Camofraug

Day 248: I couldn't resist the title, even though I believe this is a Western Toad (Bufo/Anaxyrus boreas), and he upstaged every other candidate for this blog from an eight-hour, 8.5-mile kayaking trip on the Cowlitz River. I have wildflowers, beautiful scenery, even an Osprey perched on a branch with half a fish in its talons, but the Marvelous Mister Toad takes the prize.

I'd put in at the spot I call Elk Landing, a nice sandy shingle which has been heavily marked with hoofprints whenever I've stopped there. It's a lovely spot for a lunch, or as was the case today, a place to take a breather from fighting wind and waves. I like to paddle up-river when I'm fresh and let the current give me an assist on the way back down, however today I was struggling for every inch of forward motion against a hard wind from the south. Whenever the river trended from roughly northeast to southwest, there were long-period rollers, cresting occasionally as whitecaps and breaking over the bow. It was the first time I've wished for a spray skirt on the 'yak. That said, I went farther upstream than I've gone before, but plans to make a park-to-park trip from Lake Scanewa to Cowlitz Falls were cut short when I was approximately a mile and a half from the campground. The wind was just too much, although I never felt I was in danger.