The Gallery

All photos courtesy of Bryce Jenkinson

Salmon River Gorge

On the Back side of Mt Hood is one of Oregon's crown jewels. Though, the takeout is only about an hour from Hood river. Running the shuttle takes all of five hours, assuming you choose all of the correct unmarked forest service roads.

About an hour into our shuttle we made one of many "left or right" decisions. We choose to go right which ended up being wrong. The whole group was motivated and we had been clearing small brush off of the road for the entire trip, so when we saw a few trees had fallen in the road no one hesitated to solve the problem. We tied my truck up to the first tree while the rest of the group worked on building a bridge over the second tree. So, after we had pulled the first tree and driven over the second tree we continued down the road for another 20 minutes only to end up in a dead end. The road just ended. The whole time Ryan kept saying " I rember being here before, but I can't remember if rember this area because this is the way, or because I had made this mistake before."

We finnally found our way to the put in trail for the Salmon River and began gearing up to head into the gorge. We had a great group which included: Ryan Scott, Keel Brightman, Chris Korbulic, Jeff Hazboun, Chris Gabrielli, and EJ Etherington. We hiked two miles to the put along with an AP trail crew and local photographer Lana young (Check out www.lanayoung.com).

The Salmon River Gorge is a phenominal River gorge that is filled with waterfalls from the start until exiting Final Falls. I will not attempt to describe this area, because any attempt i make is sure to be filled with excessive adjetives that will only dillute the true nature of this incrediable gorge.

For full coverage check out:

http://www.crgkayaking.blogspot.com/

Pictures:(Above)Ryan Scott entering the micro gorge below Vanishing Falls. (Below)
Ryan taking a break for an interview before dropping into the gorge. Keel brightman setting down the landing gear on an unknow drop. Keel B. setting up safety deep in the pit, frustration falls. Final falls has three options: Keel steping off the lip. Chris G setting up for a rappel. Chris K. post descent of final falls.

Gone Fishin...

Last week Keel Brightman and I decided to do a little fishin. We were both fed up with the crowds (one guy was parked where we wanted to go fishin). So we decided to paddle down one of our favorite little brooks and see how the fishing was deep in the gorge. After running a few miles of contious whitewater we finnally arrived at the first small pool. We both landed nice size rainbow trouts on our second casts. We fished the river for about five hours and were surprised to discover how strong the fish were. After a while the sun retreated and so did the elusive Rainbow trout that we were hunting. Great day!


Pictures: Above: taking advantage of a small pool below the Equine hole. Below: Notice that sweet pool, Keel running Chimney Rapid. Keel, hunting below Turkey bone falls. All photos taken on the Big Black Chinook River.

The Real McKoy

McKoy Creek is just a few hours outside of Porland. Rob and i left hood river at the break of dawn after stopping by for a few bagels and a cup of joe. Departing from Hood River, we wouldn't have known when the sun rose due to the seasonal showers. Rob hydroplaned all the way to Portland where i locked my keys in my car in order to give him time to grab a new pair of snoes for his Civic. Around the time that the AAA man arrived we recieved workd that our first choice had flooded causing us to call an audible. So, we chose McKoy Creek. No one had ever been here, but it sounded like fun. And so, the adventure begins.....

learing how to farm in the desert...

Bend, OR lies just east of the Cascade Range and too the west of the Great Sandy Desert. In the summer the snow from the nearby Three Sisters range melts away filling the rivers and providing a vital component of the seasonal transition. This water is a critical resource, which has been claimed as private property.

Though we all benifit from the redirection of this resource. It brings up many questions in regard to the act of farming in the dessert and water rights in general.... is this a method in which we can continue to use for future generations? and if so, what will be the externalities of our actions? whom is responsible? and, are there better methods that wouldn't place so much pressure upon valuable resources? i am curious to know what you, the reader, has to say about this issue? This week, in Bend, OR, they began to divert the lower Deschutes River for irrigation. This is one of the better local runs in Bend, and as of this week it will be turned off.

The Six Hour Bar Fight.....

It all starts with a phone call... the metaphorical worm, that upon first inspection appears to be free of any sharp metal objects. and like most baited lines, it is often not until you swallow that you realize your last bite probably wasn't the best idea...
so, I hung up the phone still tasting the worm i had just swallowed. Rob and i, along with two other friends had decided to do a little bit of exploring. Flowing into the Cougar Lake Reservoir, between Bend and Eugene, is a creek that i am still not sure of the name. Rob had explained that he knew of some people whom had paddled the bottom few miles of this creek a few years ago, but the top section had still not been explored. Rob had hiked a section from the bottom the previous year and felt that what he had seen validated a closer look. So we set off hiking through the snow excited about our exploratory mission.

When we reached the creek we were excited to see that there was plenty of water, but there appeared to be a fair amount of visible wood laying across the creek. For those whom have not spent much time in the Northwest, the trees get really big. Subsequently, these big trees can pose as a great obstacle when trying to navigate a river. And almost as soon as we put on the creek we were faced with catching small "last chance" eddies in order to avoid the piles of old growth trees which lay strewn across the river. Ducking under trees in the middle of rapids became a standard move very quickly. we were committed to moving downstream in whatever fashion necessary, assuming that eventually we would get past the log jams. I felt as if could almost hear that first bottle break, as the sound of stools scattering filled the vast river valley. The first punches were thrown, and the bartender did nothing. He just let us duke it out with this endless pile of long jams for the next six hours. At certain points we would walk over log jams for a hundred yards, with the river moving swiftly beneath us. After six hours of going toe to toe with these old timers, we finally made it to the lake. It was completely dark by the time be left the parking lot. And though the creek had some great sections, i will probably not walk into that bar again. So, the moral of the story is: if you are going to go toe to toe with some ole boys for six hours, pack a lunch.



photos:(Above)setting safety as rob heads into the bar.(below T-B). Suiting up for the mission, the cast: Rob, Simon, and Andrew. Rob and Simon heading to the river. Rob Bart...contender #1 for the Oregon wilderness limbo. Simon, about to punch the bartender right between the eyes. class five log jam..don't look down. Rob, catching an eddy in one of the cleaner sections. Simon enjoying happy hour. dropping into the cougar lake reservoir. happy to leave the bar intact.

Northwest Update

Spring is upon us....Last week i had the opportunity to spend a few days in Hood River, OR. The main priority of this trip was the acquisition of suitable housing. looking for a new hook to hang your hat on can be a timely process. and results in a lot of good ole fashion phone tag. Luckily, some of the gorges ambassadors knew some great places to spend the day waiting....

DAY 1....The east fork of the hood flows directly from the glaciers on Mt. Hood. The warm spring weather created great water levels and made for a beautiful day. the sun was out, the air was warm, and the water.... was really cold. Arriving at the put-in i discovered that i had left my poggies(neoprene hand warmers) in my car. Being naive and excited i declined Shawn and Andy's multiple offers to drive back to the take out to retrieve my poggies. I have re vowed never to forget my poggies again. After a few long rapids the glacial water had numbed my hands to the point that i was not able to grip my paddle. It is a weird sensation when the water is so cold that your hands don't actually get cold; they just cease to function and eventually get hot. that is when it is time to get out. I finished the run with both my hands about six inches off the center of the paddle. the narrow grip was designed and popularized in the pre poggie era. and very rarely brought back. After the first run i was able to retrieve my poggies and make another run with my preferred grip width.


DAY 2...Lower Trout Creek eventually dumps into the Upper Wind River offering a great run that collectively is almost one long rapid that dramatically increases in volume. Another great sunny day in the Columbia River Gorge.


DAY3....Panther Creek also flows into the Wind River. Panther Creek is little bit steeper, but offers the same type of Geology as Trout creek. the lower wind has great big water rapids a long with a big fish ladder rapid. Shawn and I lacked dry suits and subsequently opted to portage the rapid via a very steep ledge. Andy, being the savvy paddler that he is opted for option number one and just jumped off the cliff below the rapid.


Photos:(above)Teams Swain Hood River Ambassador, Shawn Lonin. Panther Creek(t-b) Shawn "big red" Lonin entering a nameless rapid, Panther Creek. Andy Round above the Flume, L. Wind River). The Flume. A.R. Beyond Limits, L. Wind. Fish Ladder Portage Option #2. Fish Ladder Portage option #1. gotta love the run out, heading for the CRG.

Spring in the Southeast

We got the gift of a few inches of rain to kick March off, and a couple of nice sunny days to follow. So of course that means you have to go kayaking. I am supposed to be competing in the TVF(total vertical feet) competition here in the southeast, but I had no team members to boat with. Instead I teamed up with a few of the local boy's who don't pass up the chance to go enjoy themselves.


We headed to the Overflow because it's a hard one to pass up when it's running. Five miles of big fun rapids. Here are a few of the good ones in the photo's you will notice Adam Hunter, WNC local pretty much stomping a few rapids.

We had a great crew, good water, and a sunny day. It does'nt get much better than that especially when you are enjoying it in a place like this.


Here is another Swain County boy, Joe Barkley looking into the Great Marginal Monster, deciding which way he is going to fire it up.


The next day we headed to the north along the TN-NC border for another southeast classic run.
The Watauga, with another great crew and plenty of people to share the occasion. The one downfall to the day were the 50mph wind gust.
Here's Scout trying not to get blown off line in Hydro.






Kevin Mitchell, enjoying himself on the Watauga.