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Boat Ramp Dedication Float - May 31st
Several CCCers are planning on doing a "preemptive" up-river launch as
part of the Alton Baker boat ramp dedication event (see elsewhere in
this issue). We will be putting in approximately 9:15 a.m. at D-street
(see map),
and taking out at the Beltline bridge. For more info contact Horst at
687-5796 or canoe@freeshell.org .
CCC Meeting - June 3th @ 6:00pm
June meeting, paddle & potluck at COE park at Fern Ridge. See News section for details.
First Friday Paddle (tentative) - June 6th @ 5:00pm
Something easy; something local. Watch email list for update
Middle Fork Willamette - Dexter Dam to Jasper Bridge - June 22nd
This is a fairly easy class-I local run well described in Soggy
Sneakers (#72, page 113). Meet under the Jasper bridge at 10:00 a.m.,
where we'll work out the shuttle and head upstream to Dexter dam. Watch
email list for updates. Contact Mari B. at 683-1248 or marib@efn.org
for more info and to confirm.
Little Lava/Hosmer Lakes - June 23~30
This year will be a little different as we will spend a few days at
the former an finish up our week at the latter. We will be heading
over June 23 this year for a week (or more) of camping, canoeing and
some day hikes but mostly just lazing around the campsites and will
probably make the switch over to Hosmer Lake on Thursday, the 26th.
Come for as long as you can. Maybe we could have a pot-luck on Sat.
It was great fun last year!
Robert and Cheryl Horner - 342-2246
Riverhouse Trip Schedule
The Riverhouse has the following classes and trips scheduled:
1. John Day River trip May 29-June 1 pretrip May 21. $340. Service
Creek to Clarno. Transportation provided, raft supported.
2. Willamette River overnight Aug 23/24, pretrip Aug 18. $114.
3. Coyote Creek June 21. $20
4. Santiam River Aug 2. $52
5. Clear Lake Aug 9. $36
6. Canoe basics June 10 (evening), June 14 (day)
7. Canoe basics July 29(evening), Aug 3 (day)
8. Canoe river combo July 16 (evening), July 19/20 (day)
9. Kayak 1 lesson series evening July 17,24. River session July 26,27
10. Kayak 1 lesson series evening Aug 7,14. River session Aug 16,17
Call 682-5329 for more info or visit www.ci.eugene.or.us/rec.
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Coast Fork Willamette: Hwy 58 to Island Park - 5/2/2003
Horst put together this memorable First Friday evening float trip and
good times were had by all. After a short un-scheduled trip to Creswell
(note to Jeff: stick to roads you know), we all arrived at the put-in
at the appointed time, quickly got our stuff in order and pushed off.
There were just four of us: Donna, Don, Horst and myself and we made
our way down the river at a fairly good clip. There are no real hazards
on this stretch though we did encounter one ever-so-slightly-tricky
Class 1 rapid approximately two miles into our trip which we all ran
successfully on the far left. We spied several birds of prey as well as
geese, ducks and a sole swimmer(!) just above the
confluence with the Middle Fork Willamette. Rain threatened but never
developed until we finished up - about two hours after putting in. The
rain produced one incredible rainbow which appeared to point toward the
19th Street Cafe and we dutifully followed as it was Don's birthday and
celebratory toasts were in order... For the curious, this trip is
listed in Paddling Lane County by Jim Hutchison (out of print
but several members have a copy) - Jeff
Fall Creek: Dam to Willamette (SS#69) - 5/10/2003
Bob and Horst checked out this nice, and at 600cfs, still relatively
fast run. The description in Soggy Sneakers is still accurate,
except(?) that the put-in is about 1/4 mile below the dam, where the
access road is blocked by a gate; either put in there, or better at the
parking lot just before the road crosses the river, 200 yard before
that gate. You can also portage your boat a few hundred feed past the
gate and enjoy another 3 foot drop :-) None of us had done this run
before so we were not able to tell if this gate was put in, or kept
locked, due to recent paranoia. After 1 hour and 15 minutes we reached
the class 2+ /3 drop below Pengra covered bridge; it's class 2+ if you
scout from the bridge and line up like Bob did but class 3 trouble if
you miss that shoot. We took out just past the confluence with the
Willamette (several braided channels), at one of the parking
opportunities frequently used by fishermen (steep shore access)-:
-
Horst
Animas River, Durango Colorado - May 20th, 2003
I ran the Animas as a client of Flexible Flyers
Rafting during a lunch stop while returning from a visit to my
dad's place in the Texas panhandle. Though I've been through Durango
several times in the past, it was always later in the summer with the
Animas too low for boating. This time however the water level was near
perfect and the weather not too hot - an opportunity that just couldn't
be passed up.
The run I signed up for was two hours long, with the bulk of the action
packed into the last half-hour. The highlight is a Class-III
river-wide hole call "The Smelter" - not for what it wants to do to you
but for the smelter that once sat on the adjacent bank. Being the lone
client I was accompanied by a group of architecture students taking a
break from their "building with mud" tour of the Southwest. There were
two rafts: ours full of paddlers, the other populated by the more
passive and propelled via guide with long oars. After the usual
orientation regiment we launched, practicing a few maneuvers until we
hit some froth. All went well until we got to The Smelter: you know
something is up when the guide yells "holy sh%#t!". Sure enough, Smelter
was looking Class-IV that day and was particularly grabby. We powered
through its grasp but our companions weren't as empowered and the
sudden jerk tossed one gal into the drink. Did I mention the drink bore
a surprising resemblance to a frappuccino? Not terribly inviting.
Fortunately our companion was quickly plucked out of the churn and
aside from a scratched knee and dented ego she was fine. The take-out
shortly followed and we rung ourselves out and bid our farewells. I was
so energized I jumped in the car and drove another 4 hours towards
home. - Jeff
McKenzie River: Hayden Bridge to Armitage - 5/17/2003
Eight club members ( Joan,
John and their sweet dog, Don, Marilyn, Bob, Phil and Horst)
enjoyed this scenic float under largely sunny weather. A bald eagle
posed for us patiently and two blue herons came even closer, but then
got a bit nervous and took off. And of course, there were countless ducklings
and geese. At lunch break (just across from the nude beach
according to Marilyn) some dark clouds moved in and one person was hit
by 'one drop of rain'. Now guess, who that was? (anybody with the club
for more than a year would know who's attracting the wet stuff...). As
soon as we had packed up and started floating again the sun came back
and stayed with us till the take-out. - Horst
WKCC Safety Weekend - April 26th & 27th
Occasionally my mind wanders over all the awful things that can happen
to one in swift water, so when this workshop got posted on the
white-water list I decided to sign up. WKCC has been doing these clinics
for several years at Longbow group camp, located on the South Santiam
upstream of Sweet Home. Its an excellent site as it has a suitable
stretch of river, a cliff for rapelling, and several substantial vintage
CCC shelters. Unfortunately this year's clinic coincided with some
very wet weather, so the place was a mud pit (I had the good sense to
bring my gardening boots which I wore the whole weekend). However,
weather aside, the event was very informative and the instructors quite
competent. Saturday was spent learning all about ropes: various knots
and when to use them, unpinning stuck boats and boaters, rapelling
techniques and of course the proper ways of tossing. Sunday was more
rope tricks, first aid and river signals, followed by some in-water
exercises. I anticipated the thrill of jumping into ice water and opted
not to bring a wet/dry suit. Instead I happily caught all the
fun on film and video from the comparatively dry bank. In hindsight I
really should have rented that dry suit as the in-water
exercises were very well thought out, consisting of a) how to throw a
throw bag and how to catch it, b) how to swim a rapid, c) swift water
crossing techniques (including carrying a body), and d) how to approach
a strainer (as a swimmer) - all good stuff to know before you
find yourself in such a circumstance.
In between all the hard work there was plenty of good food (one guy
even boiled a vat of peanuts!) and interesting conversations. About 23
people attended, some from WKCC, some not; most in the 25 to 45 range.
All in all, for $35 it was a heck of a deal. Of course all this newly
acquired knowledge is quickly seeping out as I've not since practiced
any of it, but I do have a nicely bound hand-out from the clinic which
can be used as a refresher and at the very least I'll be reviewing the
basic safety and river signals and incorporating them on any future
club trips I lead - you've been warned! :) - Jeff
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