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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 10, 2017 - 05:06pm PT
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My wife and I are going to be road tripping in Oregon in early July. She has never been to Crater Lake or the Oregon Coast. We will be travelling with climbing gear, of course, and pack rafts. We would like to do a mellow (class 1 to 3) two to three day float...any suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Jun 10, 2017 - 05:45pm PT
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Donini: I found the book! Oregon River Tours, published in 1991.
Upper Grand Ronde (ground-round) from Minum to Troy 45 miles, class 2.
Anyone got recent beta on this tour or the Upper John Day for late June fun this year?
I'll bring the book to our party!
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Jun 10, 2017 - 05:48pm PT
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John Day River, or for little more excitement the Deschutes River. Might even land a steelhead or two.
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ground_up
Trad climber
mt. hood /baja
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Jun 10, 2017 - 05:57pm PT
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The Deschutes is a great choice and a couple hour drive to Crater lake.
Warm springs to trout creek is a mellow class 2.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Jun 11, 2017 - 03:24am PT
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If you get hungry in PDX you have an open dinner invitation - good food and drink all over town...
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, Moab, A sailboat, or some time zone
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Jun 11, 2017 - 06:51am PT
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Hey Jim, no advice here but looking for some.
Mike and I are doing an extensive trip through the Yukon and Alaska this summer.
We've been wanting to get some packrafts.
What do you and Angela use ... and is that what you woukd recommend?
Thanks,
Susan.
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rockermike
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Jun 11, 2017 - 07:15am PT
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Are packrafts rated for whitewater? I think of them more as lake or flat river vessels... but who knows. In any case I think I'd rent a full on whitewater raft for something like the Deschutes.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 11, 2017 - 07:19am PT
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Susan....our rafts are Alpaca. They were initially built in Alaska for rugged use and they were also the people who started it all. They have been building quality rafts much longer than anyone else. If you're still in Moab you can visit them....they have moved their operation to Mancos, Co.
A few months ago I got one of their newer models. It has a unique water proof, airtight zipper that allows you to put items like clothing, tent and sleeping bag inside the raft before you inflate it. The flotation is so great that the items inside do not noticeably effect the floatation. I used this option on a three day float down the Dolores River last week.
Rockermike....experienced rafters do Class 5 in them and take them down the Grand Canyon.
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kpinwalla2
Social climber
WA
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Jun 11, 2017 - 08:15am PT
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Jim - The Minam to Troy section of the Grande Ronde is popular for wine and culinary float trips. Restaurants and wineries from Walla Walla team up with local guide services to to provide a mellow luxurious experience. I've been invited to come along as a geology guide numerous times but it hasn't worked out - anyway the geology is basalt, basalt, and more basalt - but it is pretty. The John Day is more interesting geologically but you you have to watch the river levels in July. We had a snowy winter and a cool wet spring so maybe the levels will still be high enough. Come by Walla Walla if you get a chance and I'll treat you to dinner and some killer juice... Also, if you flat the Grande Ronde you'll be very close to Spring Mtn. - easy approach, great camping, and lots of nice routes on andesite in a beautiful setting, and usually no other people on weekdays.
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SC seagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, Moab, A sailboat, or some time zone
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Jun 11, 2017 - 08:43am PT
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Thank you Jim. That pretty much confirms one that was at the top of my list.
Regards to Angela, have a great time.
Susan
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clarkolator
climber
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Jun 11, 2017 - 09:22am PT
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Second the John Day and Grande Rhonde, great camp spots. Oh, and if you're cruising through on I-5, don't forget the McKenzie milk run from Blue River to Ben & Kay Dorris boat ramp.
Last I checked the Bible was "Soggy Sneakers", by the Willamette Kayak and Canoe club.
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mikeyschaefer
climber
Sport-o-land
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Jun 11, 2017 - 10:41am PT
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I don't know anything about rivers but let me know if you swing through Bend/Redmond or PDX. You are welcome to stay at my place in Redmond and be great to see you guys if you are PDX. I'll be there for most of July.
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TWP
Trad climber
Mancos, CO & Bend, OR
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Jun 11, 2017 - 11:36am PT
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Jim & Angela:
Please stay with us while in the Bend area! Spare bedroom and your own bathroom.
Terry & Judi
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Jun 11, 2017 - 03:32pm PT
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I was looking at going Kokopeli and Batrock turned me on to Alpaca. After a careful study on the Internet I think he is right.
NRS has some options too.
Still in the thinking stage.
Sounds like fun Jim. Grande Ronde for the boondocks run. Chill in beautiful Lewiston, Idaho afterwords. It's the unofficial "Los Angeles" of Idaho.
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rincon
climber
Coarsegold
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Jun 11, 2017 - 03:47pm PT
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That video, wow! Crazy chit.
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Nick Danger
Ice climber
Arvada, CO
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Jun 12, 2017 - 06:03am PT
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Jim,
The Owyhee in eastern Oregon is a lovely river with class I - III, outstanding riverside camping, and in stunning country. Whatever you do, have a great trip, and post a TR of your float.
CHEERS
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 12, 2017 - 06:36am PT
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Thanks for all of the help! Mikey and Terry, I won't be going thru Bend this time....my wife is hot to see the Oregon Coast.
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jeff constine
Trad climber
Ao Namao
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Jun 12, 2017 - 06:37am PT
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FA on the Salmon River Peter Hayes. Go get it!
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Spencer Lennard
Trad climber
Williams, Oregon
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Jun 12, 2017 - 10:26am PT
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Apparently the upper Klamath is fantastic.
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Mark Force
Trad climber
Ashland, Oregon
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Jun 12, 2017 - 04:57pm PT
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Jim, The upper Klamath is wonderful!
However, not recommended for a packraft!!
Are you coming through the Rogue Valley! If so, when?
The Owhyee would make a wonderful pack raft trip if you're ok portaging especially widow maker and really comfortable with you pack rafts. There are low key day runs on the Rogue in the Rogue Valley (I-III).
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Jun 12, 2017 - 05:06pm PT
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Very cool video. I noticed that the music in the vid was by a band called The Guitarborist. Cool name for a band.
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GuapoVino
climber
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Jun 12, 2017 - 05:12pm PT
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This site has some pretty basic info for a lot of rivers across the country, gauge levels, links to the actual USGS gauges, pics, put-in/take-out, etc.
https://www.americanwhitewater.org/
Click on - River Info - and a page pops up with a map and a list of states.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Jun 13, 2017 - 01:27am PT
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Oregon is a rafting paradise.
Lasr summer, my kids and I did a day trip of a 14 mile Class 2 stretch of Rogue River just upstream from the classic multi-day Rogue trips. We were in a single and a double inflatable kayak. Perfect amount of frequent excitement with nothing hard core. But then the multi-day trip has a few pretty intense sections that I wouldn't do without a group or a guide and a bigger boat. But few enough you can probably portage.
Rogue is nice because water is warm and its wilderness, see river otters and bears, etc.
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youngharz
Boulder climber
Santa Barbara
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Jun 13, 2017 - 07:46am PT
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Hey Jeff, nice shot of the Cliffside Crack! Do you know what year that was taken? We heard about it and brought some gear with us on a trip down the middle fork in 2014:
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Raafie
Big Wall climber
Portland, OR
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Jun 13, 2017 - 03:42pm PT
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I don't know too much about the rafting, but if your planning leads you to explore the Rogue River between Agness & Gold Beach, let me know. There's a place you can stay on the river near Agness. Message me.
There's a trail which runs along the length of the Wild and Scenic section that's very beautiful. However it looks like the amount of tree blowdowns this year is very high.
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jeff constine
Trad climber
Ao Namao
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Jun 13, 2017 - 05:32pm PT
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Here's the FA story my buddy Peter Hayes did the FA. I hooked a sling over a pointy knob at the belay, and we rapped off that. Currently, there is a nest of old slings on that very knob. It would be better to have a 2-bolt + Chains up there, but it is a Wilderness Area and leaving permanent things like that is frowned upon. Too bad, because that would be a lot safer and easier on the eye than a pile of old tat, eh?! In this picture, my left hand is sitting on the rap point. You'd dig the climb Jeff, so when you get it together to do a trip down the Middle Fork of the Salmon, then bring the rack I describe and send it, and think of your old climbing partner making the FA six years before we even met. (Maybe you could bring the hand drill and set those much needed bolts...) This shot is following the 3rd ascent. Note the rack of lame "hero Loops" (pre-"draw" days) on long-ass 1" webbing and oval biners and those funky EB's. 80's
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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Jun 13, 2017 - 07:33pm PT
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Thanks for the old Middle Fork Salmon climbing photos. I first noticed those dihedrals, & then that fine crack in the summer of 1972. Since then, every few years, I kept thinking about stopping there with a rope & a rack during a Middle Fork float.
I had no idea someone actually did stop & climb, on multiple occasions.
Big Congrats for seizing the moment!
Jeff? Looking at the rack & shoes for the first ascent, I'm thinking late 1970's or early 80's? What do you recall?
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krahmes
Social climber
Stumptown
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Jun 13, 2017 - 09:22pm PT
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I think the Umpqua River is what you might be looking for here’s link. It is highly recommended by my friends and unlike the Rogue you don’t need a permit.
https://www.blm.gov/or/districts/roseburg/recreation/wild_and_scenic_river/river_segments_at_a_glance.html
On the west side in northwest Oregon you can find some decent floats on the Wilson, Nehalem, Salmonberry, and the Trask. On the eastside of Portland you have the Clackamas, the Sandy and Molalla.
Central west Oregon probably your best bet is the Alsea or Siuslaw.
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rgold
Trad climber
Poughkeepsie, NY
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Jun 13, 2017 - 10:12pm PT
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Do more on the Oregon Coast and skip Crater Lake. I mean, it is cool and all, that but crammed to the gills with tourists and traffic and kinda far from everything else. I guess if you have lots of time it wouldn't matter so much...
The dark blue color of the lake is not because I turned the saturation knob up to the mythical Spinal Tap 11 setting, but rather a result of the depth of the water---around 600 feet. When Kodak engineers saw some early Kodachromes of Crater Lake, they concluded they had to adjust the film chemistry because the lake was coming out too blue.
Oh, and PS: it's not a crater, it's the top of a volcano that blew off.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 17, 2017 - 02:42pm PT
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Thanks, everybody, for all of the valuable beta! We start our trip tomorrow with the City of Rocks and then onto the Grand Ronde for a three day float, followed by some sight seeing and pack rafting in the Crater Lake, Rogue River area.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Jun 17, 2017 - 06:38pm PT
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Given that you have the pack rafts, I think a trip down to Crater Lake would actually be pretty special. I have dreams of taking my kids on inner tubes (and wetsuits! it's cold!) to go paddle out in the middle somewhere deep and incredibly clear, to get that feeling of being in outer space.
There are also some nice cliffs for jumping at the end of the only main trail down to the edge.
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Happy Cowboy
Social climber
Boz MT
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Jun 18, 2017 - 06:32am PT
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Have a great trip and wishing safe travel for you and A
Perhaps you remember my recommendation @ COR about a route named "Tresspassing"- no more, now legit! Think you would enjoy it, no bull.
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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Jun 30, 2017 - 08:52am PT
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I just got home from 3 daze of floating the upper 47 miles of the Grand Ronde from Minam to Troy Oregon with the Doninis, who floated in one-person "Packrafts". Heidi had to attend to a situation with her sister & didn't make the trip, but it was a nice Class II+ journey with our heavily loaded Aire Puma/aka "the toy boat". In a rare moment of inspiration, I removed the front seat & was able to pile much more gear on the front, which kept me bow heavy, which is good for me.
Gawd knows how I could have ran it as a Donini support raft if Heidi had been along. It's likely that I would have left the chairs, roll-a-table, 2-burner stove, & drybox behind, used a soft cooler, & treated it like a backpacking trip.
Luckily, I was spared the horrors of that, but I was reduced to carrying a 5-gallon bucket for the required toilet.
None of us had run the river before & we were looking forward to buying the newish river guidebook/map at the put-in. Instead, we used the 25 year old maps in my Oregon River Guidebook. The river was running 5,000 cfs at the takeout 47 miles downstream, which was a tad-high for my comfort level with small boats. We launched at 3:00 PM, after a long drive from Idaho & stopped at a nice camp only 4 miles down, since we did know there were not many camps on the upper river. That camp had been shitted up by cattle the previous year, but smelled pretty clean in most places. The next morning we saw cows only 1/2 mile downsteam, so we were lucky.
We had two rapids early on day 2 that got the Donini's boats wet inside & with the coolish morning & the snowmelt water, we needed a break to rewarm. Luckily we stopped at a scenic meadow.
We put in about 28 miles on day 2 & still made camp by 4:00 PM.
The last day we had about a 15 mile float to Troy & then we had a little confusion as to our route back to Minam. My pickup had been shuttled, but the old guidebook did not have details on the best route back to Minum. We were across the river from Troy, but after a short drive I stopped at the Troy store intending to buy something & ask for directions. It was closed, but a friendly garbageman & a tourist, told us the best way out, in their opinion.
And thus we discovered the lost in time hamlet of Flora & enjoyed a scenic drive through Enterprise & the Wallowa valley back to our other vehicle.
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Flip Flop
climber
Earth Planet, Universe
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Jun 30, 2017 - 09:37am PT
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Okay! That looks excellent. Thanks for the endless inspiration. California water is so high that I'm just now thinking about getting out the 10' Hyside.
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NutAgain!
Trad climber
South Pasadena, CA
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Jun 30, 2017 - 10:55am PT
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Looks like a GREAT trip. Thanks for sharing!
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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Jun 30, 2017 - 09:05pm PT
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My last experience with "small-inflatable rafts" was on a Middle Fork Salmon 8 day float in 2012. I had previously floated the Class III+ Middle Fork in low water with folks running IKs = Inflatable kayaks, who stayed upright for the whole 100 mile adventure.
However, on that 2012 trip, we rescued our 3 swimming IK boaters on 12 different occasions, & it got to be a pain in our rafter's asses to keep saving them.
Much to my delight!!! Jim & Angela stayed upright on the Grand Ronde!
Thank you!
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