.

you can see a link to more info here.

Next up in the map o' boating the Grey Wolf. Sounds really rowdy and fun, perhaps a summer rain event will let me into this canyon. It lives right next door to the Dungeness.

As above so below see info here. Other searches turn up little on the run, sweet.

So far these haven't been looking good for Florence. As boats go she be a little bigger than your average canoe let alone kayak. Without the I.R.H. finished let alone started the harder little stuff is off limits until i can find someone to boat with. This includes most of the newly freed Elwha River. So without further ado here are some of what we did find.

If your new to the area (I am) the first stop west from the Elwha River is the odd little town of Forks.  I new nothing about Forks but there are two distinct vibes. One is of logging, no mater your environmental views we depend on it, your not sitting in a plastic house. (sorry bubble boy)

 The second vibe is annoying,

Horny stupid teenagers need to realize that because a  little logging town is overcast and full of pale looking folks in work cloths does not mean that over sexed goth-awful vampires are running a muck, seriously.

(Dear Forks, I would like to apologize on behalf of the human race for Twilight, i hope you can capitalize on this tragedy.)

Ah, back to boating.

On a map Forks looks like a hub of great rivers, First is the Soleduck River. AWA Has several sections mentioned in their database although it's spelled Sol Duc there. As you drive west from Lake Crescent to Forks You pass over it several times. Looking up and down the river corridor it looks fantastic! Clear water and beautiful river banks bordering on temperate rain forest. I may be proven wrong after floating some of these lower sections but it sure looks great.

                                                 

The Sitkum River is next, looks like good kayaking and if a way can be found to get a small drifter in possibly drift able. I didn't get any pictures before the confluence with the Calawah but it looks good to go.

The Calawah comes next. There is,  "in map land ," a clearly marked boat ramp at the confluence of the Calawah and Sitkum Rivers. Damned if we could find it. Further down stream just outside of Forks is a lower boat ramp.

Up Next in the wild wild world of rivers around forks is the Bogachiel river. The Calawah flows in just west of forks near the Steelhead ponds. There were a basket full of fisherman here as well as at least a dozen drift boat trailers. I don't know why they were absent at some of the other put-ins but it was packed there. No pictures but there was a King Fisher that looking like he was doing better than most of the fisherman. There is defiantly drift possibility, although if not fishing going during the off season, a must.

As you head west out of Forks towards the town of La Push and Rialto Beach following the Bogachiel you come across the confluence with the Soleduck River. Here to was evidence of floaters on both the Bogachiel and the Soleduck. Finally from here the whole drainage hits the Pacific. It looks like you could take out in La Push but a run in with the Tribal Police caused an about face (never made it to the ramp), i would take out on the Rialto Beach side.

Where does this leave me?? Looking forward to Boating this odd drainage and exploring these.

Happy New Year.

La Push

Went for a ride out to Rialto Beach to look at the waves the other day. Aside from getting profiled and subsequently pulled over in La Push (no ticket and funny story, ask in person) we had a great time and were able to do some scouting for easy "drift boat-able" rivers. (see next post)

Rialto Beach was a little rowdy, of course i had to get as close as possible to the action without getting wet. With some serious thought i decided; i suppose i could get a sea kayak into shore it would not be pretty and as for getting out...

As you can see the beach  to the north really wasn't there, high tide was putting the waves right into the LARGE drift wood on shore. The sea stacks to the south and the subsequent cross currents may have been navigable from the ocean into the safety of the Quillayute River  mouth but it would have been real exciting if you got yourself into the breakers. I am looking forward to getting the kayaks into the water here when the seas are a little more forgiving. 

Like being on a boat only in a house on land.

With the impending doom forecast for Sunday night and Monday. Which in my estimate aught to be a hell of a good time...

I thought i should show you all some photos taken lately of the place, there is even a video! Were super tec savvy out here, ha!

As promised here is the short video of waves basically on our deck.

So as long as were not washed into the Strait of Juan, and the world doesn't end as conspiracy theorists and crack pot Mayans predict i'll try and blog a little more often. If the world does end i for one hope our Mutant Zombie Vampire Bieber overlords have a sense of humor, and yes those are the worst things i can think of right now.

Some school pics

School is going well, we have moved on from making wooden novelties an into making boats. I have had a really hard time deciding what path to take either large Craft or Contemporary. In the end I chose large craft, they are building two replica decked Whitehall row boats. One of them will have a chair strapped to the deck. You can use your power of deduction to figure out what/when/who's boats they could be.

 

I have continued to work on the I.R.H. The lines plan is doneas well as the offsets. Up until Friday I was trying to find someone to put the design into Rhino (a Cad program for boat design). My reason behind this was simple, if the boat is in the computer patterns can simply be printed out, little or no lofting just building.  Well its not going to work out that way so the prototype may not be done until after my spring trip. Sort of a bummer but i am still going to try. I just need to find a place to loft and build it.

 

So here are some pictures of school stuff. The below picture is for my dad, he was asking how to make boat sauce. So here it is, Just remember its for paintin' not drinkin'!

 



So here is the view from my desk. There is the makings of a half model on as well as some miscellaneous stuff.

 This is the how to for lofting out a rabbit. For the uninitiated the rabbit is where the planking (sides) are let into (notched) the stem (front) of a boat.

 Here are plans for the oars that will go with the little skiff we are building. I made one of em'. Like most things in life its all about the layout.

 I must say the one i built looks good, Sam is still finishing his up,tough part is going to be making them exactly the same. I think i should make a set of these for the I.R.H. when i finally get her built.

 

 

On to the skiff. Not a lot to say about the construction. She is a basic skiff as skiffs go but its been fun to do thus far.