Green River

I spent the morning on the Green River with the Alpine Adventures crew (who I’ve been rafting with the past several weekends, and will probably be guiding for this summer).   We started our trip in the gorge & floated down to Flaming Geyser State Park.   Pine trees topped smooth rock walls that plunged hundreds of feet down to the river - a spectacular backdrop to the plentiful whitewater.  Osprey, bald eagle, & splashing steelhead rounded out the scenery.  I got to guide several rapids and it felt great to get back on the stick.  Tomorrow we head over to the Skykomish & I’m lookin forward to seeing it with a bit more water in it (compared to last weekend).

I’m glad I’m getting to know these rivers.  Being on the water I gain a sense of place; an unparalleled perspective of the contours of the land.  The natural lifeblood of a land courses with its river; trees & eagles, reeds & rocks undulate along the wild sides of their river.  The power to erode,  to flood, to sweep side-to-side across lowland valleys ensures that rivers remain pockets of reprieve for the natural world.  In a world increasingly managed and damaged rivers remain bastions of the wild.