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The Rogue River Run – 2005
2005 has been a year of firsts for me, the biggest being my introduction to white water kayaking. I decided to make the transition from being “just” a sea kayaker to being a river boater at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately the elements were doing their best to thwart this maneuver. In April, the month of my first scheduled class it was still cold and rainy, so much so that no one else signed up for a class. In May the runoff was so big that the river was running at well over 7000 cubic feet per second, a bit too much for a beginner like me (they normally teach when it’s around 1500 or so) so once again the class was cancelled. Finally in June I was able to go take my White Water 201 course with California Canoe and Kayak. Though the river was running fast I managed to learn a few tricks and discover a new addiction!
Fast forward to late August and a call from Keith Miller of CCK, “…would I be interested in joining the CCK trip to the Rogue River over Labor Day week?” You better believe it! I did my level best to talk both Paula and Kari into joining me for the trip. In the end Paula bowed out and Kari stepped up. Way cool!
The journey is the destination…
I really like that quote. Rarely do I take the direct route to get anywhere even if it is to go to a cool place like the Rogue River. This trip was no exception. Kari asked for a ride and I obliged so we set off on Saturday to do a little exploring of the Northern California Coast. The Tiger was running well and we enjoyed a little fun out on 128. Our route took us up through the Anderson Valley and Alexander Valley wine regions and then out to Highway 1 from Mendocino on up to Eureka. Along the way we stopped to sample a little wine and had a nice lunch along the coast.
That evening we spent the night in a motel and treated ourselves to a movie at the local theater. In the morning after stopping for a fabulous breakfast at the Samoa Cookhouse we motored on up 199 into Oregon and eventually found ourselves at the Sundance Lodge. I could go on about the beautiful redwoods, stellar coastline and scenic roads but I’ll leave that to your imagination…
Go here for photos of the ride up…
The Gang!
At the lodge we met a number of folks who were joining us for the trip. A few had yet to arrive including our CCK escort Keith. As it turns out Keith was unable to attend and instead sent along Jorge and Trevor to provide guidance and support on the river. Sundance would be providing two large rafts with a couple of killer ladies who would guide them down the river as well as one of their own white water specialists. (That would be Alice, Morgan and Brian.)
Day One – Splashdown!
In the morning we were fattened up nicely by Elena’s excellent cooking before we gathered up our gear and made for the vanpool. We would be motoring on down the road a piece to a put-in spot at the top of the wild and scenic portion of the river. It took a bit of time to get things sorted out, the two rafts loaded up and things tied down and then all of us into our boats and onto the river. We started things out with a quick drop into some rapids…I believe this is Grave Creek Rapids but I could be wrong. My handy little cheat sheet tells me this is so.
Within a couple of miles we came to Rainie Falls where we eddied out and then portaged our boats down to the bottom of the chute. This section is rated a Class V for good reason. Dead center down the river you have something like an eight foot drop into a boiling cauldron of water. Our trusty kayak guides showed us that you can indeed paddle this drop but not without consequence. None of them exited the bottom upright. If one of us mere mortals had tried this maneuver we would have most likely gotten caught in the swirl at the bottom of the falls and ended up window shading for a while until somehow getting cut loose. (Remember those old fashion window shades that spin out of control when you pull down and then release them? Just picture a guy in a kayak spinning like that at the bottom of the waterfall…)
Even more impressive was watching Alice and Morgan work those big rafts down the center chute where the passage looked barely big enough to allow a kayak through much less anything bigger. They did a hell of a job working those babies through the chute. Ah well, I picked up my boat and paddle and wandered on down to an eddy at the bottom of the falls. Better to live to paddle another day I always say…
After that we worked our way through a series of rapids including China Gulch, Whiskey Creek, Booze Creek, Rum Creek (see a pattern here?), and more. We took time to practice drills like catching eddies and then peeling back out into the current. I had fun playing around and ended up performing a couple of combat rolls. There’s nothing more fun than riding out a rapid while upside down in your boat holding your breath. You wait for that moment in time where things stop bouncing so much and then “Pop” up you come, at least in theory. Occasionally I would lift my head or do something to upset my roll and would then have to do a second attempt. Still, it’s a pretty cool feeling to accomplish a roll in the middle of a rapid.
Lunch was a well deserved break from our hard play and we were treated to a smorgasbord of sandwiches, chips, fruit and other delightful goodies. I dare say we would not starve on this trip if breakfast and lunch were any example of what we could expect. Yum! A little sunshine after a hard morning’s paddle gave us time to relax and restore our energy for more!
After lunch I had to work extra hard to get my skirt back on and then zip up my PFD. Seems as though these things shrink on ya when you stop to eat. ;) I also noticed that I had a higher chance of flipping my boat after lunch too. Must be all that food upsetting my balance and changing my center of gravity. Yeah, that’s it.
We continued on down the river having fun with little surf waves and admiring the scenery between bouts of adrenaline rush. Finally as the sun lowered itself toward the horizon we pulled off the river to set up camp for the night. It was so warm and nice out that I chose to forgo setting up my tent and to simply sleep outside by a big rock in the sand. Dinner was a wonderful extravaganza of fresh salmon, rice and veggies by the riverside. I had brought along some beer and other goods to enhance the experience and help me toward that wonderful food coma state after dinner. Alice brought out her guitar and serenaded us for a bit before we all wandered off to bed. What a great start to this trip!
Oh yeah, I think this guy was snooping around the campsite too....
Day Two - Why I Can’t Seem to Stay Upright?
Once again we hit the water in search of some fun and once again we were stuffed to the gills. Man that French Toast was good! Urp! Unfortunately for me I started the day with either too much food in the belly or else my timing was just plain off because I ended up swimming almost immediately. Just a short while into the day we came to a nice little series of rapids and I set up behind our leader for a clean line into the foam, within seconds I was upside down and attempting a roll. For some reason I just couldn’t get back into the vertical position and I got a snout full of water which in turn prompted a wet exit. I bounced my way down through the rapids and finally was able to eddy out at the end of the second set. Whew! What a ride!!
I hiked back up stream to retrieve my boat and try again. This time I was successful. I worked a bit on my roll in some quiet water and then continued on down the river. Luckily it was a bit easier day with mild rapids and a few sections of flat water. Again I kept blowing my lines while entering eddies and just couldn’t seem to get my timing back. I chose to follow the easy lines the rest of the day and be conservative. No sense beating my head against the wall or in this case the rocks!
There is something to be said for taking it easy. I managed to enjoy the sights along the river and saw a bit more wildlife rather than rapids. The one thing I remember from my previous visit to the Rogue was the huge variety of wildlife. Osprey, bald eagles, buzzards, ducks, otters, bear and other critters make this place their home. By easing up on my river fun I was able to spot a few of these animals along the shore and enjoy their presence. I also was able to appreciate the rugged beauty of the hills and forest that line the river. Too bad we were passing by so quickly, it would be nice to stop a while and hike around, maybe next time.
That night we found yet another perfect campsite and enjoyed an evening of good food, good conversation and pleasant music. Camping can be so nice and after a very full day of paddling it was great to just chill by the river. A campfire would have been nice but unfortunately we were unable to have one. No matter, I fell asleep that night under a tree with the Milky Way peering down at me between the branches.
Day Three – Back in the Saddle Again!
I woke up feeling quite refreshed and ready for action. I did my best not to over indulge in the breakfast offerings but damn it’s tough when they proffer up such good stuff to eat! We set out for some solid class II action and I finally found my groove. It was fun to seek out some small waves for surfing and rocks to hide behind. I practiced my basics before diving into the bigger stuff. One problem I found in my paddling skills was lack of commitment. I would hesitate or fail to power my way in across eddy-lines and thus often found myself either missing my mark or flipping when things got dicey. Today I worked on pushing a little harder and working the boat into and thru the eddy lines.
We soon found ourselves heading into Mule Creek Canyon. This section of river is rated a solid class III and due to the way the canyon is configured you really have to be ready to commit once you’re in. I was playing tail-gunner going into Jaw’s and had no problems. Then when we hit Teller’s Rock all hell broke loose. Up ahead Kari took a dive and ended up out of her boat. This threw my concentration off such that I hit the same wave train and flipped myself. I attempted a roll and failed. While inverted my right foot slipped off the foot pad and ended up wedged between the pad and hull with my toes firmly squished in place, this in turn caused me to blow my second roll. I tried a third attempt just to catch a breath of air and ended up getting a mouth full of water. Oh crap!
Discretion is the better part of valor so I chose to bail. Upon wet exiting I found my foot still stuck in the boat. I had to really work to get it loose. Once free I was up and floating with my boat and paddle firmly in grip. Unfortunately there was no way I could eddy out. The boat started filling with water so I had to let it go. I then caught the back of Brian’s boat as we entered the Coffee Pot. As we churned our way in I found the currents to be pretty damn strong. I soon found myself being pulled down and I saw Brian having a hard time keeping his boat upright. Rather than take him down I let go. That’s when things got really rough!
Floating down a river while a foot underwater really isn’t much fun. Being bashed against the rock walls while churning around down there wondering how much air is left in your lungs really isn’t much fun. It seemed like an eternity before I finally got my head up above water and was able to breathe again. Man that air tasted so sweet! I did sense a look of relief on the guides faces as I finally caught an eddy and came to a stop. Now that was an E-ticket ride!!!
Alice grabbed my boat and balanced it up top of the big raft. I climbed up there to join it and wrung myself out. Whew! Then I had the best ride of the trip! A seal launch off the top of the raft. Roughly a four foot drop I landed perfectly in the water and then set out for more adventure! This paddling stuff sure is fun!
Having learned a sense of respect for the river I started paying more attention to what I was doing, what line I would be taking and I tried being more aggressive with my actions. One thing I found is that you really need to commit when executing maneuvers on the river. If you tried anything just half-assed you might just end up swimming or upside down. Of course if you get a little too aggressive you might end up upside down as well. I guess there’s a fine line there somewhere…
Lunch was a welcome break for me today. I finally got a chance to catch my breath and get back in shape for some fun paddling. After lunch we managed to find a few good surf spots and I had a blast learning to surf the Liquid Logic Lil’ Joe that I was paddling. It’s a great boat for a newbie like me and yet it’s a little awkward to surf. I kept finding myself sliding too far forward into the wave and then having my bow disappear into the water and thus flipping me back and out. I learned to lean back a bit more than normal and was then able to stay on the wave a bit longer. I also found that my roll was improving immensely since I often got tossed when my bow caught the wave. Combat rolls are definitely fun!
Ohhhh, I almost forgot to mention Blossom Bar! This rapid is really not all that technical but the results of a screw up are pretty heavy. Most paddlers describe it as a class II move with class IV consequences. As you can see from the above link it can be pretty hairy. Most of us chose to hike past it and watch our guides bring our boats down. You basically enter in the middle of the river and then duck down behind a rock. Then you transition around the next rock and take a run over to an eddy on river right. The problem is if you mess up the entrance you stand a really good chance of ending up in a rock sieve. In that case you may find yourself pinned up against the rocks…possibly while under water. This would not be a good thing.
So I stood up top, took some photos and videos and chose to bypass this stretch. Take a look at the video. Note the raft frame at the top of the screen, yeah, the one pinned to the rocks on the far side of the river. Someone paid for a mistake the hard way.
At the end of the day we found a wonderful spot to camp. I chose a nice site up on the hill to set up my tent. I chose to use the tent due to the number of mosquitoes flying about. Despite the fact that I may be sharing a camp with upwards of a dozen other folks, I’m usually the only one who gets seriously eaten alive by the mosquitoes. Drat!
As always the food was tremendous! Steak and shrimp fajitas! Yum! I added a few goods to the mix with some light and dark chocolate covered almonds along with a Nalgene bottle filled with single malt scotch. A great way to end a fun day!
Day 4 - Last but not Least!
Our last day on the river was a bit more laid back since the majority of big rapids were behind us. We chose to finish up the paddle with a little bit of easy surfing, some sight-seeing and avoidance of the big jet boats. We did happen to see another bear on the river...this time standing out on a sand bar near the apex of a big sweeping turn. I slowed to take his picture and then shot back over to the far side to avoid any unpleasantness, not that he looked all that mean but you never know. I understand them kayakers is crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside!!
There was a fair bit of flat water so we practiced rolling, did some sprint racing and a few other goofy exercises in silliness. I did my best to catch Trevor off guard while he was floating down the river with his feet out of the boat but he was just a little too quick for me to catch him! Next time!
In the early afternoon we came to our pull out point and finally left the river. It was a little sad to be leaving such a lovely area but as with all good trips it was time to go home. I spent that night at the lodge hanging out with Doc Bonnie and the owners. We had a nice time chatting and once again (dare I say it?) we stuffed ourselves good on some wonderful food.
Go here for photos of the trip…
In the morning I grabbed my gear, loaded up the bike and hit the road. I spent the next two days wandering through the Shasta-Trinity Forest and took a good long look at more paddling spots. The Klamath River looked quite inviting while the Salmon invited me to stop to take a dip and finally I perused Cache Creek to consider future paddling expeditions. Yeah, it was a nice ride home.
All in all I have to say I was completely spoiled by the staff at Sundance and by CCK’s trusted employees. Thanks to Keith for “talking me into this trip” and for providing the escort. Thanks to Joe and Elena for their hospitality at the lodge. Thanks to Alice, Morgan and Brian for their support on the river. And thanks to the rest of the paddling group for the friendship and fun on the river. See ya again next year?
Go here for photos of the ride home…
Here's a video of two folks running Blossom Bar
Ciao!
Craig
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