John Day River (OR) - June 6-12, 2019 - 70 Miles - Clarno to Cottonwood
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Trip Itinerary:
Day Camp Bank River Mile (RM)
Put-in Clarno,OR 109.1R Right 0.0
1 99.5R Right 9.6
2,3 88.5L Left 20.6
4 75.4R Right 33.7
5 59.1R Right 50.0
6 46.0R Right 63.1
Takeout Cottonwood 39.6R Right 69.5
River map and description (not the official BLM guide)
Day 1 - Morning at Cottonwood Canyon State Park. Ready to drop a vehicle off at the takeout and head towards the Clarno put-in
Not a lot of room at Clarno. Lots of BLM permit traffic today
On the water at 11:21am. Cool and cloudy. OR-218 bridge
Mostly rangeland at the start
Approaching the initial part of Clarno Rapid
Scouting the lower part of Clarno Rapid (III-IV)
Above lower section
Verification photo. Thanks John
Day 2 - Next morning at first camp after packing up
Boat loading
On the water at 8:42am
Below Basalt Rapid
Part of the group. 5 rafts, 1 cataraft, 2 kayakers
Barking dogs make the riverside cattle scramble
Repo standing at the oars
Verification photo. Thanks Repo
Approaching Red Wall
Passing Red Wall camp as it was occupied already
Lunch below Red Wall
John and Terri in the raft, Joyce in the IK
Jim and Willie on the walk to look at the lower camp
Post rain camp view. Unfortunately I was in the middle of setup when it started
Day 3 - Morning view from camp
Behind camp
Day 4 - Ready to launch 8:53am
Wind and canyon scenery
Mountain to rangeland transition
Columnar basalt
Above Cordwood Canyon
Across from last year's camp at Cordwood Canyon. Willie wandered by as I was taking the picture
Basalt swirls
Sunset starts on the camp
Kitchen area under tree shade
Private bathing eddy. Almost went for a downstream swim
Day 5 - On the water 8:45am
Looking back to camp
Bull Basin area
Looking back to Palisades
Hidden dry falls likely the cause of the lush foliage
Lance has a frame mounted sun shade. Nice to have when the wind isn't blowing
I can see 'faces'. The heat must be getting to me :)
Downstream from camp
Evening camp at Hoot Owl. 1/13 sec., 1600 ISO
Day 6 - Next morning at Hoot Owl
Across from Hoot Owl
On the water at 9:07am from upper launch. Kayakers John and Joyce help load the boats and depart last
Nice to be in the early shade
Shade #2
Not even 10am yet and already baking in the sun
Ever changing canyon formations
Day 7 - Canyon across from tie-up spot
View from my tie-up space between the willows. Steep dropoff required thigh high wading to load boat
On the water 8:06am
Casey takes in the view
Signs of distant civilization - distant windmill and powerlines
Break in canyon wall
Cottonwood Bridge in the distance. Time for the takeout derigging frenzy
USGS Flow at 06/06/2019 12:00 PDT 3,610 CFS 6.04'
USGS Flow at 06/12/2019 12:00 PDT 2,190 CFS 4.96'
Clarno daily highs 6/6-12 - 58,56,64,76,81,82,88F. Not as hot as forecast
Vehicle shuttle was done by: Service Creek Resort Service Creek, Oregon 541-468-3331
Credits:
- U.O.N., Olympus Stylus 770SW Digital Photography by William F. Smith (7.1 MP, 3072x2304 HQ, 3X optical 38-114mm)