Just rocks and water flowing down hill...

We think the rivers of the North Cascades are pretty interesting places, and we are continually trying to learn as much as we can about them. Whether its human history, wildlife or geology, we are always looking for good sources of information about our environment. We each have our favorite topics, and for me, it is geology. From glaciers to volcanoes, there is quite a lot going on around here. In order to learn more about the geology of the Nooksack river and Mt. Baker, I invited volcano researcher and Mt. Baker expert Dave Tucker to join us for a float. Dave has a very interesting and helpful website http://nwgeology.wordpress.com/ that has been great resource for me.

Dave Tucker talks about the geology along the Nooksack River - Credit John Scurlock

Dave brought along his friends Scott, Russ and John and we all had a great trip floating down the section of the Nooksack where we do our scenic float trips. We learned about a Lahars that came off of Mt. Baker and flowed down the Middle Fork of the Nooksack, glacial deposits exposed in the high banks along the river and fossil rich outcrops of Chuckanut Formation rocks.

A beautiful view along the Nooksack - Credit John Scurlock

Dave's friend John Scurlock is a well known photographer and pilot who has recently published a book called Snow & Spire: Flights to Winter in the North Cascade Range. While John is more known for his aerial photographs, we were lucky he brought his camera along for some great river level photos. More of John's photos can be seen at http://www.pbase.com/nolock

Thanks Dave, Russ, Scott and John for sharing your knowledge and joining us for a scenic float trip on the Nooksack River.  

from the left: John, Dave, me, Russ and Scott

If you would like to learn more about the Geology along the Nooksack river you should read Dave's blog. If you would like to see some really neat geology and have a great, relaxing time doing it, come float the river with us. www.adventurecascades.com

Thanks for reading,

Brian

Bald Eagle Days

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

“Uncommon. Usually seen near lakes, rivers, and coasts where prey is abundant and prominent trees afford nest sites and unobstructed view of surroundings. Usually solitary, but may gather in groups at prime locations such as salmon runs or waterfowl staging areas.” –David Allen Sibley

Walking down to the river, on the last day of 2012, we slid the boats into the edge of the Nooksack and glanced to the sky. Eagles already soaring high and watching us from trees above, they were all but uncommon on our sunny New Years Eve float. The snow slowed and the clouds were breaking as sunshine poured through the openings.  Before we pushed off it had become a blue-sky day, the kind that allows for perfect Bald Eagle sightings. Winter boating at it's best.

Bend after bend in the river we saw more and more majestic creatures soaring past us while we floated.  Solitary they were not, not today. Never have I seen more Bald Eagles then when floating down the river in January (well technically Dec. 31^st)! I can attest, watching those broad winged birds never loses it’s excitement.

Soaring over the river a team of Baldies tease a seagull whose catch is a mighty fine looking trout. The seagull holds his own for a while but alas, the Bald Eagle, who would rather not do his own fishing, teases the fish from the gull. Unfortunately, both come up empty handed and the Eagles will have to wait patiently for the next fisher to come along and harass.

Mergansers float by, Mallards and Teals flap fiercely through the crisp air.  All the worries of 2012, roll down river with our big green boat, and you can feel the contentment and genuine happiness from boat to boat. Cheers 2012, here’s to another great year on the water! 

-Kristi

Sauk River Volunteer Adventure

Early Saturday morning we loaded our gear bags, dogs and mugs full of coffee into the car and headed off to the Sauk river for some volunteering and rafting.  Before we left Bellingham we had to fuel up with delicious breakfast sandwiches.  "You all headed up to the mountain?" Inquired the cook. "Nope off to the river!" We exclaimed with grins hanging from our sleepy faces and off we went.  

Pulling into Whitechuck boat ramp the clouds started to lift and the rain kept to a quite drizzle.  We went right to work shoveling and racking out clogged drainage systems.  Dogs at our heals eager to help out where needed and greet new visitors to the area. We filled bags of trash, trimmed overgrowth that had flowed into parking spaces, racked leaves, and devoured a delicious bowl of hot chowder and corn bread.  Spirits high from our hard work and bellies full from a warm meal we knew there was only one thing left to get done, go rafting!

Dedicating the day to new friends and new adventures, we decided to float a new section of the river to keep with flow. At the 530 bridge we launched our boat and boom! Right away we saw two giant Salmon dancing across the water.  Breathing in the cool crisp air we couldn’t have been a happier group of boaters.  Especially being that we were able to take two people on their first ever river rafting trip. Throughout the float I found myself trying to keep track of how many bald eagles we encountered but I lost track after 13 or so. I never felt any less amazed as they continued gracing us with their enormous wingspan and intelligent gaze. The color of the water against fall colors and painted snow capped mountains made the extra layers we were wearing well worth the gorgeous float.  Best of all, I didn’t even get my feet wet.

 

Thank you new friends for a great day. And, thank you Martha from Darrington Friends for Public Use for providing us with tools to clean the Whitechuck boat ramp.  We’ll be back again soon!

Catch you on our next adventure!
-Kristi

It's official. The bald eagles have returned to the Nooksack!

Sunset on the Nooksack

I was out on the Nooksack yesterday evening teaching a kayaking lesson, and I am very excited to report that the bald eagles have returned to the Nooksack near Bellingham.

As we were gearing up at the riverside, I soon noticed a familiar smell - dead fish. Every fall as spawned out salmon begin to die and wash ashore, the rivers of Washington get a little stinky. To us the smell is gross, but to the animals of the river corridor, it signals that a feast has begun. The dead fish provide an easy source of nutrients that are essential to the river and forest ecosystem. Many animals come to the river in the fall to share in the feast, but by far the most famous are the bald eagles.

Seeing and smelling dead fish at the put if, I figured we had a good shot to see some eagles. Right off the bat, we saw a loan bird feasting on a freshly dead coho salmon. Traveling on the river allows you to get really close to the birds, and that first encounter alone would have made the evening for me and my guest. Lucky for us, that would not be the only eagle on the river that evening.  Further down river, we spooked an eagle off of his dinner only to have him perch on a branch directly above a small wave we planed on surfing.  The eagle watched us as we took turns surfing the wave. We soon noticed that there were a number of eagles in the trees around this spot. In the 20 or 30 minutes we spent playing at the wave, we saw at least 7 birds. They were very active, flying from tree to tree and fighting over the fish that we had spooked the first eagle off of.

The bald eagle watching season is just getting started, and the numbers are only going to increase over the next few months. To find out more about Adventure Cascades's eagle watching and scenic float trips, check out our website.

Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you on the river soon,

Brian

Welcome back Bald Eagles!

Nooksack River Eagle

A beautiful winter day on the Nooksack

As I was driving around Lake Whatcom near Bellingham this week, I was greeted by a visitor who I see often in this area.  I came around a corner to find a huge bald eagle enjoying his fish breakfast about 20 feet up in a tree. I stopped in the middle of the road to watch, and after our staredown, I couldn’t get the awesome encounter off my mind.

My friends at Adventure Cascades and I are lucky to be able to enjoy the company of eagles often on our Nooksack and Skagit scenic river float trips. Bald eagles are found in every state except Hawaii, but Western Washington has the highest concentration of migratory eagles in the contiguous United States. During the winter, as the weather cools in the Fraser Valley in British Columbia, eagles return by the hundreds to our river systems, mainly the Nooksack and Skagit Valleys to feast on the salmon that run upstream to spawn. The prime season to view bald eagles in our area is from late November until late January.
The best way to see our winter visitors is by joining a scenic float trip on the Nooksack or Skagit Rivers. The eagles hang out on the trees that line the rivers, and wait for their chance to feed on salmon. The morning is a great time to see eagles, and believe it or not, a cloudy day provides us with a great contrast to spot birds more easily. 

Here are a few interesting Eagle facts to get your excited about seeing them on the river with us!

• Eagle wingspans range from 72-90 inches
• Bald Eagles can fly to an altitude of 10,000 feet, and can travel at speeds of about 30-35 MPH
• Bald Eagles weigh from ten to fourteen pounds, and have around 7000 feathers!
• Wild bald eagles can live as long as thirty years
• Bald eagles form life long partnerships, after they are paired, eagles remain together until one dies
• Eagle nest are huge: they can weigh up to 2000 Lbs!

Call Adventure Cascades at (360)393-6815 or (855)723-8738 to book scenic float trip in the Skagit or Nooksack river for your chance to see the majestic bald eagles of washington.

See you on the water,

Sarah

"Do you ever get bored when you're not guiding whitewater?"

Mt. Baker from the Nooksack during a scenic float trip

Last Thursday as we were floating down the Nooksack River a friend asked, "Do you ever get bored when you're not guiding white water?" I knew immediately my answer was no. I love being on the water, but throughout the rest of the day her question stayed with me, and I had more time to reflect on the question.

It was not until I began working for Adventure Cascades that I ever was a scenic tour guide on the Nooksack and Skagit Rivers. I have worked on rivers across the country, and for years wanted to run the biggest lines on the biggest white water. I was an adrenaline junkie.

My mind drifted back to other rivers on the east coast, a waterfall run in California, and big water on the Sauk. I thought about how before running a Class V section in West Virginia, I regularly was unable to sleep the night before, and the first few times, I even threw up at the put in- try inspiring confidence in your guests after that one! I thought about how my knuckles would get white as I gripped my paddle, how sometimes I would plead with the river, "just let this rapid go well."

A Nooksack bald eagle

As I thought about those fun, yet scary moments, I was sitting on the outside tube of our raft with my feet kicked up, my back to the downstream flow. I was staring up at Mt Baker. I listened to the sound of the oars slipping through the water, and the laughter of my friends. I watched the sky colors change from blue, to gold and pink, and a fiery orange. Completely relaxed, with no sense of urgency. Some eagles swooped in for a closer view of the water, others stared at us with haughty pride from their perches in the trees.

I love big whitewater. At this time, in this moment, there is no where else I would rather be. An evening eagle float is the perfect adventure for me.

Relaxing on the Nooksack Float

"You guys run the river at night?"

Downstream view on the Nooksack

Recently the Adventure Cascade crew found ourselves on the water. When you get right down to it, we love being out there, and often find any excuse to stay out. As we floated through the pools of the Nooksack river, an idea begin to form amongst our all employee trip. It was such a nice evening, why should we get off the water earlier then necessary?

Is it a full moon? It might be close to a full moon. We argued amongst ourselves, when was the last full moon? As we drifted by our take out, we discussed who would have to hitchhike back to the take out to the vehicle that we were now passing by. A fisherman watching from shore called out in friendly warning, "where you going?" we told him our new takeout plan, he smiled, "you won't make it before dark!" We continued on.

View of the Twin Sisters from the Nooksack River

As the sun began to set we admired the alpen glow on Mt Baker and the Twin Sisters. The sky colors were phenomenal as sunsets in the great northwest tend to be. Pink, red, orange, ending in a gray and blue.

I spotted movement. In the fading light it was difficult to say what it was. "Hey guys, is that an animal?" No,” said my companions, “it's a piece of wood.” As we grew closer my piece of wood began to move. It was a large beaver, large enough to remind me of the critters in the Princess Bride, well definitely the largest beaver I've ever seen. He/she regarded us with skepticism, these humans on the water at this late hour. The big guy ambled to the water and swam away, presumably towards home. 

The bald eagles decided in the last of the light to give us an acrobatic show. One of the values of a sunset trip is the increased chance of seeing wildlife. As the sunset was officially complete we realized that we were not even close to a moon showing soon.

Our laughter startled a couple having a romantic tryst on the side of the river. The gentleman yelled at us, "it's awesome you guys know the river so well you can run it in the dark." We laughed again and continued on, we do know the rivers well.

As we safely approached our take out the idea for a commercial sunset trip was born -not to be run in the dark but carefully timed to take off as the sun set finished. We made it back to our respective vehicles without a hitch, and went on to warm meals. As always, we believe in the choose your adventure approach to life, and on this occasion we were rewarded well for it.

Post sunset from the Nooksack River

Katie Higgins has been with Adventure Cascades since its creation. She has worked on rivers all over the country for the past decade, and decided to make the northwest her home after falling in love with the waters of the North Cascades. Look for more stories and insights from her and our other guides on our weekly blog; or check out website www.adventurecascades.com