River Rafting - Deschutes River White Water!

Ok, get ready for another LOOoonngg posting. This last weekend we loaded up the truck and when on a 2 day assault of the Deschutes River in Central Oregon. White-water - yeah!

The first night we stopped off in the Mt. Hood area - and we checked out Great-great-grandpappy's cabin and told old fishing stories. The place looks really good!



After showing the kids all the old fishing holes on Camp Creek, this kid had to get fishing. It was dark, but he still got a nice one!

We camped out at the Tollgate Campground. It was dark, cool, and cloudy when we got there... what happened to all that 100+ degree weather?




We grilled-up the trout on-the-spot. It was yummy, but needed salt.

That night it rained on us! Can you see the puddle on the cot?

We didn't even bring a tent - we were headed to eastern OR, after all... and it has been hot!

Oh well, it wasn't cold, and we all slept well anyway. Like the kids are learning... rain makes a better adventure. If it had been warm and clear, we would have just slept through the whole night... now we have another adventure we'll always remember!

Onward! Onto the river! A quick drive from Mt. Hood to Maupin for permits, then launching at Harpham Flats.

We kept sunglasses on to hide the fear in our eyes. It was actually cool (75*F), cloudy, and WINDY!

Lets go!

The river was AWESOME! This dude took Boxcar like a pro! Oh, yeah, he got DUMPED right after this shot!

The water was great - a little cold with the cooler weather, but the rapids were a blast. The kayak'ers all got dumped out at least one time, this guy got out several, but thats what we came for!



We had a 1-man and 2-man kayaks, and this nimble raft with the rest of us.

"Get-em-wet" was the battle-cry of the day!

In-between soakings, we goofed off.

I tried to shake them off into the river...

Noone wanted to jump in...

... until we got to the white river, and slide on the rockslides!

yeah whooo! blub-blub-blub...

The first day of rafting ended and we went to check out Sherar Falls.

"why can't we ride this one?"

We drove several miles downriver to camp near Jones Canyon. The cooler weather kept the rattlesnakes in the den.

First order of business was to dry-out all the bedding from the last night. Didn't take long - even though it was cooler, the 85* dry air took care of the blankets in no time!

Looks like a Gypsy's camp...

The younger boys slept on the tables just in case the snakes and bugs came out during the night.

The new day started out nice and warm. We all slept very well and dry!

First order of the day is to fish some more! The water was much warmer this day, too.

We also explored some new canyons we hadn't been in before. The hiking was nice and the area beautiful! The sage was very fragrant and we rubbed it all over to deal with... camping BO.

Up one of the canyons, we buried another treasure bundle. Some silver dollars, Iraqi Dinars with Sadam on them, some CD's, and a cool bone we found 20 years ago. The picture here is a hint to where it is located... we'll re-visit it in 20 years. Can you find it?

Now, back to the river! We rafted the Harpham-to-Sandy Beach stretch again. $8 each for a rafting permit!!! Wow - BLM sure has a good racket going.

The river was packed on Saturday - much busier than the day before!

There were lines everywhere... even for the water-slides at the White River. We had the place to ourselves the whole day on friday...

... oh well, we had alot of fun still.

Another group of rafters had killed a small rattlesnake and left it at the Surf City body-surfing spot. Of course the boys snatched it up.

Not in any condition to try eating, but it will make a nice skin... but they took the rattle off!

Another great (and full) day of rafting. We finallly loaded up and hit the road.

When we pulled in at home, the rest of the crew had fun playing in all the gear.

"Can we go next year?"


A great trip and no problems or injuries. Maupin is about 2 hours from PDX, so it is a nice and easy drive. Great fun, food, and family! It is great here in the Pacific NorthWest!