I love the Satsop, but only because it is close and comfortable (maybe less so since I sunk there). There are lots of times where I think "I wouldn't drive from Olympia to do this."

The river is flattening out, degrading its banks, and has lost most of the character it used to have. Sleds don't help.

I have plenty of crowd mitigation techniques, I can do fine with that, but this time of the year I am thinking a lot more about squeezing into my wetsuit and surfing, or swinging a golf club (in regular clothes not a wetsuit).