The link to my youtube video of this trip is right HERE.
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The morning of October 28th, even with loaded up with our extra layers for the expected chilly weather, ThisOutdoorsMan and I were able to tandem-carry our kayaks to the river’s edge under the Highway 91 bridge. The water proved to be very cold as I hit some shallows early on and had to knuckle crawl a few yards to deeper water. The sun prevailed and warmed us up quickly as the morning continued. With a good flow, we glided for a little over two hours before stopping for lunch. Luckily, there were many areas with very smooth banks to beach our boats. I enjoyed some AlpineAire freeze-dried chili as my main course, while also enjoying the warm sun.
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Following lunch, we continued on toward our planned camping spot along the bank. We began to notice more submerged trees, but there was always plenty of room to skirt around them. I am still not sure why exactly I gained a false sense of confidence as my boat began to drift sideways, and I didn’t feel the need to correct it quickly. I felt my boat bump a submerged object, and by the time I had my paddle in my hands, the current pushed me onto a submerged branch. As my right side was lifted onto the branch, my left side dipped under the surface just enough for the current to pour in some water. The fast current simultaneously filled my cockpit and flipped me over. Thankfully, everything was tied in and stowed inside a dry bag or box, aside from my phone that was in my coat chest pocket.

Once I was kicked out of my kayak, I was able to stand on the same tree that flipped me over and grab onto my submerged boat. Holding onto the back of the cockpit by my seat, I lifted the back end up enough for some water to flow out the front. After standing like that for a few minutes (still not sure what was going through my mind), I stepped off the branch back into the water and pushed myself and my boat to the nearest bank, which was nearly vertical. ThisOutdoorsMan was able to find some footing and he lifted the front of my kayak into the air while I reached down and pulled my drain plug. Once most of the water was drained, we made our way to the other bank, which was much lower, and assessed the damage. Aside from my phone, my bag of river snack cinnamon bears took the worst beating.
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After putting on the driest clothes that I had, we decided to just continue on and warm up with some paddling. I again took advantage of the warm sun to help me warm up and for my stuff to dry out. I used my GoPro extension pole to hang up my down-filled coat and towel behind me.
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I also removed my wet socks and let my toes get some sun.
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We paddled until around 6 PM and found a suitable spot with trees spaced well for our hammocks. After hanging the hammocks and pulling out all my dry bags, I realized that everything I brought was somewhat wet. I took advantage of an extra Atlas strap to make a clothes line for all my clothing and hung my insulation onto my hammock suspension to dry as much as possible before bed.
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While ThisOutdoorsMan used his handsaw to cut wood, I used my Kabar to baton the chunks. Once we had our fire going we warmed up our cast iron skillets for some bannock and boiled water for ramen. I also used some extra cordage to hang my socks above the fire from a branch. With darkness upon us, we enjoyed our dinner along with the many sounds of this particular spot.
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We awoke the next day with a low of 35 degrees in the night. I was plenty warm, even with damp insulation. Thankfully I had thrown in my 0 degree quilt. We enjoyed a breakfast of oatmeal bannock and coffee before breaking down camp and continuing on our journey. With many more submerged trees and a steady wind, we spent most of the morning paddling rather than coasting, resulting in a fairly short journey that morning. We arrived at our destination to find that my truck was right where I had left it at Elkhorn Crossing.

Another journey in the books, with more to come.

Oh, and here is my garage afterwards, with all my gear drying out.
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