I had a friend in Bozeman who recently moved to Oregon (Don Nisewanger, in
case you
recognize it). I backpacked with him for a few days in YS last year.

Sounds like you are somewhat familiar with the area. You probably know as much
as I do now about paddling up there, as all my paddling has been on whitewater.
The weather is predicted to improve over the weekend, but it still could be
chilly or wet at that elevation. The bears will be busy putting on fat for the
winter. If you haven't already planned for that it might be worthwhile to throw
in some rope to get your food up off the ground. Have fun, and please get back
to us with a trip report.

Dennis

Wayne Watson typed:

Hi, Bill, I've been looking at Nelson's book a little more this evening. It looks
like the stuff in the Tetons, Jenny, String Lake, Leigh Lake, is probably a good
starting place for me. It looks like the water might be gentler and views
magnificient. After I've gotten a more comfortable on some of the easier trips, I
will likely take some of the easier trips along Yellowstone Lake and Lewis Lake. I
see 89 and Bear Lake. My Rand McNally map shows it's a scenic hwy and there are
several other scenic hwys near by. I may hit that on the way back. Sounds like a good
choice. I'll probably cut north fron 80 onto 93 up towards Twin Falls and the
Sawtooths on the way east.


Put on at the Jackson Reservoir dam and float with the current (and
against the wind, most likely!), until an access point/overlook at a
creek mouth where US-89 comes close to river left, just north of Moran
Junction. The entire right bank is a game preserve and offers good
chances for close encounters of the wildlife kind. The water is swift
in a few places but mostly slow, and there are no rapids. This might
be the stretch known as the Oxbow stretch (I'm better with geography
than with nomenclature).


-Richard, His Kanubic Travesty
--
================================================== ====================
Richard Hopley Winston-Salem, NC, USA
rhopley[at]earthlink[dot]net
Nothing really matters except Boats, Sex, and Rock'n'Roll
rhopley[at]wfubmc[dot]edu
OK, OK; computer programming for scientific research also matters
================================================== ====================

Be very careful of the wind. You want to be off the water when it hits.
On a 5 day trip on Lewis/Shoshone lakes in August a few years ago, it
hit every day between 1 and 2 PM. You could hear it roaring up on the
ridge tops and see the trees bending while at lake level it was calm.
It gradually moved down to lake level, probably blowing at 30+ mph, and
within 10 minutes there were whitecaps. Surface water temps went from
70s to 50s as the lake was stirred up. The wind lasted about an hour,
then died, and the next morning the lake had restratified and was warm
enough to swim in. If you do Lewis/Shoshone, you need to get an early
start so you don't get caught by the wind.

B. Comegys wrote:
Hi Wayne ;
I bought this book, "Paddling Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks"
by Don Nelson, ISBN: 1560446277, very helpful. The book talks about
trips, campsites, water taxi, permits, etc. I have also taken a short
paddles on Yellowstone and Lewis lake. It was very different then in
Washington State, I guess you would expect that. What I was struck by is
how fast the wind comes up in the afternoon so you need to paddle in the
morning. You need to buy a permit to paddle in Yellowstone. When I came
out of Yellowstone the Ox Bow area looked really nice. I do not know if it
was practical.
All the Best
Bill

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004, Wayne Watson wrote:


Rec., that is, fla****er. I probably made a big stride towards understanding what is
there only a few hours ago. I just received my copy of Paddling Yellowstone and
Tetons by Don Wilson, Falcon Press. I posted to get a jump on any info I could pick
up. I was afraid the book wouldn't get here until late Thursday, which would have
given me about 12 hours to get acquainted with it. I'm leaving Friday for the area.
I'll be there two weeks. Nevertheless, I've already gotten some good info from a lady
in Jackson Hole, but can always use more. I will rent equipment somewhere in the
area, and will likely go it on my own, but I'm open to joining in with clubs in the area.

I just took a peek at the book. Looks like it'll be helpful.

Paddlec1 wrote:


Any suggestions for recreational paddling in YS/Teton area? Outside the parks
is fine
too.



What kind of paddling are you looking for...
Whitewater? Fla****er touring? I don't get down to the South side of the park
much, but I do a lot of paddling on the north side, Yellowstone River,
Gallatin, Madison, Boulder.

Dennis


--
Wayne T. Watson (The Wizard of Obz, Nevada City, CA)
(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W
(Formerly Homo habilis, erectus, heidelbergensis and now sapiens)

Blue Whale population before human hunting: 239,000. Today: 1,700.

Web Page: home.earthlink.net/~mtnviews

Hello,
thanks. I think I'll very likely stay away from Lewis/Shoshone until I have better
skills or travel with others. I'll probably venture into some part of YS Lake, but it
looks like from Nelson's book that some of the lakes in the Tetons will be easier and
perhaps a bit less risky (Jenny, Stringer, Two Oceans, Jackson Lake to Oxbow to
Pacific Creek--trip #32). Interesting about how the in-water temp changes. I'm
preparing for the 50s, and will be using a 4mm wetsuit, a loaner courtesy of my son.
Nelson, as you do, cautions against mid-afternoon winds. He also mentions 5-6' waves
are not uncommon. I think this applies to the entire YS-T lake area and not just YS.

Speaking of wind, I had hoped to get a Dwyer wind gauge before leaving on the trip,
but I'm too late on that score. A possible source is an athletic sports store. These
meters are often used in track meets to determine if the wind is too high for record
events. If there's a place where I can get one on my travels through Reno, Salt Lake,
and to YS-T, I'd get one.

Thinking of the Salt Lake body of water, I would think boating is not possible there?

Kim Buttleman wrote:

Be very careful of the wind. You want to be off the water when it hits.
On a 5 day trip on Lewis/Shoshone lakes in August a few years ago, it
hit every day between 1 and 2 PM. You could hear it roaring up on the
ridge tops and see the trees bending while at lake level it was calm. It
gradually moved down to lake level, probably blowing at 30+ mph, and
within 10 minutes there were whitecaps. Surface water temps went from
70s to 50s as the lake was stirred up. The wind lasted about an hour,
then died, and the next morning the lake had restratified and was warm
enough to swim in. If you do Lewis/Shoshone, you need to get an early
start so you don't get caught by the wind.

B. Comegys wrote:

Hi Wayne ;
I bought this book, "Paddling Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks"
by Don Nelson, ISBN: 1560446277, very helpful. The book talks about
trips, campsites, water taxi, permits, etc. I have also taken a short
paddles on Yellowstone and Lewis lake. It was very different then in
Washington State, I guess you would expect that. What I was struck by is
how fast the wind comes up in the afternoon so you need to paddle in the
morning. You need to buy a permit to paddle in Yellowstone. When I came
out of Yellowstone the Ox Bow area looked really nice. I do not know
if it
was practical.
All the Best
Bill

On Tue, 24 Aug 2004, Wayne Watson wrote:


Rec., that is, fla****er. I probably made a big stride towards
understanding what is
there only a few hours ago. I just received my copy of Paddling
Yellowstone and
Tetons by Don Wilson, Falcon Press. I posted to get a jump on any
info I could pick
up. I was afraid the book wouldn't get here until late Thursday,
which would have
given me about 12 hours to get acquainted with it. I'm leaving Friday
for the area.
I'll be there two weeks. Nevertheless, I've already gotten some good
info from a lady
in Jackson Hole, but can always use more. I will rent equipment
somewhere in the
area, and will likely go it on my own, but I'm open to joining in
with clubs in the area.

I just took a peek at the book. Looks like it'll be helpful.

Paddlec1 wrote:


Any suggestions for recreational paddling in YS/Teton area? Outside
the parks
is fine
too.




What kind of paddling are you looking for...
Whitewater? Fla****er touring? I don't get down to the South side of
the park
much, but I do a lot of paddling on the north side, Yellowstone River,
Gallatin, Madison, Boulder.

Dennis


--
Wayne T. Watson (The Wizard of Obz, Nevada City, CA)
(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W
(Formerly Homo habilis, erectus, heidelbergensis and now
sapiens)

Blue Whale population before human hunting: 239,000.
Today: 1,700.

Web Page: home.earthlink.net/~mtnviews





--
Wayne T. Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)
(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W
(Formerly Homo habilis, erectus, heidelbergensis and now sapiens)

Blue Whale population before human hunting: 239,000. Today: 1,700.

Web Page: home.earthlink.net/~mtnviews

I am at Bozeman, about ten miles west, out near the river. Never lived in
Missoula, been here since 82. This is a good place to live except it gets a bit
on the chilly side sometimes, the mountains over the Gallatin are pretty white
right now. The skiing is excellent here (well, will be in a few months), and I
do paddle the House Rock run frequently. The Gallatin is a great river, easy
access and different paddling on different sections. Great paddling around
Missoula to though, but the skiing is better here.

Dennis


(Paddlec1) typed:

[snip]

I am north of the park, about fifty miles. The Gallatin flows north out of
the
park, and I'm very near it at Bozeman.

Bozeman? You moved from Missoula? What gives? Is this better or
worse for paddling? Guess you run House Rock after work, eh?


-Richard, His Kanubic Travesty
--
================================================= =====================
Richard Hopley Winston-Salem, NC, USA
rhopley[at]earthlink[dot]net
Nothing really matters except Boats, Sex, and Rock'n'Roll
rhopley[at]wfubmc[dot]edu
OK, OK; computer programming for scientific research also matters
================================================= =====================

O my; sorry. I guess was confusing you with OBDave (I think it was),
who used to read r.b.p, whom I ran into at a gas station in Missoula
in the summer of '98.

Near Bozeman Hot Springs, eh? Last time I was in that area was the
summer of 2000 with three paddling buddies from Boulder, CO. One had
gotten badly beaten up on the Kitchen Sink rapid in Bear Trap Canyon
of the Madison, and just camped at the KOA with Hot Springs
privileges. Jon & Karen and I drove up into the Beaverhead near
Gallatin Gateway for the night (cost our KOA Kamper $30; the rest of
us slept for free). Anytime I am in the Jackson area I make sure I
get up to the Gallatin.

I was supposed to be out yer way this July but the low river levels
kept me East. My friends who went anyway ran into a lot of unexpected
rainfall and were able to boat in Wyoming and Idaho after all.

Now, lessee... was it you or OBDave whom Mothra visited in Montana
last Spring? I saw her in Chattanooga a few weeks before she got to
Montana.


-Richard, His Kanubic Travesty
--
================================================= =====================
Richard Hopley Winston-Salem, NC, USA
rhopley[at]earthlink[dot]net
Nothing really matters except Boats, Sex, and Rock'n'Roll
rhopley[at]wfubmc[dot]edu
OK, OK; computer programming for scientific research also matters
================================================= =====================

Yeah, that's Dave who's in Missoula. I wish he'd get over here a little more.
He invited me to Missoula to paddle with him and the eastern rbpers a couple
years back but I'm always busy paddling here or immersed in work in the summer.


It's been a good season here. We came out of winter with very little snowpack,
and then it started dumping about the time the weather should have been getting
nice. paddled in rain and snow a lot in may and june. The runoff held up well.

It had to be Dave that Mothra visited, I've never had the pleasure of meeting
her, maybe next time she's out this way.

I live just a few miles from the Hot Springs, it's sure nice in the winter.
Next time you're out this way let me know, and stop in. I have a lot of room
for camping, and I'd go to the river with you.

Well, I'm going to try to get to the House Rock run today since the weather is
so good. Maybe get in one or two more runs before the water gets too low.

Dennis

Well, I've returned from a very enjoyable time kayaking. I paddled in Teton NP and
two places in Idaho. I did not paddle in YS, but did check it out for the future. The
'finger' area at the south end looked interesting, but it would require some effort
both in time and money to get there. A boat will ferry equipment there, but it is
supposed to be pretty costly. From Grant Village, it's 30 miles along the shore. I
took in String, Two Ocean Lake, part of Oxbox Bend, and Leigh. All were beautiful
lakes. On the way into Idaho, I stopped at Massacre Rock on the Snake and paddled
toward the dam. A couple of hand grenades might have been useful for the big boat
travel around there. :-) I also took in a stretch of the Snake below Pallisade Dam in
SE Idaho. It ran down to Swan Valley. The later 1/2 is supposed to be through a
canyon, but I couldn't arrange a take out easily, so did the first 1/2. It was quite
picturesque and about class 1.4. Fun with a number of cascades.

Wayne Watson wrote:

Any suggestions for recreational paddling in YS/Teton area? Outside the
parks is fine too.



--
Wayne T. Watson (Watson Adventures, Prop., Nevada City, CA)
(121.015 Deg. W, 39.262 Deg. N) GMT-8 hr std. time)
Obz Site: 39° 15' 7" N, 121° 2' 32" W
(Formerly Homo habilis, erectus, heidelbergensis and now sapiens)

Blue Whale population before human hunting: 239,000. Today: 1,700.

Web Page: home.earthlink.net/~mtnviews