by Paul Milem
The water is still cold, but the air is warm. First, you ski on it, then you paddle in it.
Last year we did the Entiat and Chiwawa both at 1,400 cfs. Both probably would have been more fun with a little more water – The Entiat is at 1,580 now and the Chiwawa is at 1,680 – sounds perfect to me.
The boulders sticking up in the Peshastin River on average are about 3 feet apart (I did a scientific study), so if we paddle it now there might be moments when you’d only be in contact with three boulders (I’m only counting the ones above the water surface). To do the Peshastin, we should do it when the Wenatchee is running at 15,000+. It would be a pretty wild ride on the Peshastin – on the Wenatchee, also. David Jaecks paddles it each year in an inflatable.
Remember me saying that I had never tipped over in Snowblind? I can’t say that anymore. I’ve tipped over the last four times I’ve done that rapid (last week). I paddled it at 14,400 without trouble, four times at 13,000+ (huge, violent stuff at the top of the rapid and then a clear path – wave train), but around 10,000 -11,000 the center route is very difficult. There are lots of holes, and I manage to hit most of them. I can bust through the small ones, but the big ones hit me in the chest, knock me back, and the current catches the back of my kayak and takes it under me. If I put my head down so that my chest isn’t exposed, and pull as hard as I can on my paddle, I might be able to bust through. I don’t think that I’m always dumping in the same spot. The waves are big enough that I don’t always know what’s behind them. I make a good decision on one wave and find myself in bad shape for the next event. I think I’m a lot better paddler than I was, but not nearly as smart. It might be a good idea to go scout the river. I don’t think there’s a reasonable center route at 10,000 but I keep expecting to find one.
(Editor’s note: many people sneak Snowblind on river left).
Paul Milem retired here in Central Washington several years ago and has a home with a beautiful view over the Wenatchee River Valley. Since moving here, he has become an enthusiastic Class 3 kayaker and frequently floats the Wenatchee several times a week. He doesn’t consider himself much of a playboater, but he loves being out on the river and has developed a very reliable roll.