River Log: 2008

Updated 1/16/09

Oh, the memories...

Colorado River, UT - March 8*
- Westwater Canyon; 17 miles, Class IV. 3500cfs

Colorado River, UT - March 15
- Moab Daily - Onion Ck. to Takeout Beach; Class II

Yampa River, CO/UT - May 25-29*
- Deerlodge Park, CO to Split Mountain takeout, UT; Class III-IV. 17000-9000 cfs.

Colorado River, AZ - June 7-27
-Lees Ferry to South Cove, Lake Meade; Class IV. ~10000-17000 cfs.

Salmon River, ID - October 19-23
- Daily floats: 4th of July Creek - Wagonhammer, Wagonhammer - Deadwater, 4th of July - Badger, and Tower - Badger; Class II.


*Dory

The Westwater Report

I had the great pleasure of spending the weekend on the Colorado River with some fellow dory builders that I met through Sandy's website. Lincoln Frye was nice enough to host us on his Westwater permit on Saturday the 8th. We had 4 distinctly different wood dories on the trip, including my 14.5’ Honky Dory, Dave Inskeep and his 16’ Tatman Grand Canyon dory, Lincoln and his "kayak with oars" personal 10’ whitewater dory, and his son Kyle with his one-off 12’ dory.

It was an exciting day for me. I managed to put three holes in my boat - one, a fairly significant chine hit at the scarf joint, occurred in the 2nd rapid, just above the several mile continuous class IV section. After a quick patch, and some anxiety suppression, we pushed off and tore down through the rest of the canyon. I had good runs through the meat, but managed an encounter with the "magnetic wall" in "Sock it to me."

The camera was rolling through most of the run, so once it’s downloaded and processed, I will be sure to post the results.

Thanks to Lincoln and his family for sharing the river with us. Lincoln has raised quite a family of boatmen/women. Kyle, Lincoln’s son, is one of the best boatmen I’ve ever shared the river with. That guy can move a dory like nothing else. I believe he’s off to OR to defend his title in the Clackmas driftboat races. Iris, Lincoln’s daughter is no slouch either - and is getting ready to build her own dory for a Grand Canyon trip next year. And Lincoln is one hell of a cool cat, and it shows where his progeny gets their boating skills. Iris told me that Lincoln has done a river trip every month for the last few years.

Pics and video to come...

Lightning Strikes Twice

I came home from happy hour on Friday to find a letter from the National Park Service - Dinosaur National Mounment. I picked it up and my first thought was "this is a pretty fat letter for them to tell me I didn't get a permit."

Yampa River - May 25th, 2008

Yeeee, and might I add, haaaawwww!

Green River 2/9

This weekend I, as Steve Schmidt so eloquently put it, "dealt chanced weather and treacherous road conditions, and was rewarded with some nice fish and a solitary river."

I-80 was a mess with trucks jackknifed all over the place. I have a way of convincing myself that "it won't be that bad" but it was really bad. I wouldn't have gone if I knew it would have been that slick. It was dumb. But cabin fever forces you to do irrational things. Once I got there all was forgotten, as I felt the sun beat down and watched some nice fish work the surface.

Dory Builders Unite

If you are interested in dories, be sure to check out the driftboat builder's discussion forum over at www.montana-riverboats.com. Hosted by Sandy Pittendridgh (who designed my boat) and sponsored (and contributed to) by a who's who of dory builders, this is the place to get your questions answered.

And check out Sandy's cool new logo - based on a photo I took of Dave Inskeep in his dory "Hellgrammite" charging Granite Rapid in the Grand Canyon in March of 07. Thanks Sandy!

Ed Abbey: Jan 29th, 1927 - March 14, 1989

"Benedicto: May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. May your rivers flow without end, meandering through pastoral valleys tinkling with bells, past temples and castles and poets towers into a dark primeval forest where tigers belch and monkeys howl, through miasmal and mysterious swamps and down into a desert of red rock, blue mesas, domes and pinnacles and grottos of endless stone, and down again into a deep vast ancient unknown chasm where bars of sunlight blaze on profiled cliffs, where deer walk across the white sand beaches, where storms come and go as lightning clangs upon the high crags, where something strange and more beautiful and more full of wonder than your deepest dreams waits for you --- beyond that next turning of the canyon walls. "
- Cactus Ed

Classic Steelhead Flies with Dec Hogan

The last two Wednesdays I had the opportunity to hang out and tie flies with renowned steelhead guide, author and fly tyer Dec Hogan. Thanks to Matt and Steve at Western Rivers for putting the class together. This was a real treat.

The first night we tied a simple purple hair wing fly that Dec calls "No name summer fly" and another fly I am really excited to fish, the stealhead Muddler. Both are featured in Dec's new book "A Passion for Steelhead."

The second week we tied a traditional Spey style fly with a bronze mallard wing, and also learned how to tie hackle tip wings, as well as Dec's own unique and simple marabou creations.

It was an honor to hang out with Dec and tie some really beautiful flies. Dec firmly believes that beautiful fly patterns enhance the experience of fishing for these incredible sea run fish, and his patterns reflect a wide range of styles, from classic to modern. Not only that, these patterns consistently take fish from Alaska to Idaho, the Gaspe, even the Great Lakes.

If you fish for steelhead, go buy Dec's book. If you don't, do it anyway. This book is destined to become the bible for a new generation of anglers looking to make their steelhead dreams come true (like me.) Dec also has a fly tying DVD coming out soon, which we got a glimpse of, and it's really cool.