Assessment of Kayaking Lower Thunder River.

                             By Restoration / Conservation Project Manager

                                                   Michael Hartley

Purpose of trip: to assess the feasibility of using a flotation device to traverse the main trunk section of Lower Thunder River from Thunder Falls to Jerry's Cairn vs. walking over mud banks and through the water, their by decreasing impact to the natural environment.

Participant: R/C Project Manager: Michael Hartley

Date of trip: 11/15-17/03

Device used: a 7ft long x 2.5ft wide inflatable Kayak.

     For my part of the activities of this expedition, I was testing an alternative method of traveling Lower Thunder River by floating the river, compared to walking over mud banks and in the water. I was supposed to meet Terry Sherman and two other members at the silo around noon, but as luck would have it, I was the only one there at noon. Do to uncontrollable circumstances, Terry didn’t show up until 3pm, and the others staggered in at different times after that. By the time we had enough people to enter the cave, it was after 4pm, so we decided just to wait for everyone to get there and all go in together.

     It was about 5:30 or so before everyone was there and we began entering the cave. We dropped to the bottom of the hole, organized our equipment and headed down river. As I moved along the trunk section of Lower Thunder River in my Kayak, I thought to my self, this is so much easier then having to walk through the mud and water with a heavy backpack to contend with. After the first couple of hours or so, it became quit apparent to me, that this is no different then any other situation or challenge that one encounters when trying something new or developing new methods. As with all things in life, this had its own unique set of problems and difficulties.

     First, I will elaborate on the some negative aspects I encountered. It was very slow going, much slower then hiking. There were a lot of obstacles to maneuver around and under, and a lot of shallow areas to portage. Next, I had brought to much unnecessary equipment, and I was not dressed properly. Having to much equipment packed onto the Kayak made it difficult to maneuver under low overhangs and through tight areas without having to stop and shift the load around. Sometimes in shallow places I would have to get out and pull or push the load while in the water. I soon realized I was not wearing the right clothing either. I was wearing a wet suit under what I thought were light weight coveralls, but after the coveralls became water soaked, it became physically difficult to move because they would stick to me. Those of you who are seasoned cavers, know what I mean. This situation caused me to expend a lot more energy then was necessary, and slowed me down considerably.

     At areas like Black Rock Riffles, I would have to unload the Kayak and move my equipment making several trips in each direction. This was very time consuming and was no better then if I had backpacked everything in. All the equipment, including myself did stay relatively clean until I had to portage long stretches of the river, then everything would get muddy from having to carrier the equipment from one point to another. After several hours of this I was exhausted, but not deterred from my purpose. Moving as slow as I was, I kept thinking to myself, how far ahead of me was the rest of the group. I must be falling farther and farther behind. As I came through a narrow squeeze and under a low overhang, there they were sitting on an elevated flat mud bank, about 8ft above the water level waiting for me. I asked Eddie how long they had been there, and he said only about 20 minutes. I guess my perception of time was off a little, because I thought I was a good hour or more behind them. Looking back on it, if I had taken only the absolute minimum equipment needed, I don't think getting through the low places and portaging  would have been near as difficult as it was. Refining my methods and my equipment list should make a significant difference next time.

     Now for some of the more positive aspects of using the Kayak. Although this method is much slower then walking the mud banks and through the water, there are significant advantages. By floating the river you really get to see the cave close up. I don't mean the big, massive formations that you couldn't miss even if you tried to, but the small things that are back under the overhangs and in those tight spots that we normally just pass by without noticing because we can't see them from the banks. This gives you a whole new perspective of what the cave is really like. Smaller formations, down close to the water level. Possible side passages that you wouldn't even have known about down at water level, under an overhang. I passed at least two of these on my way down river, that may turn out to be new sides. Floating in the calm stretches you can see the bottom of the river with extreme clarity because the silt is not churned up from people wading through it. I counted 17 blind cave fish form Thunder Falls to the area where we camped. Most of them above and below riffle areas and some in shallower pools between the riffles.

     Another advantage of floating the river was saving on energy consumption. Although I was exhausted by the time I got to camp, I wasn’t as near depleted of energy as every one else. One problem did arise though, and not unexpectedly either. At some of the shallower areas, the Kayak did drag on the bottom occasionally, and I did acquire two small pin hole leaks. I had to stop twice before I reached the camp site, and blow up the air chamber that was leaking. Fortunately the Kayak has five different air chambers, so it wasn’t a big problem. I also had anticipated this might happen, and brought along some waterproof sealant. When I reached the camp site, I simply patched the holes and the Kayak was fully functional again. The Kayak held up extremely well under the circumstances. It is made of a tightly woven cloth material and laminated between 30 ml PVC plastic. I also used the Kayak as an air mattress to sleep on at night. I turned it over, dried off the bottom, and slept on it at night. It worked very well.

     As I mention before, testing a floatation device as a means of transportation to go up and down Lower Thunder river did have its own unique positive and negative aspects. Despite the problems involved, it did work fairly well. I did notice one thing when going back up river to exit the cave. It seemed as if it took me only half as long to get back to Thunder Falls and it was not quite as difficult either. I think this was do to the fact that I was already familiarly with that section of the cave and new all the hard spots. Next time I do this, I will know what to take and not to take and since I am already familiarly with that part of the cave, I don't think it will take quite near as long.

                                                                                                   Submitted 12-27-03 by

                                                                                                   R/C Project Manager

                                                                                                   Michael Hartley