Sprague River in the Spring

Becky asked me to report on the trip that Lee and I (Mary) took down the Sprague River with our whitewater canoeing friends Cecil and Marianne.
We put in below a bridge near where the Williamson River Rd takes off the Sprague River Rd to the left. The flow rate was 1,680-1710 cfs and the trip was approximately 10.5 river miles long. The first few miles were flat with a nice current. However, shortly after we passed the old Bray Mill site we entered the Chiloquin Narrows which is VERY rocky, but with the river at this level all but a couple of the biggest rocks were covered. Since there was not much gradient, but plenty of flow, the rocks on the bottom created A LOT of turbulance - resulting in a mile long stretch of Class I and II waves, some of which was medium size "chop" (off-set waves - "off-set waves are concave and large waves can be violent, tossing the boater from one wave to the next like a hacky sack." ) - It definately felt like this a bit in one spot - not much control.  Even with the spray skirt, I took on water, not sure how other than the waves may have peeled the lip of the skirt back momentarily.

At this flow, the stretch we usually do from the substation down to the take out also had bigger waves than we have experienced before. The most the Chix have done is about 1010 cfs. It was a fun trip through our old paddlin' grounds at this flow rate.

This was the fist time I wore my new dry suit. It is actually an Anti-exposure Navy Flyers Coveralls that I purchased new from the Switlik Parachute company for $325.00. It is made of Goretex/Nomex and slightly customized for me. The suit kept me perfectly dry but a bit cool in spots (forearms primarily) because the outer Nomex layer did not shed water well, but rather asorbed it. The breeze across this damp fabric caused me to be slighty cool in those areas. On this 40+ degree spring day I was never cold, but neither was I toasty warm. At that temp and with a breeze, another layer on top and bottom would have taken care of the problem. Our hands froze. This was the one thing we found rather unbearable. Lee had Chill Blockers and I had regular Seal Skin brand gloves and both pair got completely soaked and left us with really cold hands. Our new whitewater paddles do not have drip rings so wet hands were inevitable. We'll have to figure out a better glove solution for use in spring-time paddling.

Total trip time was about 4.5 hours including lunch break. I would do it again, it was a lot of fun.

I have uploaded a spreadsheet containing kayaking trip data for the past two years. You can access this trip data through a link over in the right-hand column. I plan to continue posting trip data such as flow rates, put-in and take-out locations, as well as specific information the paddler may need to be aware of. - Mary

Happiness Is...

The song goes..."Happiness is two kinds of ice cream, finding your skate key, telling the time!" My happiness is getting the clickety snow tires off, a clean car, and the season's first kayak river run! Here's a little bit about our recent three hour trip down the Lower Wood River in Klamath County:
Access to the lower Wood River is at a bridge that passes over it near the west end of Weed Road, off Highway 62, south of Fort Klamath. The water level is currently high at the bridge-a kayak cannot pass underneath from upstream. Parking is on the north side of the road near a rock pile and brush that we've seen crawling with baby snakes in the past. A Barn is in sight a little ways off on the other side of the river, and the road.
Before we set off, we stood on the bridge and studied the river flow and channel, noting how much the flooding obscured the channel and over the banks.

Downstream, the channel was fairly easy to recognize by the stronger water flow, the lack of vegetation prickling up at shallow spots, and embankments just underwater that proved not hard to follow. Towards the end, the water became more sluggish and paddling more necessary to make headway. Of note, some of the flooded corners played mischief with the current and provided us with some deep water eddies that wanted to turn us sideways and around. There is one point about three-quarters of the way down, that the channel diverges clearly to the right and left. Right, is the short way through, left is the long way.
We sighted a bald eagle, hawks and possibly some nesting golden eagles, canadian geese and other waterbirds that took flight at the slightest sounds in the nearby Wood River Marshland. The end is in sight as a road embankment, with an underpass that continues into Agency Lake. The area to the right of this feature, we were told, is currently part of a government research project and partitioned off with a strange barrier plunked down at the edge of the channel. Continuing to the left however, against downstream water flow, will give you bank egress in one of two places. It's very wide along this part of the channel, and near the end of this stretch, you can see a boat dock on the right embankment (Wetlands canoe launch site). A short path leads to the parking lot which is more suited to visitors who wish to use the wildlife viewing area and walk in. Mary chose to back in the boat trailer to pick up. The other area is a little ways more up the channel, which turns left, narrows, and at the end is a dock and a boat ramp at Petric Park, with plenty of maneurvering room and parking. How to get there: From Hwy 97 north from Klamath Falls, turn left (west) on Modoc Point Road, continue north until you find 1)the Wood River Wetland access road; or, a little farther on, 2) Petric Park, both on the left. To get to the launch point, continue north on Modoc Point Rd. until it ends at Hwy 62; turn left and continue up to Weed Rd; turn left and travel until you see the bridge over the Wood River. It's about 7 miles on the road from Petric Park to the bridge.
It was a nice little grab on a sunny day that finally showed up. Paddle On!