Rough and Ready Creek is a tributary of the upper Illinois River. I fell in love with it after my initial visit in 2011 and subsequently returned three more times to paddle this uniquely special creek. My most recent expedition with NWRC guides Nate Wilson and Ryan Saevitz involved carrying our gear for a day and a half to paddle it’s remote upper reaches. The most challenging part of running this upper section is being there when the conditions are right. You need to go in… Read More
At the end of August, I was able to join the last Middle Fork of the Salmon trip of the year. It was my first time down this river that I have heard so much about. It was an incredible trip that I will never forget. I left my house near Hood River, Oregon early on Tuesday morning. I headed East towards the Boise Airport to pick up ECHO co-founder and Idaho Whitewater-legend, Joe Daly. We slowly wound up the steep mountain roads, straight into the… Read More
This adventure down the Illinois River was just a small part of the expedition my friend, Nate Wilson, went on to document a watershed from start to finish. By beginning high up in the watershed of Rough and Ready Creek and following it to the ocean, the project hopes to draw a clear connection between the proposed nickel strip mining there, and the impacts that it would have downstream. The water that flows through the southern Kalmiopsis helps bring life to rare and endangered plants, wildlife,… Read More
Today, due to the threat of nickel strip mining in their respective tributaries, American Rivers has placed the Rogue and Smith Rivers on the 2015 Most Endangered Rivers List. The following is an account of our expedition to document the effect that strip mining would have on the waterways and communities downstream. Lost and surrounded by vegetation so thick that I could not even fall over, it was hard to imagine the ridge line we were walking is imminently threatened by anything human made. Yet, as… Read More
We love seeing what our guests have to say when they come off the river. Not only do we hear great feedback as to how to make our trips even better for the coming years, we also hear about how our trips have helped make guests’ summers the best they could be. Here are some of our favorite and most heartwarming guest quotes of the season so far accompanied by some epic photos taken by one of our guests: Rogue River Rafting Reviews “They were fabulously… Read More
The sun begins its daily ritual of warming, of basking. I squint my eyes across the water watching its beams break on the river’s surface and fracture into bright and brilliant blues and greens. It’s an emerald kingdom unlike any other whose long-term residents include sturgeon, steelhead, salmon, osprey, eagles, bears and, for the next five days, us. I hear the gravel crunch under tires and turn my gaze away from the river to watch the rest of our people pile out of our NWRC 15… Read More
Sitting comfortably awash in Oregon’s sagebrush sea, Rome is the sort of place that takes some determination to get to. My own path to there started in Ashland, Oregon and lasted about eight hours. Arriving near sunset, there was just enough time to unload our boats and catch a glimpse of the Owyhee River as it meandered through the surrounding ranchlands. The rest of our crew arrived the following morning and we were all anxious for the opportunity to explore what is often referred to as… Read More
“Self support” is a term kayakers use for overnight trips without the support of rafts. You can only bring the bare necessities, but the simplicity and freedom of these trips are rare and special. After taking a paddleboard down the Rogue River with raft support, I’ve been wanting to do a self-support trip on a SUP. At 284 miles, the John Day River (including the North Fork of the John Day) in Central Oregon is the Northwest’s longest free flowing stretch of river. The 70 mile… Read More
As clouds roll across Southern Oregon, the moisture wrung out from Pacific storms can go on to become several things. Moving inland from the coast, a series of mountain ranges that culminate in the volcanic peaks of the Cascades funnel the runoff inexorably downward. Higher elevations accumulate a snowpack that can linger well into summer, while lowland rains nourish ephemeral streams that disappear as soon as the sky clears. Across the Rogue River’s 5,100 square mile watershed, most of what will become its water arrives in… Read More
The adventure of the North Fork of the Smith River begins as soon as you make the turn off of Highway 199 near Gasquet, CA. It should be noted that just because you can drive to the put in, does not mean that it is easy to get there. Do not let that deter you though, the road itself is spectacular with views alternating between occasional glimpses of Pacific waves to your left and a the sea of rugged wilderness rising all around you. You will… Read More