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You leave Grave Creek boat landing and look back. You notice the bridge and a few
cars and trucks at the ramp. It's the last you'll see of those things for a while. You are
now in the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River. No roads, no cars, in fact no
motors of any kind allowed In the 33 miles of "Wild" section. It will be three days to
the next boat ramp. You have truly embarked on an adventure. |
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The Rogue runs 215 miles in length, from
Crater Lake to the Pacific Ocean. Congress,
in the late 60's designated 84 miles of this as
"Wild and Scenic". The Rogue River is one of
the eight original rivers to be included in the
"National Wild and Scenic Rivers" act.
Designed to protect the river from over use
and preserve the pristine quality of the river, it
is managed by the BLM and a mighty fine job
they have done. There are some rules... the
main one being, leave it as you found it.
Everything you take in, you take out, including
campfire residue. |
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We were a party of four in two Wooldrige
drift boats. This trip was a fishing trip in
nature as it was late October. Hoping to hit
the fall run of Steelhead. This by no means,
meant a lack of white water, it's unavoidable.
The wild section is mostly made up of Class III
and lower rapids with a few exceptions of
Class IV's and a Class V at Rainie Falls.
Rainie is a falls with a vertical drop of about
6 feet, not recommended in a drift boat. It can
however, be portaged through a fish ladder,
which in itself is a class III. We roped
the boats through this part as it is quite
narrow for the oars. |  |
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Drift boats are very different than rafts in respect to maneuvering ability. Drift boats
are quicker to respond to the oars but at the same time are more so effected by the
strong currents or hydraulics of the water. They are much less forgiving when you
encounter rocks as well. It's not uncommon to "bounce" off a rock or two in a raft but
in a drift boat it can be a major collision that should be avoided whenever possible.Most of the class III's on the Rogue are due to strong hydraulics and technicality rather
than big waves, although it seems each has one somewhere in it. It is important to know the route to be taken and
the pitfalls to avoid in each rapid. |
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It seems that the Rogue is
notorious for having
"rocks to avoid" and
inevitably the current
tries to take you right
to them. A book can
be purchased at most
outfitters that will give you important |
| details to each rapid on the Lower Rogue. On this trip, it became my bible, although my oarsman Rob, a long time school mate and friend was quite experienced on all of the Rogue, he seldom relied on this book. I, on the other hand was a rookie to this section of water and found it somewhat of a security blanket. |
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Lots of history on the
Rogue River. Places like,
Whiskey Creek Cabin, Rogue
River Ranch and of course,
famed author of old west
novels, Zane Grey, had a
cabin on the lower section.
Pictured, is his drift boat,
restored and displayed in
place near his cabin. We also
saw a battle ground that, if I
recall was the site of the |  |
| country's longest Indian/Cavalry battle. Apparently the military went up river to find these "renegades" and found themselves on the wrong side of a very fast and rough river. I imagine the cavalry gave up when the Indians found no more entertainment in watching the government's futile attempts to cross the river and simply vanished in the canyon. There have also been several archaeological digs in the canyon that have been dated back nearly 8,000 years. |
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Mule Creek Canyon,
imagine if you will, a river
flowing at 100 feet wide and
20 feet deep being turned
on edge. This is what Mule
Creek Canyon is, sometimes
referred to as "The Narrows",
for obvious reasons. The
currents in this canyon are
erratic at best, not so much
as being fast currents, rather
side to side and swirling
effects. One can only
imagine the formations on
the canyon walls below the
water line that can cause
this action. One place is so
odd in fact, it warrants
description. The Coffee Pot
is not a rapid in the sense of
the word, it is not caused by
water flowing over shallow
rocks. It's more a boiling
effect where you actually
have to row up and over it.
It runs from canyon wall to
canyon wall, no skirting this
water. It has a somewhat
predictable side to it though,
on this day anyway. You
line up center with some
momentum to get you up on
it and hopefully over it. It will
suck, hold, spin and then spit
you out. With some luck you
will fend
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| off the wall with an oar. Rob had a different approach, he went into it back ward and came out forward. Dave, however (pictured), was intent on being able to maintain a forward course.... didn't happen. |
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With the exception of the Coffee Pot (class III) the canyon was an enjoyable and
relaxing drift with several unnamed, seasonal creeks running down the canyon wall.
One of the advantages to running the river in the fall, so many creeks running off to the river.
Like the veins in our body returning blood to our heart, the creeks return water to the heart
of the river, renewing it, giving it a shot in the arm. The river is a living entity as our entire
planet is. So wild, so rough, yet so fragile...... so much is effected by the flows of the river.
I have always been interested in geology, archeology....... well, all of the "ologies" basically.
Going through the canyon was the highlight of the trip for me.......(maybe it was that first
steelhead I caught on a fly. It's a close call).
The washed, worn and weathered rock walls gave me a feeling of being at one with nature
and the earth and much respect for the power of water and time to create such beauty. |
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Blossom Bar is a class IV. It's long, strong and knarly. As a general rule, all class III and
above should be scouted before entering. Blossom has to be scouted, no matter how well you know
it because it has a tendency to eat boats and not spit them out. You want to make sure nothing is
lodged in the path you take. We were in luck here, the last boats eaten had been wenched out and
laying on the bank in testimony to the |
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strong hydraulics. Blossom contains the "Picket Fence", it
is as the name suggests, a fence made out of rocks just under the water that has enough gaps to
let water pass through but not much else. The Picket Fence is what eats the boats and has to be
avoided.
The "book" says..... enter blossom, river left and immediately pull right to river center.
OK... I have to confess..... beyond this point I am not sure what the book said |
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| because we entered river left but missed the immediate pull right to river center. Rob skipped an oar (instead of the oar going in the water on the stroke, it came up and skipped across the top of the water). One skipped oar and that was all it took. It was either a collision with this huge rock and certain doom or power forward and try to perch in a forward position on the "Picket Fence". Rob had about a split second to make this choice. He chose the fence, we were just about to it and I looked at the boats on the bank which were now less than ten feet from us. I recall thinking.... this is probably what they did and didn't make it. The second we were about to perch on the fence the current being so strong, turned us broadside to the fence....... this was a bad thing as if things weren't bad enough. Whether rafting or in drift boats, when you hit a rock sideways the thing to do is to lean or shift your weight to the "rock side" of the boat. It's not the rock that does you in but the rock stopping you and the up river current pulling the up river side of the boat under. We both went rock side when we hit the fence.... ok another confession... I was at the rock side of the boat because I was on my way out, I was abandoning ship. Rob stopped me mainly because he needed the weight there. I remember looking back at the up river side of the boat and seeing water rushing near the top of the gunwale of the boat, within inches of coming in. |
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Rob not only had the presence of mind to go
rock side but to also keep the up river oar out of the water. Had this oar dipped down and the water
caught it, it would surely have pulled us down. It seemed like forever we sat there waiting for it to go
down |  |
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and suddenly it came up a bit. Rob worked the rock side oar against the fence and we were
moving some, eventually squeezing between two large rocks and coming out in perfect position for
the rest of Blossom Bar. It was a freak thing that the oar skipped on Rob, could happen to anyone.
Keeping his composer through the rest is remarkable to me. Come to think of it perhaps this was the
highlight of the trip, certainly something I will never forget.We managed to get this photo of us because
this guy happened to be hiking the trail at the time and had an instamatic with him. Lets see if I
can get this right..... he was a boyfriend of someone's sister that knew someone that knew Robs boat
and recognized it in the photo. Anyway, I managed to get a copy of a copy of our introduction to
the "Picket Fence in Blossom Bar". Not only was it a miracle that we made it out of that intact but
that we got a picture of it also. |
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Near the end of our trip we beached at Flora Dell Creek. Rob said we were going to take
a walk and to be sure to bring the camera. We hiked up the creek a ways and it was wondrous,
with several falls that pooled on bedrock surrounded with ferns and mosses of all kinds. Complete
canopy of conifers and dogwoods let sunlight stream in among the water and rocks...... absolutely
breathtaking.
To enjoy the river does not even require the use of a boat or raft. There's the beautiful Rogue River Trail
that runs from Grave Creek to Foster Bar, through the wild section. It is maintained by the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM). I believe it requires at least five days to walk as you want to take the
time and enjoy all it has to offer. The trail runs on the north side of the river and with the nature
of the river canyon, this trail can run from near bank side to several hundred yards from the river.
At times this trail can rise hundreds of feet above the river, giving splendid views of the Rogue and
all it's beauty. I have never done the entire trail, in fact I have barely touched it. A few walks down
to Rainie Falls is about the extent of the hiking I have done on the trail and that was only three of the 33
miles it covers. If the rest is anything like the first three miles it would be a very enjoyable trek.
Something I have not mentioned in this story are the lodges that are in the Wild Section.
The reason for this is simply because, from a boat on the river you don't see them and they have no
impact on the wildness of the trip. I believe there are three of them and if desired they can be |
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used rather than camps. I know that when you go through a guide service that you can choose a "lodge stay"
or "wild camp" run. My brother recently did a guided lodge run and said it was great. He remarked
how the lodges are quite rustic and still provide the wilderness feel but provided some comfort to the
end of each days float. No matter how you go down through the wild section of the rogue......... it is
so much an adventure.
Below are some links that will provide more information on the "Wild and Scenic" section
of the Rogue River. The BLM site is very nice, giving maps and rapid ratings, with a legend
describing the rating of rapids as well as the wild camps. The blossom site gives a great pictorial
of the "wrong way to run Blossom Bar" and other pics taken from the trail. The outfitter link is the
homepage of the outfitter that we use to supply equipment for our annual summer floats. These people are in the
business of supplying fun for people and they make sure you enjoy the experience. They also do
guide service throughout the west including South America. |
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