Columbia Chronicles Drifting Along With The Columbia Offers Prime Wildlife Viewing, But It’s A Short-Lived Thrill

For 130 miles, the outboard motor had created our current on the Columbia River.

Its throaty roar drowned out the water noises and sent wildlife fleeing, often before we knew whether a deer was a buck.

But once below Grand Coulee Dam and its reservoir, we entered narrow, moving water.

I ripped the starter cord and chugged to midstream before killing the motor. The inflatable boat traveled at river speed - about 4 mph - and spun with the whirlpools.

There were no clouds and no wind. We slathered sunscreen on our bare arms and legs for the first time since starting the trip June 1.

A doe watched the boat pass. Two bald eagles stood in a pine snag, a black eaglet poking its head from their nest. A coyote peered down from a bluff. Cliffs and islands passed by lazily.

The drift was short, perhaps five miles, before the current slowed and the river widened once more in advance of Chief Joseph Dam.

I pulled the cord and brought the boat to plane, the way one travels on a lake.

, DataTimes