The rain began the night we got home from our Grand Canyon adventure, and I've been getting out every weekend day. We got on the Sandy Gorge at something just shy of 3000 cfs, and again at 1200 or so, the North Fork Washougal which usually doesn't run in October, Opal Creek at something like 900cfs, and the Tilton at a lovely 1300 cfs.

( notes by river )

Water's creeping down toward low here in Oregon. I'd only ever run the Breitenbush at 1,100 and 1,200cfs, so this run was at approximately 1/3 the flow I'd seen. It was fine. It got a little scrapy in the second half, but overall channelized well. The trip was a LCCC trip so Mark shot some video, it's out there somewhere (link stopped working and was removed).

Last night we ran the Lower Wind at a gauge reading of 3.2, or 162cfs (internet gauge). I was worried that the flow might be a little much for the falls, but it was fine. Willie made it look like a perfect flow for hand paddling, and I noticed how powerfully he could boof with simultaneous hand-paddling forward strokes.

The cross-river log at the top of High Bridge rapid was easily hopped on the right. I think we ran it about that high last year. The bony big one was easier just fluffy looking, and the falls went fine by the standard lines. Nobody wanted to catch the eddy at the top of the fish ladder on the left (boily in front of the sucking wall hazard) or the eddy on the left above the final man-made weir. We got in the hotsprings on our way out, then saw several bald eagles downstream. It was a lovely evening and the perfect reward for studying all day.

The law is ORS 163.465.

(1) A person commits the crime of public indecency if while in, or in view of, a public place the person performs:
(a) An act of sexual intercourse;
(b) An act of deviate sexual intercourse; or
(c) An act of exposing the genitals of the person with the intent of arousing the sexual desire of the person or another person.

(video deleted but it was of a LCCC group running the biggest rapids)

I won't go that low again on purpose, but it's always good to find out what your minimum is.

Just spent the weekend studying herbs on an elective course in my program. The teachers were Nome McBride of Pharmacopia Herbals and Glen Nagel, ND. Both of these gents are awesomely knowledgeable about herbs, and fine string players. We spent the weekend camping at a property called Riversong on the Hood River between Dee and Tucker, wandering in the woods and meadows, sitting around a campfire and in a hot tub, singing and dancing, processing herbs into medicine under the group tent, swimming in the cold river. Twas relaxing and educational at the same time. Previously I said that the liver elective was my favorite, but this is my new favorite elective. Thankfully I had a tip from my friend Dr Curry who said "they never have enough jars or booze for making tinctures, so bring your own". I did, and I was glad. I came back with enough lomatium root to give the population of Oregon a pruritic rash. I was fascinated with the roots , collecting and processing Inula root (Elecampagne), Arctium (Black Cohosh/Dong Quai) and Armoracia (Horseradish). I wanted to get some Rumex crispa (Yellow dock) root to add to my gut formula but all I ended up with is seeds. I can plant some nasty medicinal weeds somewhere along a meadow edge, so that I can return to harvest it later. I didn't know that it is illegal to have or grow Hypericum perforatum (St John's Wort) in many ranching states! It causes sun sensitivity in livestock and can kill them. Oh yes, learned lots. Processing herbs and ideas still. And the FOOD at the retreat was amazing, locally sourced, fresh and whole, and magnificently blended and prepared. Doesn't get any better than that.

Photos at: https://picasaweb.google.com/107817939472480554937/CascadeMtnHerbalRetreat11?authkey=Gv1sRgCMjd2--NzZmhOQ#5641516937243346930

I'm sad this video link broke. It was shot by Joey Thomas as he followed me down this super technical creek. It was his first time down. I knew where I was going.

( ran it two days in a row )

Falling behind in my attempt to write something about every river....
( whitewater river running notes )

These days whitewater kayakers keep running bigger and bigger waterfalls. The escalation in waterfall attempts has accelerated over the last few years, but the number of injuries has been swept under the carpet. But eventually there is some accounting. Here's an interesting article summing up some of the recent waterfall activity and its price. At some point, falling from a great height is no longer a matter of skill, but rather of guts, or perhaps madness.

While Jesse Coombs nailed Oregon’s 101-foot Abiqua Falls in March, it came at the cost of a collapsed lung. Ten days later, world waterfall record holder Tyler Bradt, who ran 186-foot Palouse Falls a year earlier, ran it and broke his back, sidelining him at least for the first half of the season. Yup... running waterfalls is serious business, where even the best are often at the mercy of fate’s hands. The rest of the story...

The first couple years I lived here I didn’t boat that much. I didn’t have the equipment needed for winter-spring/wet season boating (a drysuit), so I paddled only often enough to remind myself that paddling is miserable when you’re cold and stiff, and no more. Then late this winter I met a fella at a putin who hooked me up with a deal on a new drysuit, and we’ve been off to the races ever since. I’m getting to run some of the stuff that you never hear about from anywhere far away. There are so many rivers here, and the all share a certain character that is based on their course through and over basalt. It’s different from granite or sandstone. I’ve been boating a bit in Northern Idaho, too. I just might move there. But back to Oregon.
( this report originally written up to send to my old paddling club back in Tennessee )