Canadian couple canoeing the length of the Columbia

A Canadian couple passed through Wahkiakum County this week as they completed a canoe trip along the entire length of the Columbia River.

Joe and Nan Zaccolo of Coquitlam, BC, overnighted at the Elochoman Slough Marina this weekend as they neared the end of their quest.

The trip has been a lifelong dream for Joe, age 74. He grew up in Trail, BC, where the southerly flowing Columbia divides the town before crossing the border into Washington.

"I built a runabout boat while in high school," he said. "My mother never let me have the thing. It never made into the Columbia River. She's probably looking down and thinking she should have let me go instead of having me drag my wife down the river."

Seven years ago, Joe and Nan, now age 71, began planning how to take the 2,000 mile journey in their 17 1/2 foot canoe. They settled on breaking the trip into segments. They've been on the river about a month per year, and they spend about a month getting ready to go. They bring an RV for a mobile base camp and they find people who help them travel between starting and ending points. They scout the river before heading out and talk to local boaters to learn about water conditions. They paddle about 10 miles a day.

Because of the dams on the river, they often have hours of simple paddling on reservoirs, but they've also had some experience with the river's free flowing stretches. As they were heading into the gorge above Lake Kinbasket, near Golden, BC, local guides recommended they skip the dangerous rapids and portage around.

"The river comes down and makes two 90 degree turns and another at the end with big eddies that just move up and down," Joe said. "One guide advised us to just put our heads down and paddle like mad. We did that. We felt the boat go up and down a few times, but we made it through in exactly two hours."

Two hours was the maximum time that the man waiting for them at the end of the leg had allowed before he was going to call for a search party.

On the reservoirs above the dams, they encountered another problem--wakes from recreational motor boats.

"Wind was also an issue," Nan said, "and on the middle and lower stretches, we've had big wakes from barges and river traffic."

It wasn't always easy to portage around dams, either.

"The US-Canada treaty for the Columbia River provides that dam operators are to provide assistance in getting around dams," Joe said. "Most operators were very helpful, but there were some who weren't. They would drag things out to the point you'd just give up and find another way."

An one dam, he recounted, the operators were very reluctant to help. Finally, they set out along the shoreline looking for a resident who would at least let them set up a camp.

They found a likely house, and Joe, braving two great Danes lounging at the front door, was able to attract the attention of the occupant, a woman who was listening to loud music.

She opened her doors to them, and the next morning, her son arrived with a truck and trailer to carry their gear to a landing below the dam.

That's been the standard for their journey, they said. People have been so welcoming and accommodating.

"The trip is all about the people who have helped us," Joe said.

They plan to complete their journey with a landing at Cape Disappointment July 30 or 31. Their son, his wife, and their grandchildren are coming down from British Columbia to join the celebration.