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Welcome to the July Newsletter!
We had a pretty good number of trips last month starting with a well-attended June meeting/potluck/paddle at Fern Ridge. If you missed it I definitely recommend getting out there some time before Labor Day: the annual Fall draw-down may be the last until 2006 (see News). Hopefully the money can be found to make the needed repairs and prevent an extended draw-down. Congress approves the Corp of Engineers budget so writing your congressional representative can help.
- the editor

Fern Ridge's Future looking Dry
The Corp of Engineers (COE) will be drawing down Fern Ridge reservoir for up to three years starting this Fall. The draw-down is needed to enable the COE to repair/replace the old earthen dam that has developed leaks. Lack of funds may prolong the project, possibly up to three years. Needless to say, recreational use of the reservoir will be severely impacted, as will Lane County's Park Dept which gets a significant portion of its revenue from the four county-run parks at Fern Ridge. The Register-Guard has an archived article further discussing this issue.

CCC Meeting, Potluck, & Paddle - July 1st
Join CCC for a potluck and paddle at the Leaburg/EWEB pond (OR HWY-126 east; turn right on Leaburg Dam Rd ; proceed across dam ; landing on south bank). As this is also our July meeting, please bring any ideas or issues you'd like to see discussed. We'll kickoff things with a potluck about 6:30 p.m. (finger foods work best but anything is fine), then push off for some paddling (flatwater or whitewater, depending on interest of attendees). All are welcome so bring a friend!

Local Boy Wins World Kayaking Title in Graz, Austria
Jay Kncaid, who grew up in Eugene, won the 2003 World Kayaking Title at the White Water Rodeo Championships in Graz, Austria earlier this month. More details in this Register-Guard article.

CCC Meeting - July 1st @ 6:30pm
July meeting, paddle & potluck at Leaburg/EWEB Pond. See News section for details.

Umpqua River - Kellogg bridge to Smith bridge - July 5th
The run of interest is upstream of Elkton: 14 river miles but only a two mile shuttle. Listed in Soggy Sneakers (SS#49) as a Class-I pool drop (gradient 4 fpm) with a couple of Class-II rapids. The Smith bridge rapid is described as "tricky". We'll meet at Smith bridge at 10:00AM, scout the tricky rapid and head up to the put-in. Bring lunch, water and sunblock.
Trip Coordinator: Jeff Woodall - 342-8371

Second Friday Paddle - July 11th @ 6:30pm *RESCHEDULED* Monday, July 14th, 7:00pm - COE Shore Park at Fern Ridge
On the second Friday being that the first Friday is the 4th. Tentative plan is to paddle the old Long Tom river canal at Fern Ridge. Meet at canoe launch parking lot, east side of Territorial Road, north of stoplight in Veneta on Hwy 126.
Contact Jeff at 342-8371 for more info

South Slough Estuary/Coos bay - July 12 & 13
Phil is offering use of his family's summer house at Coos bay for those interested in doing the estuary tour (see below) and/or other area paddling the weekend of July 12th. Contact Phil at 344-8587 for more info.

The South Slough Interpretive Center, located 4 miles south of
Charleston on Coos Bay, is offering three guided canoe tours of the
estuary this summer.

Dates and Times:  July12, 12pm - 4pm;  August 2, 11:30am - 3:30pm.

Registration and information number is  541-888-5558.  Pre-registration
is required; the trips are limited to six boats so register early to
assure a place.   (There is no charge, but a donation will be
taken---about $10 per boat)

McKenzie - Leaburg Landing to Hendricks Bridge - Friday, July 18th
This is a fun Class-I/II trip with great scenery and fun ripples. Meet 10:00 AM at Leaburg Landing (just west
of Leaburg off OR HWY-126). See Soggy Sneakers #80 for details or read Horst's report from last year.
Trip coordinator: Mari B. - 683-1248

McKenzie/Willamette - Armitage to Christensen landing - July 22nd
Join us on this scenic evening Class-I float in our backyard. We'll meet at 5:30 PM at the Armitage Park boat ramp, work out the shuttle and float down past the Willamette confluence to Christensen landing (east side of the Willamette off Coburg Road).
Trip coordinator: Phil at 344-8587

Rogue River - Hellgate Recreation Area - July 25-27
This is a 14 mile Class I/II stretch of the Rogue between Hog Creek boat ramp and Graves Creek boat launch - just above the Wild and Scenic section.
Ref: Paddling Oregon - A Falcon Guide by Robb Keller ; p260-261

- Mari's original CCC-list post -

I'm interested in going down on the Rogue July 25 to July 27 (Friday to
Sunday) and camping at Almeda Campground. The Rogue has wonderfully
warm water, probably wonderfully hot daytime temperatures as well.
Great river to have fun and play around with eddie turns, peelouts,
surfing, etc.  My thought is to meet at Almeda Camp (near Galice)
Friday. Spend Friday afternoon/evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday
morning on the river.  There'll be ample opportunities for swimming and
playing in the water. If that's not enough, a nice 6 mile RT hike goes
to Ranie Falls. I want to be back not too late on Sunday. I've done
this stretch of the river maybe 10 times but not in 2 years so it won't
be fresh on my mind. You bring: a sense of adventure and willingness to
share a cooperative venture trip.

Let me know if you're interested.
Mari - 683-1248

CCC Weekend, Aug 22-24
A club gathering has been planned at Summit Lake for the weekend of August 22th through the 24th. Summit lake is in the Cascade range and approximately two hour s from Eugene off OR-58. There is a small primative campground (no potable water; vault toilets) which appears to be fee-free. The lake is stocked with trout but is shallow a nd consequentally not popular with power boaters - perfect for canoes and other motorless craft! There is also so me excellent hiking opportunities. More details to be announced.
Ref: USFS Summit Lake Page - http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/centraloregon/recinfo/camping/summitlake.html

Riverhouse Trip Schedule
The Riverhouse has the following classes and trips scheduled:

1.   Kayak 1 lesson series evening July 17,24. River session July 26,27
2.   Canoe river combo July 16 (evening), July 19/20 (day)
3.   Canoe basics July 29(evening), Aug 3 (day)
4.   Willamette River overnight Aug 23/24, pretrip Aug 18. $114.
5.   Santiam River Aug 2. $52
6.   Clear Lake Aug 9. $36
7.   Kayak 1 lesson series evening Aug 7,14. River session Aug 16,17

Alton Baker Boat Ramp Dedication

Six of us (Bob, Dan, Horst, Penelope & her son, and Jeff) participated
in the boat ramp dedication and opening ceremony (Omar - our fearless
leader - was also present but there representing the Riverhouse). To
liven things up we put in at the D Street landing, ran the I-5 and
Autzen footbridge rapids, then pulled in at the new ramp for the
festivities.  Perhaps due to a lack of promotion, the dedication was a
bit of a non-event (I don't think we handed out a single flyer).
However it was evidently a slow news day and we made both the
Sunday Register-Guard and the evening news (the 9-News segment showed
Bob paddling off). After the ceremony we climbed back into our boats
and continued as part of the boat parade (ORS, GI Joes and NW
Steelheaders also participated). The Class-I ledge rapids near the Rose
Gardens proved too much for one of the GI Joe team (in a rotomolded
kayak w/o foot pegs) but Horst managed to tow the hapless fellow and
his gear to the bank. The parade officially ended at the Rivergate ramp
but most of us continued on to run Marist rapids (Class-II standing
waves; run river-right), taking out at Beltline Bridge. Having
successfully run all the rapids, Dan apparently felt compelled to dump
himself in the drink at the take-out. Horst, having honed his towing
skills, performed the extraction. With us all firmly again on dry land,
we ran the shuttle, said our goodbyes and parted. - Jeff

June 8th McKenzie River Trip Report

There were five of us, including Clarence who drove all the way
from Florence and greeted me with his CCC membership application &
check - welcome to the CCC Clarence!

A certain somebody forgot their sprayskirt (not me this time) so we
arranged to meet them midway, with the rest putting in at Hendricks
Landing. The water was at 1950 cfs - nearly identical to the last time
I ran this stretch. There was some wood but my impression was that it
was a bit more coherent this time around. Missing was the Wall-o-Logs
that Horst & I encountered last year.

Our missing party was waiting for us at Bellinger Landing and after a
quick snack we relaunched and continued w/o incident. Hayden bridge
rapids was exciting but didn't appear to pose any real hazard at this
level.

Lee and Ellen had an evening engagement but the rest of us didn't and
hadn't had our fill yet, so we set up another shuttle - this time from
Haydens Landing to the I-5. A generally tamer run, there was a bit of
excitement toward the end when we ran the narrow shoot formed by the
nude beach and a mid-sized rock. Not all that challenging except for
the "distractions" on the beach. 8^o

We were greeted at the takeout by the local party animals and we
quickly packed everything into my little Toyota pickup and - windows
fully open - headed back to our cars (and frozen confections).
- Jeff

ORS Summer Canoe Demo Day - 11:00 - 4:00, July 19th
Oregon River Sports is hosting a canoe demo day at the Alton Baker canoe launch. For more info call them at (541) 334-0696 or on the web at http://www.oregonriversports.com/events/.

Online Database of Lane County Parks and Facilities
Unless you're a native of the area, you probably don't know where many of the lesser county facilities are. And even if you do, maybe you'd like to know just what to expect. The Lane County Park Department web site probably has the answer to these questions. The main URL is http://www.co.lane.or.us/parks/ ; an all-on-one-page facilities list is available by selecting All Parks.

June Meeting Minutes:

• 11 in attendance, including three potential members
• Circulated CCC flyer for comments: should add membership dues info; may want to consider adding/attaching application/waiver if placing at REI, Rec center, etc
• Discussed remaining June trips and planned at least one July trip (July 12 & 13 overnighter near Coos bay; possibly stay at Phil's family's house; Phil will be trip coordinator)
• Mari suggested September home-built boat gathering; some place relatively sheltered.

Newsletter Contributions Wanted
Got something to add? Anything remotely canoeing related is welcome. Photos, stories, tips, whatever,
can be send it to the editor at    jeffwoodall "at" myrealbox "dot" com .