Letting Go of the Bay Leaf: Whitefish River

Saturday, June 30, 2018

My Hiking Journal: Entries 12 and 13

Yesterday, I was watering my neighbor's garden, and the tree swallows were dive-bombing me in an attempt to protect the youngsters in the nesting boxes nearby. It brought to mind our kayaking trip last July, when we floated past a large cliff wall riddled with holes made by bank swallows.

Friday, July 7, 2017 - Whitefish River - 8 miles

(Internet)

Our son shuttled us with a put-in at Kay Beller Park and a take-out at the Highway 40 bridge. During the 3-hour paddle, herons would lift slowly and silently from a marshy inlet to find a spot without people. Numerous painted turtles lined up nose to tail on every available log, and were ambivalent to the yellow creature drifting past. Only the yellow iris tucked among the still-short bulrushes, and the occasional goldfinch, could compete with the brightness of our inflatable kayak.

Mid-way through our journey, we approached a curve and immediately noticed a dramatic increase in bird traffic. And then we saw the cliff wall and the birds flying to and from it. As I learned later, the Bank Swallow is usually seen in flocks, flying low over ponds and rivers with quick, fluttery wingbeats. It nests in dense colonies, in hole in dirt or sand banks. Some of these colonies are quite large, and a tall cut bank may be pockmarked with several hundred holes. Despite their small size, tiny bills and small feet, these swallows generally dig their own nesting burrows, sometimes up to five feet long.

(Internet)

I took this video of the bank swallows on Whitefish River, and got a pleasant bonus at the end.

While Man with Hat didn't hook any fish that day, we watched birds on the wing snagging dragonflies and other winged insects that flitted about the river's surface. At one point, a bald eagle flapped serenely over the river, and unseen hawks called to each other from the thick stands of trees. A deer near the river's edge lifted a dripping, shiny nose to assess our threat, and then slowly retreated to the woods.

Two pairs of kayakers each shared the waterway that day, exchanging only a nod in our direction as they glided downriver. It seemed no one wanted to break the peace of the summer day, punctuated by nothing louder than the buzz of insect wings and the twitter of the birds.

Saturday, July 8, 2017 - Middle Fork, Flathead River - 8 miles

Yes, we went kayaking two days in a row. You might as well, when you have all your gear together, but it probably had more to do with our son's work schedule accommodating another shuttle!

We put in around 11 am at Cascadilla Creek, an apparently good time for entry given that we saw very little traffic ahead of us throughout the 4-hour journey (we stopped three times for Man with Hat to fish). The take-out at Moccasin Creek at 3 pm was a different story - clearly it was a key launching time for the rafting companies - at least a dozen craft hovered creekside while loading up tourists lathered in sun cream and bug repellent!

(Internet)

But I have skipped 4 hours of beauty, so let me re-wind!

A picturesque wilderness whitewater river offers many opportunities to the boater. Splendid views.

Fishing.

This Pike Minnow was a feisty fellow

Flowers.

Upper Middle: Oxeye Daisy; Lower Middle: Harebell; Lower Right: Pearly Everlasting

Upper Right: Nodding Onion; Lower Right: St. Johnswort

Peace.

Linking to

All Seasons

Mosaic Monday

Nature Notes

Saturday's Critters

Skywatch Friday

Wandering Camera

Thursday, April 12, 2018

My Hiking Journal - Entries 9 and 10

Whitefish River

It's been a while since I wrote a post about hiking ... so many other topics have crowded it out.

But it seems appropriate, now that temperatures are warming and only a few tiny islands of snow remain in the yard, to flash back to last summer with a double feature - kayaking AND hiking.

Tuesday, May 30, 2017 - Whitefish River - 10 miles

Our first kayaking trip ever on Whitefish River, we learned about the River while simultaneously gaining a general kayaking refresher.

One of the downsides of kayaking is water ... well, what I mean is - I can't have my camera (my phone) out all the time for fear of water damage or, worse yet, accidentally letting it join the fishies and river reeds. So generally, you will find fewer of my pictures in this and future posts about kayaking. (Taking a picture involves stopping on the shore, unhooking the waterproof bag, unrolling it and digging into the towel protecting the phones and car keys. You can see why Man with Hat might not want to do this every 5 minutes!)

Launch Point - Kay Beller Park (internet)

We launched our 2-person inflatable kayak near downtown Whitefish and paddled upstream to Whitefish Lake. It wasn't far, but our arms could definitely feel the current. Once pointed downstream, I felt like Superman freed from the grip of Kryptonite - strong!!! In Riverside Park, kids lined the pedestrian bridge, taking turns to jump or flip into the water below. (This only happens in the spring, when the river is high enough to offer a safe depth for jumping.)

Pedestrian Bridge (internet)

To escape the downtown area, the river flows underneath Spokane Avenue, via two massive culvert tunnels. This was a new one for us. Would we be able to navigate the return journey through the culvert? What if there were unseen obstacles in the tunnel? Fortunately, a couple of hard-sided kayaks floated by while we dithered, and passed through without mishap. So, we took a breath and entered the tunnel ... the water gathered itself into a strong current centered in the middle of the culvert, which pulled the kayak along. Quickly, we emerged into sunlight on the other side. But that same sunlight revealed a casualty - the fishing pole of Man with Hat was gone! It must have snagged on a willow branch while we pondered our course of action ... not an auspicious beginning to our kayaking season and a true downer for Man with Hat!

Putting aside our disappointment, we paddled on. The river reveals its true beauty once past Spokane Avenue. A female common merganser with 5 ducklings. Plentiful magpies and red-winged blackbirds. A footbridge with a picnic table under a gazebo. Canada Geese parents keeping careful watch over 7 goslings.

(Internet)

After some time, we turned the kayak back to the west (and the Superman effect rapidly disappeared). Paddle, paddle, and paddle some more. How can water that looks that calm have such a strong current? When we arrived back at the tunnels, we quickly concluded that we would not be able to propel our way through its current. Our only option was to portage up and over the road - I am sure we made an odd picture waddling awkwardly across the road with our bright yellow kayak!

We covered 10 miles in 4.5 hours; it was a valuable refresher, but losing a fishing pole, paddling up river and the portage were not experiences we wanted to repeat again in a hurry!

Monday, June 5, 2017 - Crater Notch Trail - 8 miles out and back

On the road again ... to nowhere. If you've been following my blog, you know that 25% of the time we have been thwarted with a planned hike, always due to snow. June 5 did not improve that record! As you can see in the picture below, the road to the Camp Misery trailhead (appropriate name!!!) was impassable beyond this point. Man with Hat maneuvered the car backwards quite a distance before he reached a point wide enough to turn around, and even then it was a 12-point turn!

That is Man with Hat in the distance, checking out the road.

Having packed all our gear for a lengthy hike, we weren't prepared to give up that easily, and opted for a nearby trail, a spur off the Broken Leg Trail we had seen on May 29 (follow this link for that post).

Crater Notch Trail earns its name from the 'notch' in the mountains that is revealed after 3000 feet of elevation gain, which ultimately leads the able hiker to Crater Lake. The trail has dense foliage, and given the rain the previous night, our boots and pants legs were soon drenched. (At the end of the hike, there was not much improvement.)

I found it curious that we did not see many flowers on this hike given the proximity of paradise we experienced on Broken Leg, the next ridge over. Upon reflection, it makes sense - the thick foliage does not allow for as much sun ... nevertheless, I spied a few newbies (for me).

Upper left - Baldhip Rose; Upper right and Center Left - Bead Lily

Center right - Bear Grass; Bottom - Broadleaf Arnica

As always, we kept our eyes peeled for wildlife, especially bears, but the most we saw of the four-legged creature was scat on the trail (picture not included!) We startled a pair of blue grouse; one flew into a tree but the other one ran ahead of us on the trail for quite a distance before he finally got fed up and scuttled into the bushes.

Man with Hat searching out the trail

After about four miles, we could get no further due to snow. Foiled again, Batman!

Imagine the irony when we arrived back at the trailhead and I took a closer look at the trail sign: This trail is normally free of snow by mid-May. Ha!

This spring and early summer we are likely to see comparable conditions since our region had snowfall akin to the previous winter. One of these seasons, we will learn which trails to avoid until later in the summer!