THURS,
FRI, SAT, SEPT 4, 5, & 6:
Two days
of down-time sandwiching an adrenalin-packed day! On Thursday, did laundry, read, napped. Grilled ribs for dinner.
Friday was
our scheduled white water rafting trip on the famous Rogue River. The company we booked with, Orange Torpedo,
of course offers raft trips, but their specialty is individual inflatable
kayaks. When we booked, Bill thought it
would be fun to try that. So we did.
We met at 8:00 in the morning, and met our
guide, Steve, and two other men, Rich & Charlie, near our ages, who were
long-time friends and who would make up the foursome in our party. Took a short van ride to the put-in
spot. When I saw how fast the current was,
and the white water, I almost chickened out.
I asked Bill if he were nervous, and he laughed and said “only a little.” But I was a lot! But once you’re in, you’re committed – no way
to turn back! Within just a minute or
two, there was our first rapid. Only a
Class I or possibly a I+, but it was really scary, not having had time
to get used to the boat and not having any idea of what to expect. I just paddled ferociously, and made it
through, and immediately took refuge in a little cove of calm water – too scared
to come out! Plus, I’d seen the other
two guys go by, but not Bill, and thought that he was spilled out behind
us. After a minute or two, Steve came
around the bend looking for me. I told
him that I hadn’t seen Bill, and he said that he was up just around the bend
with the others. I think I also told him
that I was having doubts about my ability to do this . . . he assured me that I
did great, and that it’d be fine. When I
caught up with Bill and the others, I learned that he had been dumped, but,
as promised, Steve was right there to help him back into his boat. Bill said that the water wasn’t too cold, and
that he had never been concerned at all.
That did a lot to allay my anxiety!
So the
rest of the 3 or so hours in the morning were spent between nice long periods
of calm, slow water where we could all relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery of
this area and spot wildlife – several blue herons, egrets, Canadian Geese, a deer drinking from
the river, and even a glimpse of a mink - and white water. This stretch was about 6-7 miles. All of the rapids on this stretch were either
Class I or II. Steve was terrific at
explaining to us before each section of white water how we were going to go thru it, what to stay
away from, etc. He would lead, and then
usually I’d follow right behind him, and then the guys. As soon as Steve made it through, he’d pull
over and watch to make sure the rest of us made it OK. After a while, my confidence rose (I also
prayed before entering each rapid!; so did Bill, he told me later!), and I was
actually having fun riding the roller coaster waves and having them splash over
me! So was everyone else. Rich got dumped on our last rapid (where
there was a fun BIG wave at the end), but Charlie and I never did J.
We
stopped for a nice lunch which Steve prepared at a lovely little secluded picnic
table up off the bank. We were all given
the option of continuing down on our kayak, or going the rest of the way on a
raft. We all opted for the raft. The second
half of the day would be more intense, Steve explained, with more Class
II, and one Class III rapid. I didn’t think
I was up for that in the kayak. Bill
considered it, but his legs were starting to cramp and hurt the way you needed
to position them in the kayak. Steve
complimented all of us – said that we all did a great job, better than a lot of
groups he takes out who are “quite a bit younger than you guys”, where they fall
out a lot more. He said that he’d much
rather take people our age out than teenagers – they don’t listen, get dumped a
lot. Surprise, surprise! He told us that,
“Even if white water kayaking isn’t your
thing, now you can say that you did it, and successfully!”
So after
lunch we continued for another 6-7 miles on a raft, joined by 3 other people, in
their 29’s or 30’s. The one gal was fine,
but the guy wanted to play his music –for all of us to hear! Thankfully, Charlie asked him if he would
mind turning it off. The guy complied,
but he sure wasn’t happy about it. Anyway, the afternoon’s trip in the raft was
certainly more relaxing than being in the kayak, and still a lot of fun. Steve made sure that we all got plenty
wet! It felt really good now, having
warmed up into the mid-90’s since lunchtime.
We ended
the trip at the boundary to the Wild and Scenic federal designation portion of the
river. I’m pretty sure that this is where
Lynn & Craig used to put in for their multi-day trips. Beyond this point, there are no other put-in/take
out places for nearly 50 miles. This
company (as well as others) offers 3 and 4 day trips down that portion of the
river, either camping or staying in lodges along the way (lodges which can only
be accessed by river). Lynn says that
the scenery as you travel downriver is spectacular. Today’s adventure whetted our appetites for
that – maybe a return trip is in our
future.
The day’s
trip was a perfect balance between the morning’s adrenalin-fueled adventure and
the afternoon’s more restful atmosphere. The weather was perfect, especially in the
morning – just perfectly warm, without being hot. And Steve was a fabulous
guide – personable, down-to-earth, inspired confidence and total security. He’ll be entering his sophomore year at OSU as
an engineering major later this month.
He was taking
pictures with a company camera during this trip, so we didn’t. Not that we could have on the first half
anyway! But the office personnel said we
should be receiving those in a week or so – so I’ll post them then.
On
Saturday, we drove into Grants Pass – only 10 minutes from our RV park – twice. In the early afternoon to get groceries, stop
at a bookstore, etc., and then again in the evening to go to a Mexican
restaurant which we saw on our first trip in (non-descript and disappointing, but at least inexpensive).
It’s easy to get around in town, and easy to park. It’s a town of around 35,000, and looks like
it’s holding its own in the wake of the slashing of the timber industry as an economic
base. However, like most small,
semi-rural towns in 21st century America, it has an underbelly of
poverty and its associated malaises, especially drugs. Steve told us that the entire Southern Oregon
region is one of the Meth capitals of the entire US. The tiny town of Merlin, where we camped just
a couple of miles down the road from the Rafting Company, is that culture personified
– he only half-jokingly said that if you go into a store in Merlin, you could
count the number of total teeth from all the locals there on 2 hands (of course
a reference to people losing their teeth from Meth use). He avoids being alone in town if at all possible. (And
he’s a big muscular guy!) Very sad.
There’s
also a very strong ultra-conservative, libertarian element in Southern
Oregon. A couple of the casual
conversations Bill has had with long-term residents in the last couple of
campgrounds we’ve stayed at have quickly veered to their guns, ammo, etc. And in the small, locally-owned bookstore we
were in today, whole sections were devoted to Survivalists, Guns in America,
etc. Right across from the large Paranormal section. They know their
customer base! It’s of little surprise
that they (Southern Ore) - along with Northern Calif, - want to break off and
become their own state. For them to
belong to the same state as ultra-liberal Portland must be anathema. (Of
course, the same could be said in reverse of Portlanders, I’m guessing.) One little problem if they were able to form
their own state – what would be their economic base and basis of trade with the
other 50??
We’ll be
leaving here tomorrow for Crater Lake, where we’ll stay for 4 nights.
Yea - you did it!! Congratulations!! :)
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