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