That's me cruising down a frothy, pothole-rich rapid on the "Farmlands" section of the White Salmon River near Trout Lake, Washington. A lady named Wendy Peterson took this photo in July, 1998. I'd met Wendy and her husband Dan that morning in the campground I was staying in, and we ended up running the river together.
The White Salmon flows into the Columbia River across from the town of Hood River, Oregon. I plan to return to this region almost exactly 20 years after that '98 visit. This past week I signed up to participate in the 2018 Gorge Downwind Championships, a surf ski and outrigger canoe race that takes place each July on the Columbia.
Registration opened this month, and I really would have preferred to sign up much closer to the race date. After all, there's no telling what could be going on next July: I could be injured, or I could hit a rash of unforeseen expenses, or I could have a death in the family, or who knows what else. But registration for the GDC is capped at 600 racers and it fills up fast, and so there's not much I can do but pay the hefty entry fee a full eight months ahead of time and keep my fingers crossed that it will all work out. I certainly hope it does, because I sure did enjoy my trip out there all those years ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment