Every year at Northwest Rafting Company we dedicate the summer to a special subject we want to focus on. Past summers have seen the “Summer of Sanitation”, and the “Summer of Bags.” This year is the “Summer of Guides.” For those of you who have experienced the magic of river trips, you know that great guides can really make a trip special. Luckily for me, and for our river guests, NWRC has an amazing group of top rated guides who I have the pleasure of working… Read More
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River runners (river guides, kayakers, rafters, catarafters, SUP-ers, riverboarders, etc.) always seem to have their next gear purchase and river trip in mind. With this in mind, here’s a list of suggested gifts for your friends and family who enjoy whitewater rafting and kayaking. 1. Swiftwater Rescue Training Safety first! Everyone can use more safety training and this is a great way to gift a useful experience. Sierra Rescue or the Swiftwater Safety Institute both offer quality training. Additionally, we are offering an advanced swiftwater rescue… Read More
Before we head to Bhutan, we made a pit stop in the Balkans to scout out a new trip offering for 2014! We began in Sarajevo and visited the Tara River in Montenegro before heading to Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the full name of the country we Americans refer to simply as “Bosnia”). The Stari Most (Old Bridge) located in Mostar is a Unesco World Heritage Site and perhaps the most iconic place in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was originally built over 400 years ago… Read More
As an Oregon river rafting outfitter, I would like to thank Senator Wyden for his ongoing support of public lands. In Oregon, direct consumer spending on outdoor recreation contributes $12.8 billion per year to our state’s economy and supports 141,200 jobs. Nationally, outdoor recreation contributes $646 billion to the U.S. economy. It’s important to us to safeguard Oregon’s outdoor playgrounds as our public lands and parks form the bedrock of our industry. They not only inspire us as well as visitors to Oregon, but they also… Read More
Here are a few good travel trips and reminders for our Rivers & Dzongs of Bhutan trip. 1. The Paro airport will immediately make you smile. Upon arrival you’ll quickly notice the crisp, clean mountain air and an airport that looks more like a temple. You’ll also notice happy people who are excited you’ve come to enjoy their country. 2. It’s easy to exchange money at the airport. I discourage exchanging all of it, but before leaving the airport, I usually change $100 into Ngultrum, Bhutan’s… Read More
Our Rogue River rafting season is over and we’d like to thank everyone who joined us and made this summer exceptional. Here are the guest comments from this season: “The way that you dealt with experience levels was awesome, making everyone feel safe and also challenged if you believed they could do it. We had so much fun in camp hanging out with the guides and talking, looking at the stars and especially eating flaming deserts. We want to go again next year!” “Heads and shoulders… Read More
We are proud to announce that for the second year in a row Northwest Rafting Company was voted Best of the Gorge. Each year visitors and residents of the Columbia Gorge vote on the best businesses which are published in the Gorge Guide “For over 30 years we’ve been showcasing the Gorge for visitors and our 4th annual Best of the Gorge contest was extremely insightful with a combination of new winners and past favorites taking the top prizes. We asked visitors to tell us about… Read More
August has been an intense month for the Rogue River community. As many of you know, the Big Windy Complex Wildfire caused the Bureau of Land Management to close the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River on July 30th. Boaters and tourists have had their summer vacation dreams dashed and outfitters and local businesses have lost a lot of income during the peak season. Air quality has, at times, been dangerously smoky and it has been a difficult fire to control because of such… Read More
My first encounter with what would become the Big Windy Fire, was in the early morning hours of July 26, 2013. I was woken up by a loud crack, and as my groggy vision came into focus, realized that like many soggy campers before me, the chance I had taken in sleeping out in the open was about to not pay off. As I scrambled to toss what I could in my dry bag, and began the slog across the lawn of Paradise Lodge to the… Read More
Length: 52-miles Class: mostly Class II – IV Current Flow: around 4,000 cfs Character: Grassy desert canyon Put-in: Warm Springs Take out: Maupin The Deschutes River flows through one of Oregon’s most beautiful desert canyons. The upper section of the Lower Deschutes is a 52-mile run from Warm Springs to Maupin that offers Class II – IV rapids and provides a wonderful mix of relaxation and adventure for novice and seasoned boaters alike. The first 8 miles of river are pretty flat, perfect for trying out Standup Paddleboarding or… Read More