We spent weeks counting down. We blogged, we tweeted, we Facebooked — so much that some of our friends started to question our sanity — just to spread the word, hoping that we could do our part in encouraging to take part in the October 24th International Day of Climate Action. And then the day came.

We had all committed to taking part in River of Action, and action that would use boats to make the shape of 350. Stiv had his camera, Ian donned a wet suit and grabbed a stand up paddleboard and I decked myself out in the Sassy the Sustainable Sasquatch costume, three of our iWend Ambassadors were even out for the cause. All in the name of 350.

Over 200 paddlers came together to take part, in boats and vessels of all sizes. Some had been following the 350 cause for weeks, and others had joined in last minute. I overheard a woman saying that she had only found out about the event the night before, from a friend that needed a canoeing partner, and that she was so excited that she got to take part.

Luckily the Portland weather graced us with an shockingly beautiful fall day, making for flat water on the Willamette and beautiful blue skies, the perfect photo op. People walking along the waterfront of downtown Portland stopped to watch what was going on, curious to know what so many crazy paddlers were up to.

350.org Kayakers Action in Portland from Epicocity Project on Vimeo.

Getting over 200 paddlers to form a large “350″ on a river is no small task, and it took a combination of goodwill, direction from the organizers and photographers standing above us on the Burnside Bridge, excellent communication between all of the boats that were directing on the water and a dash of luck to make it all happen. But we were successful, and when the “ok” came from the bullhorn above, everyone raised their paddles in a communal hurrah. It feels good to take part in a global movement.

Here’s a little visual action from the days events:

[Photos: Stiv Wilson]