Kalama

We had a great trip on the Kalama with Jim, Tom, Bryan, Dawn, Annastasia, Matt, Terry, and Rachel. We met up at Haydu Park and consolidated into two vehicles for the put-in, with one vehicle set as the shuttle at Red Barn. Most of the group paddled hardshell kayaks, with Terry bringing his inflatable kayak. The flow was around 420 cfs for a noon launch. It was a good flow with well-formed rapids and fun features to enjoy.

The sun was out, making for an enjoyable day on the water. We had a couple of swims—one at Barnyard and another at Piggly Wiggly—but we gathered up all the pieces and everyone made it safely to the take-out.

Fishermen were out searching for winter steelhead, and we encountered several anglers along the banks. Jim showed me a great way to build goodwill between kayakers and anglers: collecting stray bobbers stuck in places that are hard for fishermen to reach but easy for kayakers to grab, then gifting them back along the way.

The Red Barn Access was busy with fishermen launching rafts and drift boats, but we were still able to find space.

Total float time was about 90 minutes for the 3-mile run.

A long day on the Kalama paddling from the Upper, portaging Kalama Falls, and continuing on downstream through the Red Barn run. Flows were moderately high.