You’d Hardly Call One Of These River Trips ‘Roughing It’

My mother is not at all what you’d call the “outdoorsy type.” Yet, at 65 years old, she spent 8 days rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

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Written by Reid Williams

Reid has guided whitewater and taught swiftwater rescue in the U.S. and Central America on 13 different rivers, after brief turns as a chemistry teacher and a newspaper journalist. These days, he tries to turn people on to active, outdoor lifestyles as an executive at WELD.

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There’s always room on the raft for more wine…

With eight rafting trips under his belt last year alone, you could say that Matt Hatcher of Hatcher Winery has uncorked more wine riverside than any other winemaker. For the past six years, he has been a familiar face on O.A.R.S.’ Wine on the River trips where fine wine and gourmet food are as big of a draw as the paddling action.  I sat down with Matt at his winery in Murphys, CA to talk about what makes Wine on the River trips so special.

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Written by Cari Morgan

Cari Morgan is a freelance writer and founder of Evoke PR. She currently lives and plays in the Sierra Foothills.

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Bringing flambe and ice cream to the great outdoors!

On a summer afternoon, you’ll find Bob Anderson, Chef at the Boulder Ridge Golf Club* in San Jose, CA, sporting a white chef coat and a pair of Chaco river sandals. Chef Bob, who trained at the CIA and spent 20 years at the famed Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite, is no stranger to cooking at obscure locations like Yosemite’s High Sierra Camps or Glacier Point in the winter. That’s exactly why he was the perfect person to help O.A.R.S. bring gourmet grub to the river.

Cari Morgan caught up with Chef Bob to find out how he’s able to pull off restaurant quality meals on the river with O.A.R.S.

Written by Cari Morgan

Cari Morgan is a freelance writer and founder of Evoke PR. She currently lives and plays in the Sierra Foothills.

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Why live as a mere mortal when you can learn to walk on water?

You’ve been thinking about it.

You toyed with the idea, last year maybe.

Written by Reid Williams

Reid has guided whitewater and taught swiftwater rescue in the U.S. and Central America on 13 different rivers, after brief turns as a chemistry teacher and a newspaper journalist. These days, he tries to turn people on to active, outdoor lifestyles as an executive at WELD.

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THERE'S ARGUABLY NOTHING BETTER THAN A COLD BEER AFTER A DAY ON THE RIVER.

Until recently, that meant reaching into the cooler or drag bag for a can of Bud, Coors, or Miller. Today, cans are becoming the preferred vessel for a range of tasty American craft beers. We asked Mutineer Magazine’s online editor, Brian Kropf, to share his thoughts on the virtues of canned beer.

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Written by Lauren de Remer

O.A.R.S.' Sales & Marketing Coordinator

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Lower Klamath River, CA

Families love O.A.R.S. Lower Klamath River rafting trips. This scenic, forested river trip features beach campsites and rafting and inflatable kayaking in warm gentle water.

Written by Lauren de Remer

O.A.R.S.' Sales & Marketing Coordinator

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I’ve got Tuolumne fever.  Already.  And it’s only February.  I blame it on a recent hike at Hetch Hetchy (pictured above), where the gorgeous Tuolumne River rolls out of Yosemite National Park through a spectacular granite canyon and then flows down to create the most wild and exhilarating rafting in the U.S.

The weather was gorgeous for being the middle of “winter” and I found myself basking in the summer temps, day dreaming about a 3-day Wine on the River trip I took down the Tuolumne with O.A.R.S. several years ago.  It was epic.  You know, the kind of trip that you’re always comparing to other trips because it was that good.  

Written by Cari Morgan

Cari Morgan is a freelance writer and founder of Evoke PR. She currently lives and plays in the Sierra Foothills.

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*As we reach the end of our season, keep in mind that due to water flows some of our rivers are no longer run-able. If you don’t see a river listed below, we have stopped running it for the season!

California

Lower Klamath River – CFS: 1,100-1,800 Minimum Age: 4 Weather: Partly cloudy this week followed by sunshine with highs in the low 90’s to lows in the mid 50's! This scenic three-day trip runs every Tuesday and Friday through the end of August, with plenty of room for more!

Written by Brita Olson

Raised on a small island in Northern Michigan, Olson's love for running water developed at an early age. This love drove her away from the Midwest to California to begin work preserving sustainability and delving into the O.A.R.S. segment of adventure travel. Brita enjoys learning about other people, spending time on the water, excursions on her road bike and - when at all possible - combining the three.

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*As we reach the middle of our season, keep in mind that due to water flows some of our rivers are no longer run-able. If you don’t see a river listed below, we have stopped running it for the season!

California

Lower Klamath River – CFS: 1,800-2,000. Current minimum age: 4. Weather: A few showers and scattered thunderstorms early this week followed by sunshine with highs in the low 90’s to lows in the mid 50's! This scenic three-day trip runs every Tuesday and Friday, with plenty of room for more!

Written by Tianna Stieglitz

Stieglitz is a Hospitality/Tourism Management student from Purdue University. She's from Indiana (born and raised) and loves traveling and seeing new places. Among other hobbies, she love people, being outdoors in creation, and good laughs with friends.

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As you may know, Angels Camp is working hard to brand itself as the Base Camp for Mountain Sports in the Sierra.  A lot of our rural tourism economy is based upon recreation.  Calaveras County boasts wonderful skiing, trails for hiking and mountain biking, caving, horseback riding, fishing, sea kayaking and other water sports.   Currently, the county shares a wonderful whitewater kayaking resource with Amador County on the Mokelumne River.

Missing from the logical mix of recreational activities available to residents and visitors, however, is a good section of whitewater that is readily available to the general public.  Currently, the only viable whitewater section in the county is on the North Fork of the Stanislaus River near Calaveras Big Trees.  This section of river, however, is too difficult for most people since it is a challenging Class IV run that can only be rafted during the spring in a year with normal snowfall.  Even with this year’s exceptionally heavy precipitation, this only extended the Upper Stanislaus’ availability through July.

Written by George Wendt

George Wendt, founder and president of O.A.R.S. is a true pioneer in the adventure travel industry. His passion for running rivers was born in the 60s, when he became one of the first 1100 people to descend the seldom-traveled Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. In the decades since, O.A.R.S. has set the industry standard for first-class rafting as well as environmentally and culturally responsible travel on over 35 rivers and coastlines worldwide. To date they’ve positively affected the lives of over 500,000 travelers and in 2008 and 2009 the company was recognized by National Geographic Adventure as “The Best River & Sea Outfitter on Earth” based on education, sustainability, quality of service, spirit of adventure and references.

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