A whitewater rafting blog for anyone interested in California whitewater rafting, Idaho river rafting, rafting in the Grand Canyon, as well as rafting throughout the U.S. West, national parks vacations, multi-sport vacations, adventure travel, and all things related to the world's waterways.
Jack Morison, one of O.A.R.S.’ very first whitewater rafting guides, passed away Wednesday, August 13th at 9:08 a.m. He was surrounded by family. Jack had many friends rally around him during his final days.
Jack’s brother Tom, says there will be a memorial on Sept 13th in Mill Valley. We have no doubt there will be some great stories there reminding us of a man known for his ability to connect.
One of the great stories about Jack’s life came recently to George Wendt, O.A.R.S. Founder and President, from fellow Grand Canyon river guide Kristor Lawson:
The quintessential Jack story for me happened at 110 Mile Camp in the Grand Canyon. There is no rapid there, really, but the current really cooks as it passes by the camp, so that the large eddy that formed the camp’s beach is also very strong. We went to bed with the boats tied end to end, as usual, each of us sleeping on his boat. Jack’s boat was at the end of the line, while mine was first, moored to a tamarisk.
At about 3 am I woke up instantly and completely for no reason I could figure out, but with a vague feeling that something was dreadfully wrong. It was a very dark night: no moon, partly cloudy. I counted the boats, and came up one short. I counted again, two more times, with the same result. Jack’s boat was no longer at the end of the string. I ran out to the end, waking everyone: "Jack’s gone!" It was really a dreadful moment. When I got to the last boat I looked out into the eddy, and saw a vague shape; after a while we figured out it was his boat, circulating. We roared and roared, and eventually Jack woke up. ~ Kristor
George added:
I recruited Jack Morison as one of our first river guides, when he was just 15. He had been in one of my 8th grade math classes at Paul Revere Junior High School in West Los Angeles. In April of 1970, Jack was selected to pilot one of our rafts on one of our first trips from Diamond Creek to Pearce Ferry. He then became one of our regular guides for our early 2-day trips on the Stanislaus River. Jack was one of the most proficient of our raft captains and he was on our first exploratory trip to Chile to run the Bio Bio River in 1978. Jack had a caring attitude and he positively impacted the lives of so many of our passengers. Jack will be greatly missed!
Do you have a story you would like to share about Jack? We would love to hear them, and we will post them here and pass them along to his family. Feel free to submit them here or at info@oars.com
Passengers on a recent O.A.R.S.Grand Canyon rafting trip caught this astounding footage two miles above Havasu Falls. They were safely above the flash flooding that occurred recently on the Colorado River.
On August 17th, an earthen dam broke near the Grand Canyon following heavy rains.
It caused some flooding in the town of Supai at the bottom of the canyon. There was an O.A.R.S. Grand Canyon raft trip on the river at the time of the flooding, however, it was upstream of the flood. An O.A.R.S. friend was there and documented the effects of the heavy rain…
According to a recent story in mymotherlode.com, the public is invited to learn about the Merced and Tuolumne Wild and Scenic River Plans and potential future projects at the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center Auditorium on Wednesday, August 27, from 1-5pm.
O.A.R.S.’ gourmet whitewater rafting trips are designed especially for those who love wine and the outdoors, and they offer an elegant alternative to typical rafting trips. After a day spent river rafting, hors d’oeuvres are served, premium wines are presented by some of the best vintners in the West, and five-star gourmet meals are prepared riverside.
Next up on the O.A.R.S. itinerary is the “Tuolumne Wine on the River Trip.” This one received NBC’s Golden Grape Award for their “Best Wine Adventure” last year. And, as the summer season winds down, the Wild and Scenic Tuolumne River near Yosemite National Park has mellowed out to a splashy and slightly warmer Class III-IV rafting trip. Joining the 2½-day, August 24th departure (that’s THIS Sunday folks!) are Stevenot Winery winemaker, Kate MacDonald and her husband, Craig, who will present a selection of wines hand-picked from their favorite wineries in California and abroad.
LeRoi Moore, Dave Matthews Band saxophonist, died Tuesday of complications from injuries he suffered in a June ATV accident. Our thoughts are with his family, friends and fans.
Not only was Moore an incredible musician; he was also a compassionate philanthropist and environmentalist:
The IMAX film, Grand Canyon Adventure: River At Risk, features songs and music by Dave Matthew Band and an original score co-composed by DMB’s Stefan Lessard and Steve Wood. DMB also works with NativeEnergy: they have offset 100% of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from their touring activities since 1991. In 2005, DMB, through their Bama Works Village Recovery Fund, partnered with CARE to help tsunami-struck communities in eastern Sri Lanka put their lives back together. DMB issued a $1.5 million challenge grant in 2006 to help build the New Orleans Habitat Musicians’ Village. The Village is a Habitat for Humanity project that seeks to build more than 300 homes in the city’s Upper Ninth Ward with musicians and other New Orleans residents who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Our Grand Canyon operations crew in Flagstaff called into the O.A.R.S. HQ this morning to let us know that they had been in touch with long-time O.A.R.S. Grand Canyon guide and trip leader Regan Dale – who is currently guiding a trip on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Regan stated that his Grand Canyon whitewater rafting trip (actually, I believe it is a dory trip) was camped a day ABOVE Havasu when it flooded this weekend.
Authorities have been evacuating tourists and residents from a remote offshoot of the Grand Canyon where weekend flooding caused by heavy rains and a breached dam nearly washed away some rafters in the area. There’s a complete article found in the SFGate.
Our trip is likely to have passed Havasu by now, floating on a bit more and muddier water than they otherwise would have experienced.
All O.A.R.S. multi-day whitewater rafting guests are given a really cool stainless steel coffee mug, complete with a caribiner handle. Send us a photo of you with your O.A.R.S. coffee mug on the river, at home, at the office, in the car – although not while driving, at the Olympics with Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant, Shawn Johnson (please no Bob Costas pictures!), etc. and we’ll post it here AND send you a complimentary O.A.R.S. t-shirt!* I’ll have to check, but I heard a rumor that the most creative shot wins a gift certificate at the O.A.R.S. store. (Creativity counts!)
Submit your photo via email to info@oars.com with "Mug Photo Contest" in the subject line.
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