A Single Step. Part 10. Venture visits Idaho

[Music] [Music] our journey begins in Anacortes you face the rough and tumble of the Pacific Ocean as we make our way south down the rugged coast to Astoria this map shows the route we plan to take up the Columbia River to its junction with the snake and from there to the town of Lewiston in Idaho [Music] we more in the shadow of the Astoria Megillah bridge every vessel leaving or entering the river must pass through the notorious Columbia River Bar dubbed the graveyard of the Pacific [Music] this mural at the Maritime Museum illustrates the more than 2,000 large vessels which have come to grief crossing the bar since 1792 the remains of the Peter I Dale wrecked a hundred and ten years ago in 1906 now serves as a climbing frame for visitors to the beach on this holiday weekend within the museum a retired coast guard vessel forms a centerpiece of a rescue at sea while this photo shows the real conditions the bar is now safer due to the construction of extensive jetties started in the late 1800s this is the south jetty a whopping 6.6 miles long we are lucky to be invited to visit the pilot station and be given a tour of the rugged purpose-built boats these are freeze frames from onboard YouTube cameras which film each and every pilot boarding or retrieval helicopters are now used more frequently this picture was taken by the pilot dangling in midair just seconds after he was snatched from the side deck of his freighter the museum has a real-time GPS display which shows venture but for some reason describes her as a sailing vessel close by is the reconstruction of Fort Kats op where Lewis and Clark overwintered after their long and arduous journey from st. Louis in 1805 a journey they could never have survived without the invaluable support of Indian tribes they encountered along the way we visit a street market [Music] [Music] after three days we have finally underway for the main purpose of the trip which is to follow the River route to Idaho here we find ourselves in close proximity to large ocean-going ships traveling at speed lower part of the Columbia is a mass of islands and sand banks many of which created by earlier floods such as the one in 1894 at first the shoreside forests are evergreens subject clear-cutting but they are soon joined by deciduous trees we pass a rather smelly pulp and paper mill range markers to find the navigation channel our our first stop is the marina at Sant Helens [Music] a local boater takes his keen crew out for a spin the river is now very wide with occasional commercial operations such as this grain loading terminal [Music] to reach downtown Portland we turn into the Willamette River shown to the left on this chart the Columbia continues to the right the Willamette is straddled by many bridges of every type [Music] this unusual bridge can raise the lower level while leaving the upper roadbed undisturbed [Music] we are surprised to see dragon boats practicing and learned that the city of Portland is twinned with Gao Xiang in Taiwan where venture was built this explains why the boats appear so authentic [Music] there is only the one marina in downtown Portland we visit the famous rose garden with its exquisite blooms [Music] we also visit the nearby Japanese garden [Music] after two days we backtracked down the Willamette River we meet commercial traffic including this stylish car carrier at the junction of the Columbia we see the truncated peak of Mount st. Helens debris from the 1980 eruption flowed into the Columbia reducing its draft from 40 to 14 feet and trapping ocean-going ships upstream it is Mount Hood that dominates the horizon once we are back in the Columbia we are invited to stay at the Columbia River Yacht Club will all resident boats are required to be kept in floating boat houses we noticed the unusually tall pilings which despite their height were barely sufficient to resist a massive floods of 1996 marked by this plaque [Music] as we head upriver Mount Hood appears ever more prominent on the skyline we want to photograph venture with the mountain for a backdrop and we wait for the evening light sadly clouds allow the Sun to light the boat but leave the peak in shadow the highlighted building in this still photograph is mr. house the same as shown here at Ock Crown Point overlooking the Columbia River Gorge the topography of this entire area is the result of cataclysmic floods which occurred some 15,000 years ago when the ice dam shown at the top right of this map collapsed traveling at 60 miles an hour a wave hundreds of feet high tore over the dark areas on the map scouring and altering the landscape forever I will return to this subject later in this video but present-day evidence on the Columbia River Gorge includes rooster Rock originally called Walker due to its similarity to a male appendage another example is beacon rock so named by Lewis and Clark who camped at its base in 1805 it is the core of an ancient volcano from which all the surrounding earth was stripped away by the Ice Age flies we tie up at the dock where the current US official is strong to keep our free running sea talk shafts turning Chris and Christine take the amazing trail up to the top of the rock from which there is a great view of venture the gorge contains many waterfalls from hanging valleys also created by the Ice Age flood the river is controlled by a series of dams but the current below the dams is strong we reach Bonneville dock the first of eight we will need to negotiate between here and Lewiston massive hinge doors closed behind us we loop mooring lines over one of the floating bollards and use boat hooks to keep the boat off the lock walls we later learn their bow and stern thrusters do a better job after a lift of 72 feet the gates open and we see the i-84 freeway on the oregon shore we passed beneath the bridge of the gods according to legend while thousand years ago a huge landslide on the North Shore blocked the river and created an inland sea evidence of that landslide is still clearly visible today over time the river eroded the dam and created a stone bridge which local people named bridge of the gods eventually the bridge collapsed creating the cascade Rapids now submerged beneath the raised water level we spend the night at the cascade slop marina and visit a local cafe where were greeted by this trio the following day we visit Bonneville Dam and view the fish ladders which allow the salmon to bypass the dam it is early in the season and not many fish can be seen through the viewing window but there are plenty of creepy looking Pacific lampreys in landscape ponds sturgeons reach a prodigious size this fellow is Herman and feet long weighing 425 pounds and 60 years old turbulent water below the dam attracts fishermen fishing for shad a fish native to the US East Coast and first brought here by rail in 1871 the first of the salmon are starting to work their way up through the ladders before the building of the dam the Columbia had extensive rapids and was one of the most prolific salmon rivers in the world as shown in these historic photographs paying the $1 toll over the bridge of the gods we cross to the Washington side and visit the museum this is a model of a fish wheel which because it was so efficient to catching fish was banned for commercial fishing in 1934 in Washington State we take a tour of the generating station [Music] the size of the people gives scale to these enormous hydro generators most of those shown here are 76,000 kilowatts the total generating capacity of Bonneville is 1227 megawatts we continue upstream towards the town of Hood River dominated by Mount Hood because of its near constant wind good river is famous for its kite boarders and wind surfers [Music] we tie up at the guests dock with the word length in the tariff for mooring charges seems to be missing a letter we are lucky to be lent a car by local friends because no rental cars are available we head out to visit the Timberline hotel at six thousand feet up on the slopes of Mount Hood where skiers are taking advantage of the snow which continues to fall [Music] down in the surrounding valleys the ground is fertile with numerous orchards producing fruit of many varieties including luscious cherries [Music] back at the river kiteboarders are getting ready in the strong wind Susy s move here from all over the country and even the world because of the perfect conditions we continue on our way and note an immediate change in the landscape the annual rainfall at Bonneville is 77 inches but only 14 inches of the dowel distance of just 48 miles roads and railways run down both sides of the river [Music] [Applause] [Music] we see very little barge traffic but this may be due to the time of year annually the Columbia and Snake rivers carry some 17 million tons of cargo to and from the Pacific Ocean more than one-third of the wheat and barley shipped from ports on the Lower Columbia arrived by barge one barge can carry 3,500 tons our next stop is at The Dalles where again all resident boats are kept in boat houses the name Dalles comes from the French word meaning slabs because this is another place where Rapids are now submerged the Columbia River is in the background beyond the bump this tries out our new electric barbecue [Music] [Music] at the Dalles Dam weeow raised another 88 feet from the shadows into the sunshine [Music] along with a commercial tow we passed beneath a lift bridge [Music] a BNSF train awaits its closing [Music] [Music] swales a green mark areas of irrigated cultivation in this dry environment [Music] regiments of windmills line both banks of the river high above we spot Mary whorehouse built entirely of concrete by Sam Hill in 1914 for his daughter who refused to live in this isolated spot it was converted to a museum in 1940 he also built a concrete replica of Stonehenge ironically now flanked by modern windmills we are surprised by the reappearance of Mount Hood when we reached John Day down [Music] the downstream gate is guillotine type [Music] a rather sinister crack extensive full height of the wall the spacing between the horizontal lines is 5 feet and at a hundred and five feet this is the tallest dam along our route we are now 265 feet above sea level we continue on to omotte illa where we are permitted to spend the night at the fuel dock free of charge [Music] the following morning we enter McNary lock with a lift of 75 feet the humorist has decorated the floating bollard [Music] [Music] under an overcast sky we approached the Waliullah gap which was a major choke point for the ice age floods causing water to pile up and spill over into other areas [Music] [Music] another calling card from the Ice Age floods are these rocks named the twin sisters just east of here we leave the Columbia and turn into the Snake River an ice harbor lock the wind is blowing 40 knots from out when we reach slot number 5 we find the floating ball adders missing we must reverse back against the wind slot number 3 [Music] [Music] we wait impatiently for the lowering of the guillotine gate to provide some cow but even when closed strong gusts of wind continue to rough [Music] our fenders are enclosed in construction-grade garbage bags to protect them from the rough walls of the lock about this damn a series of trestles marked the line of an abandoned railway [Music] [Music] after three further hours we arrived at lower monumental Loch where our chart plotter shows us accurately positioned in the chamber finally we reach Lions Ferry marina at 5:00 p.m. not knowing what to expect but happily they can accommodate us the railway runs right above the marina not a comforting thought of a derailment should occur here at 1300 yards the nearby rail bridge was the longest in the world when built in 1914 it is completely filled by this train [Music] the following morning we negotiate the narrow entrance and continue on our way under the road bridge originally built across the Columbia River in 1927 it was dismantled and rebuilt here in 1960 at little goose lock we are raised another 98 feet Chris operates gears and thrusters to keep the boat in position as the water swirls around us [Music] barges transport juvenile salmon downriver because their extended travel time caused by the slow-moving water upstream of the dams increases their mortality clouds race across the fragmented landscape we feel our way into Boyer's marina through its narrow entrance [Music] [Music] [Music] the following morning on our way out we touch bottom thus proving yet again the importance of having a keel that protects the running gear [Music] [Music] our last upstream Dam lower granite raises us a final 100 feet to bring us to 738 feet above sea level [Music] at last we reach Lewiston and pass beneath this bridge into the Clearwater River to establish the fact that we have arrived in Idaho it was at this very point in 1805 that the Lewis and Clark expedition joined the snake Lewiston has no facilities for boats and the marina in nearby Clarkston is too small for venture our only recourse is to the landward side of the cruise ship dock where we again touch bottom as we enter [Music] to proceed further up the snake we join a jet boat to travel 57 miles through Hells Canyon this boat draws just 12 inches when underway and 30 inches when at rest there is no wheel just leave us and throttles [Music] [Music] we turn around at Doug bar it was here in 1877 where the Nez Perce who had provided critical assistance to Lewis and Clark were compelled to leave their ancestral lands and forced on the military threat to cross the river when it was flowing the spring melt causing major losses to their horses and livestock this place is also just a short distance from the site of a massacre 10 years later when 34 Chinese gold miners were murdered for their gold no one was ever held accountable for this crime even though the perpetrators were known we briefly enter the fast-flowing Salmon River which drops more than 7,000 vertical feet over its 425 mile length because the longest free-flowing River remaining in the US this stretch of the snake is free of dams although they do exist in the upper reaches at the 11th hour an application for two dams along this stretch of the river was denied by the Supreme Court on the grounds and environmental concerns and recreational needs outweighed the requirement for additional hydropower [Music] [Music] the gorges are steep and narrow with bizarre basalt rocks and even some ancient petroglyphs the following day we take our leave of Lewiston and begin our return journey downriver we meet one of the river cruise boats coming upstream a strange sight descending through the locks is much quicker than ascending as the water simply drains away to the lower level the height of the lock is emphasized and the lower gates revealed a scenery in a more theatrical way guillotine gates drip water and are chilling reminders of the origin of their name back at Lyon's River marina a local man generously hands us the keys to his truck making it possible for us to visit the spectacular Palouse waterfall this is one of the best examples of the cataclysmic Ice Age floods no river this size could possibly have created this plunge pool note the train at the top when the ice dam gave way it released 530 cubic miles of water keep in mind that one single cubic mile contains 1.1 trillion gallons weighing 4.6 billion tons I later drive through the scablands of Eastern Washington seeking out examples of this historic event [Music] evidence of different flood levels ripples left by the raging flow of vast quantities of water erratic dumped by floating ice fields of smaller boulders potholes scoured from fractured basalt by fierce underwater tornadoes called copse leaving pools and palms scattered throughout the dry environment [Music] well Lula Gap had acted as a hydraulic dam to the flood waters passing through it we encounter winds of 40 knots right on the nose with waves stiffened by wind against current mount hood reappears dramatically on the horizon the winds continue as we proceed downstream he battle our way into Arlington which we had bypassed on the way up but the following morning is flat calm we approach Hood River and are rewarded with a beautiful sunset following day the winds continue we pass beneath the bridge of the gods the gates at Bonneville our last lock swing open to reveal the familiar profile beacon rock we return to the realm of ocean-going ships with the form of this stylish car carrier followed by a ship accompanied by this strange-looking push it a freighter from Norway from Laos upstream loaded with windmill blades our penultimate evening is spent in peaceful Catholic on the Washington side it is blissfully quiet with an absence of trains our trip through the rivers is over and we are back at our starting point in Astoria after nine hundred and fifty miles interest [Music] [Music]

Channel: Fleming Yachts

Views: 149,272

Keywords: Fleming, Venture, Idaho, Columbia River, Snake River, Hell's Canyon, Adventure, Cruising

Id: Rv0iYqcHmwA

Length: 39min 10sec (2350 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 10 2020