River Day 01/20/2014

Even warmer temps this week for River Day - right around 50 with clear skies.  It still felt pretty chilly out, so most of the time was spent close to the fire.  Speaking of the fire, this week's took some time getting going, so we gave it a little boost, a late Christmas present you might say.

Pat brought his discarded Christmas tree down for the only proper disposal, and recycling, of cut wood allowed on the river (our piece of it anyway).  Kids, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!  Thought I'd throw in a little PSA there:

I know we've said it before, but watching these videos makes you wonder why we put live trees in our houses, then drape them with electrical wiring.  Quite a sight to behold.

The block of ice that we propped up last week held out as predicted (by me), so I got to keep the quarter that Ted and I bet last week.  With the cold temps forecast for the upcoming week, keeping ice around the camp definitely won't be a problem.

Freddy came down as usual, probably to make sure we discovered his "trophy".  Might be getting a little morbid, and gamey.

Participants this week were Pat, Ted, Jay, Tim and I (Mark).  Another great River Day and a good way to start the week.

River Day 01/13/2014

Big difference at the river this week - temperature wise anyway - about a 40 degree difference!  Temps were in the mid 40's, with a little rain toward the end of the evening.  Jay, Ted and I (Mark) made it down; Tim had other obligations and wasn't able to make it.  Freddy was able to stop by for a while and he brought the past week's grisly "catch" with him (don't ask, and don't expect any pics!).  No fire disposal this time; they went downriver.

Not much going on this Monday, just hanging around by the fire.  As much as I enjoy winter at the river, it was nice having warm feet this week.

We did discover a pretty large block of ice floating in the bucket by the blue room, so we propped it for a little ice sculpting.  We have bets at to whether or not any of it will survive until the following week (if you can call a quarter a bet).

Tamarack in ice!

As usual, we had a great fire going, despite the warmer weather.

Sorry for the late post, but at least I made it before the next River Day!

River Day 01/06/2014

The first Monday of the new year turned out to be a record - record cold that is.  The temp on the dashboard of my Jeep showed 14 when I got there, and 6 when I left (3 by the time I hit the top of the mountain).  With gusty winds, the wind chill was well below zero. We had steady snow, but it didn't accumulate much because of the wind.  Nevertheless, 5 brave (?) Rivertarians all decided it was a good idea to celebrate the holiday: Jay, Tim, Ted, Pat (yes, Pat), and myself.

Needless to say, the bulk of all activity at the camp centered around the fire...closely.  With the wind blowing like it was, it was hard finding a spot to stand where you could get maximum heat, and minimum facial hair damage.  Those sudden flare ups could wreak havoc on a mustache.  Pat brought down a few items to add to the fire which were greatly appreciated by all, plus we were able to add to the woodpile from the debris that was left behind by last week's high water.

Pat also brought some Corona's to drink, along with a lime.  After the lime was sliced up to put in the bottles, the wedges were left on top of the beer box.  The beer didn't freeze (well, a little slushy anyway), but the lime pieces did.  At one point he got one of the lime slices into a newly opened bottle, where it promptly froze up the neck of the bottle, making a nice little plug.  It was a photo-worthy moment.

Freddy came by to say hello, and to show us his trophy kill, which promptly ended up in the fire.  And he had the nerve to say we weren't right.  No stories this week, it was too cold for him to hang around long enough to share any.

Despite to brutal cold, it was a great way to start the week, and 2014.

River Day 12/30/2013

It's hard to believe, but we just celebrated the last River Day for 2013.  The usual four were all able to make it this week (Ted, Jay, Tim and I).  Most of us are on vacation during this holiday season (sorry Ted), so it was an early day down, and a little early going home.  We had a typical winter day this week; temps in the low 30's (and falling), snow flurries early on, plus a little wind.

There had been a lot of precipitation over the last week, so what firewood we've collected was pretty wet.  It was a little slow getting started, but thanks to some accelerators, it was soon a thing of beauty.  Tell me you can't feel the heat coming off that photo?

The rains had also caused the river to rise; the water had reached a point about 25 feet or so below the fire area..  The high water prevented us from going down river to collect wood.  So instead of foraging, we just pulled wood out of the eddy in front of the camp.  Except for what we used to get the fire going, ALL of the wood we burned came directly out of the water and onto the fire (best fire from the river?).  The fire was so hot that Jay noticed that the birds were coming back to the area.

We got our weekly visit from Freddy, and as usual he had some interesting tales.  He also brought his latest project for a little show and tell.  I didn't even think to take any pictures of it, but we'll describe it for now as an implement of death for any rodents he happens to lure onto it - a rat trap with attitude.  Freddy promised to keep and preserve any evidence of its success over the next few days, so if it isn't too gruesome (or warm), maybe we'll have a pic or two then.

I can't think of a better way to start the week, and end the year, than to be with great friends at the river.  So to all of our readers and fellow Rivertarians out there (whether accidentally or on purpose), we wish everyone a Happy New Year!

See you in 2014!

River Day 12/23/2013 (Christmas Edition)

We celebrated the last River Day before Christmas this week, and we all (Jay, Tim and I) made it down except for Ted.  He had to work at the last minute and missed the annual gift exchange.  Why does work have to keep interfering with river time?

Tim's gloves drying out from a week in the rain.

The weather wasn't bad for this time of year; upper 30's with misty-rain.  We were hopeful a few times that we were going to get a little snow, but we didn't see any of that until we hit the top of the mountain on the way back home.  It was a bit windy early on, which made us appreciate the fire that much more.

We listened traditional Christmas music on the satellite radio most of the time we were there.  Freddy (our "local" visitor) doesn't appreciate our taste in music, but we don't hold that against him.  He did drop in for his weekly chat; I think the weekly River Day celebration has become something he looks forward to, even though he lives at the river.

We made an early day of it this week; early down and early back home, but it was still a great time at the river, and one of the days of the year we look forward to most.

To Rivertarians (and even non-Rivertarians) everywhere, we would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

River Day 12/16/13

The weeks holiday was celebrated by Jay, Ted and Tim, Mark had to leave town on business. With temperatures pretty seasonal, in the mid to upper 30s most of the afternoon and a little cloudy, we spend some time searching down river for some wood. With the recent high water levels from all the rain and snow the area has had lately, the river can be very generous in delivering us a supply of burning material for what ultimately becomes the "best fire on the river".

(As proven in the attached picture) Conversation lead us, as it often does, to topics of our upbringing and our childhood. Somehow we got on the subject of old hardware stores and TVs with tubes! Kinda strange topics I guess, but fun to talk about with the guys just the same. We did get our, what's becoming weekly, visit from Freddy. He was a little later then usual, must have been that visit from the Park Service that we noticed was in front of his house. He had a few interesting "Freddy" stories, as usual always good for a few laughs. The water level looked like it had dropped a bit from last week, Jay made mention that it was at a good fishing level, although none of us tried. Jay bought down some 16 bean soup for dinner, something we haven't done in a long time. That's always such a nice meal on a cold mid December evening. All in all another great Monday and the only way to start the week. The only thing missing was some Christmas music... oh, and Mark of course!!

River Day 12/09/2013

The four regular Rivertarians (could this be an oxymoron?) all made it to the river this week; Ted, Jay, Tim and I (Mark).  The weather Monday started out rainy, but it tapered off throughout the day.  By the time we got to the camp, the precipitation was more of a fine mist, and the fog had settled in pretty good up and down the gorge.  We actually had a few patches of blue sky by the time we left.

To get into the spirit of the season, we broke out the XM radio and listened to a little traditional Christmas music.  If you can't have the 40's channel, it's the next best thing.

Freddy came down for his weekly visit.  While he was there, we had a "celebrity" visitor: Uncle Si.  Okay, it might not have really been Uncle Si, but I'm pretty sure he might be related.  He had been out hunting in the afternoon and stopped by to show Freddy his deer (big dog?).  Apparently it took 5 shots from a muzzle-loader to bring the beast down.

The water was up fairly high, but not anywhere near flood stage.  Heavy rain over the weekend had all the streams flowing, and the river was slowly rising.

Of course we had a good fire going, and there was plenty of wood to keep it fed; stuff we had been accumulating, and a few new additions also.

It's hard to believe, but there are only three more National River Days left for 2013.  We plan to make the most of each of them.