Today started out great. We woke up to a warm magnificent morning, had a lovely camp breakfast and headed for our boats. By now I was getting more daring. I like adventure and itʼs so much more fun to do things the hard way. So today I chose to go in a ducky (a one person inflatable kayak) and I started downstream. My confidence was high, but little did I know it would be mostly white water until our stop for lunch, 3 hours later. (I said I was adventurous, I didn't say I was always smart).

As soon as we got to a relatively calm area I was told to flip my ducky and get into the cold water. This was a test to make sure I could get back into the kayak in case I flipped in the rapids. After struggling for several minutes, with my life preserver around my face and kicking furiously, I entered my ducky ready for whatever the river had in store for me. I was ready……. At least I thought so. Again we were in the rapids. A rock, a bump, a wave and more white water. I paddled furiously through the rapids. Luckily for me, my daughter Jenn, who is an experienced kayaker, shouted out instructions to keep me upright. “Go right, mom! Do you see that rock? Now left!" At least for the time being the correct side of the kayak was in the water.

Written by Beth Robbins

Robbins is a Philadelphia native who grew up loving culture and the excitement of city life. She attended undergraduate school at the University of the Arts and received a master’s in Fine Arts at Temple University and The Tyler School of Art. Robbins taught art history for 16 years and sponsored off-campus trips for high school and college students. Her interest in travel sparked when she backpack and trekked on her own throughout England, France, Spain and the Mediterranean for five months. She later started an interior design business and art consultation company. She has two children and currently lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado within the Rocky Mountain high country.

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This morning we woke up to about 37 degrees. As I crawled out of my cozy warm sleeping bag and made my way out of the tent, the cold air hit me like someone spilled a bucket of water over my head. I grabbed my ski hat, gloves and fleece and headed towards breakfast. Thank heavens for hot coffee and a hearty breakfast.

Immediately after breakfast we disassembled our tents, packed them in the dry bags and went straight to our boats. We were as bundled up as we could possibly be for a day on the chilly river.

Again the day started out with ice cold water and some pretty dicey rapids. As soon as we made the turn out of camp where the river veered sharply, the sun hit and warmed everything up. It was amazing to watch everyone peeling off the layers of clothing that we had just piled on to keep warm.

Written by Beth Robbins

Robbins is a Philadelphia native who grew up loving culture and the excitement of city life. She attended undergraduate school at the University of the Arts and received a master’s in Fine Arts at Temple University and The Tyler School of Art. Robbins taught art history for 16 years and sponsored off-campus trips for high school and college students. Her interest in travel sparked when she backpack and trekked on her own throughout England, France, Spain and the Mediterranean for five months. She later started an interior design business and art consultation company. She has two children and currently lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado within the Rocky Mountain high country.

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This morning, dressed and ready for the river, we boarding our bus and headed for a beautiful winding drive to Boundary Creek where we “put in”. (Launched our boats into the river). After a thorough briefing of safety and paddling skills, an introduction to our guides and the rest of the group, we then shoved off.
 

Feeling quite adventurous this morning, and figuring it was now or never, I chose to sit in the front of the paddle raft. We pushed off and almost immediately we hit our first white water. As we plowed through the raging rapids, the excitement replaced all of my anxiety.
 

From that point on there was one rapid after another. First came Bend Rapid and Murph’s Hole, which were class ll rapids. These turned out to be a piece of cake compared to what was to come. We then hit three class lll rapids in a row keeping us paddling furiously through “Hell’s Half Mile”.
 

Written by Beth Robbins

Robbins is a Philadelphia native who grew up loving culture and the excitement of city life. She attended undergraduate school at the University of the Arts and received a master’s in Fine Arts at Temple University and The Tyler School of Art. Robbins taught art history for 16 years and sponsored off-campus trips for high school and college students. Her interest in travel sparked when she backpack and trekked on her own throughout England, France, Spain and the Mediterranean for five months. She later started an interior design business and art consultation company. She has two children and currently lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado within the Rocky Mountain high country.

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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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My daughter Jenn has a birthday this month and she always wanted to kayak/raft in the Salmon River area…..especially the Middle Fork Salmon. So it seemed natural to take her on this trip. Little did I know that this birthday present for her would be scaring me half to death.

Making plans for the O.A.R.S. Salmon River trip was very easy. I deliberately choose the end of July because the water is usually down a bit; but still very exciting. BUT NOT THIS YEAR!!!!! Being somewhat of a novice in white water rafting and a person who has not camped a lot, I was looking for a relatively calmer experience. But mentally I am now ready for some major excitement.

The trip was planned way before all the rivers flooded their banks and the snow melt, instead of early spring, hung around until July. As I sit on my deck looking up at the Rocky Mountains, I canʼt believe that this is July 18th and we still have this much snow.

Written by Beth Robbins

Robbins is a Philadelphia native who grew up loving culture and the excitement of city life. She attended undergraduate school at the University of the Arts and received a master’s in Fine Arts at Temple University and The Tyler School of Art. Robbins taught art history for 16 years and sponsored off-campus trips for high school and college students. Her interest in travel sparked when she backpack and trekked on her own throughout England, France, Spain and the Mediterranean for five months. She later started an interior design business and art consultation company. She has two children and currently lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado within the Rocky Mountain high country.

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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: 2,100-2,400. Current minimum age: 4. Weather: A few showers and scattered thunderstorms early this week followed by sunshine with highs in the upper 80's to lows in the low 50's at night! This relaxing, scenic three-day adventure runs every Tuesday and Friday, 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.

No Comments »

Planning on taking an O.A.R.S. trip in the near future? Booked on an O.A.R.S. trip already? We present you with our weekly whitewater watch – a resource available to YOU, the interested adventure traveler. Check back every week for updates on rivers across the west! Here you will find information regarding weather, river flows, exciting trips being launched and feedback from our most recent travelers! Our goal is to provide you with answers to your questions and excite your adventurous spirit! Read on to discover what we have in store for you.

*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

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.

4 Comments »

Planning on taking an O.A.R.S. trip in the near future? Booked on an O.A.R.S. trip already? We present you with our weekly whitewater watch – a resource available to YOU, the interested adventure traveler. Check back every week for updates on rivers across the west! Here you will find information regarding weather, river flows, exciting trips being launched and feedback from our most recent travelers! Our goal is to provide you with answers to your questions and excite your adventurous spirit! Read on to discover what we have in store for you.

California

Lower Klamath River – CFS: 4,000-5,000. Current minimum age: 4. Weather: Sunshine with highs in the low 80's to lows in the low 50's at night! Our first two trips of the season launch this week!

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.

No Comments »

Planning on taking an O.A.R.S. trip in the near future? Booked on an O.A.R.S. trip already? We present you with our weekly whitewater watch – a resource available to YOU, the interested adventure traveler. Check back every week for updates on rivers across the west! Here you will find information regarding weather, river flows, exciting trips being launched and feedback from our most recent travelers! Our goal is to provide you with answers to your questions and excite your adventurous spirit! Read on to discover what we have in store for you.

California

Lower Klamath River – CFS: 4,000-5,000. Current minimum age: 4. Weather: expect some showers Tuesday and Wednesday, but otherwise sunshine with highs in the low 80's to lows in the low 50's at night! Two trips are heading out immediately after the 4th of July!

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.

No Comments »