He Crosses the River

Today, after almost 2 weeks of trying, Mike got across the river. That's him the yellow life vest up on the rocks.

We'd started out planning to use a raft but it's large surface area meant it couldn't glide across the current and was just pushed downstream. And the plastic paddle broke. We tried using a boogie board to get across the current to the rocky shore on the other side. No luck. We both got within arm's length but couldn't grab on before either the board or the rope towed us back downstream with the current. So Mike pondered his options and decided a better craft was needed. He went into Medford Monday and picked up a 7 foot inflatable canoe and sturdy wooden paddle. Today would be the day we made it!

After inflating the canoe, Mike practiced a little in the water and then made two attempts to get across the current into a cove of calmer water. Both times he was pushed back out into the current and dragged downstream with the rope. Pretty exhausting.

My turn next. I paddled across stream twice, brushing the branches on the far side but not able to maneuver the canoe to get a grip anywhere. By this time, Mike was very silent.

I jabbered about some options and then finally got the hint to just keep quiet. He switched to a lighter rope, strapped on his life jacket and headed for the water. Before I knew it, he had headed up stream and launched into the current. In about 5 minutes, he had breast-stroked across and was able to latch onto a rock and climb out the other side. It took another hour or more to anchor a second rope across by floating the end on a buoy till it caught on Mike's line. He then swam out on the first rope, which was anchored on my side and tied to him, and retrieved the second line. After climbing the boulders on the far side and securing the cross-stream rope, Mike swam out into the current and I pulled him across until he could swim upstream again. That was one exhausted prospector and he hadn't done any digging today!

After getting some rest, he ratcheted the near side of the rope up above the water to 12 feet height, for the safety of any rafters that might go by. That was enough for today --tomorrow its the challenge of getting the dredge across and all the equipment-- and getting back again.

All in a day's work for us retired folks! We'll keep you posted.