The Narrative Image

Kip showed up at the bar with a detailed river-keepers' map and guide-books that explicated his proposed route down the Willamette River . He had performed a careful analysis of the water route, marking potential launch sites, sensible campsites, and devising preliminary outlines for shuttling the boats. He had even spaced the campsites apart according to his estimates about river velocity based on seasonal water volumes and the river gradient, and also which sections of river would require extra time for thorough fishing. It was almost as if he was some kind of project manager. But as the early July launch-date approached, it became clearer and clearer via meteorologists that the trip would test our resilience to rain—lots of it. Though  I often imagine myself to be a daring and self-sufficient outdoorsman (and by often I mean whenever I spend several hours at a bar), the fact is that so far, my camping experiences in the rain have been accidental, infrequent and generall...

Saturday was a hot day in Portland, especially for out of shape fat men… …as opposed to fat men with chiseled abdomens I guess. It seemed to be a good day to seek refuge on the water, so I headed to Ridgefield, Washington to see if there might not be something interesting close to the wildlife refuge. Mindful of the sunburn I gave myself on my last paddling expedition, I made a point to stop for some suntan lotion at a local Ridgefield store. While beer seemed to be priced competitively, a little bottle of suntan lotion about the size of a pat of margarine was priced at nine bucks. I bought the beer. The kayak launch is located on the edge of Lake River (I know, it’s confusing…is it a lake or a river?) I stayed to the right of the broad channel, out of the way of ski boats and other motorized water craft, the wakes of which made an otherwise uneventful section of river somewhat eventful. On my left, at about eight tenths of a mile, I passed the Bachelor Island Slough. At ...