A little more video from the Truss.

Ivor Davies Park: Dragons & Damsels

As a new Molalla city councilor, I have found myself putting my time and energy into improving our parks. Ivor Davies Park has particular interest to me as a wonderful example of a nature park within a city. As we have worked to enhance this park, I have found myself spending my free time there trying to capture the nuances of this great place. I have decided to attempt to put together a photo catalog of the various Dragonflies and Damselflies that call Ivor Davies Park home. This not a complete representation as of yet, but I will update this page as time to shoot allows and good fortune to capture these creatures presents itself. I have done my best to identify these dragons and damsels, if you have a correction, please let me know. (I am also stuck on a few, help is much appreciated) All pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Striped Meadowhawk (Symetrum pallipes)

Spreadwing (Lestes ?)

Bluet (Enallagma ?)

Nighthawk on the Molalla

While out checking on some trail projects that our summer work crew has been working on, I stumbled upon a Nighthawk. At first I didn't realize it was a bird or an animal at all, it blended in so well. However, upon careful and more thorough examination, it turned out to be a Nighthawk. If you have had the good fortune of watching these guys in action as they devour insects in the twilight you know just how amazing these birds are. I kind of figured that this was a one time opportunity to get some close up photos so I took my time and crawled slowly closer to grab some shots of this very cooperative bird. Here are the results. Enjoy.

A Quick Look at the Little White Salmon

First Time on the LW from Ryan Morgan on Vimeo.

Molalla River: Table Rock Fork Gorge

The author portaging the only log we had to deal with.

The Table Rock Fork Gorge is not often run. Water levels are hard to predict, the run is short and it can not usually be linked with other sections. These factors along with the committing nature of the gorge proper limit how many people see this section every year. I, however, find myself running it once or twice a year as flows allow and boredom sets in. The run is relatively short, but a good change of pace, great scenery and it usually presents an opportunity to show someone a new section of water. The gorge never really gets beyond class IV, though this changes as the water levels increase. The crux drop in the gorge consists of a 4-6' ledge/hole that can be very retentive at higher flows. This combined with the fact that drop is jammed between smooth rock walls perhaps 8' apart can make for some exciting times.

On this particular day, Markus and I found ourselves fighting a very poor start to the boating season as many of the standard late fall rain storms had failed to materialize. In search of something to do, we decided to head up to the Table Rock Fork Gorge. Markus had never seen it and I am always up for taking someone new through the gorge. We drove up to the take out, which also is the put in for the 'Old Bridge' section of the Molalla. (This is the higher put-in option for the Three Bears run) We then did a quick, but thorough scout of the main gorge for wood and to check the crux drop to see how retentive it would be. Things looked good so we headed up to the second bridge to put in.

The author running a rapid above the gorge.

Things started out with some great technical class III boulder gardens. Things got bigger as we entered the gorge. I went first so as to set up and grab some pictures of Markus coming through the crux drop. I was in my playboat and got stuck in the ledge hole in the heart of the gorge. After some back surfing and clawing at the wall I was finally able to grab my paddle, get a couple strokes in and break free. Markus cruised through without trouble.

Markus running the crux drop in the gorge.

Markus finishing up the hard part of the gorge.
(The crux drop is in the background, notice the wood in the left slot.)

We only had one log to contend with that should be portaged. It was another great day on the Molalla. If you do venture out on this section, be sure to scout the gorge before putting on. One misplaced log could spell disaster for you. If the Three Bears is getting marginal, the Table Rock Fork should be great. See you on the water.

Clackamas River: The Killer Fang Section

Looking into Prelude

With summer coming to an end and the winter rains yet to come, I found myself eager for a little adventure. I had never done the Killer Fang section of the Clackamas and it kept calling me as it's the only section I haven't done. I made a call to Marcus and we agreed to give it a shot. While I was on my way to the river, Marcus gave me a call saying he was really sick and wasn't up for boating. Nuts. So, I decided to go ahead and give the run a shot solo. It didn't take too long before I was able to hitch a ride up to the put in from some great people from Bark. If you aren't aware of their organization, I recommend you take a look. They do some great work protecting the wild places we all like to visit. I quickly put on my gear and slid into the river at the confluence of the Clackamas and Collawash Rivers. The river is very scenic and very mellow. The first mile or two was basically flat water. I soaked up the scenery and the solitude that this most remote section of the Clackamas afforded me. Slowly the rapids started to appear, but nothing Killer. Mostly just nice class II and III drops. Eventually, about 2/3 of the way into the trip the canyon starts to close in and I came up on the first significant rapid that I needed to scout, Prelude. The rapid exits through a couple different slots and feeds into the pool above Killer Fang. I did a quick check for wood and made sure I could see the eddy to get out above Killer Fang before hopping back into my boat. Prelude proved to be a nice rapid with plenty of space to exit the river above Killer Fang.

Killer Fang Rapid

Killer Fang is an ugly rapid. That said, there is a thin line that could be run, but a mistake would put you in a huge sieve where most of the river is going. IF you make the cut left, you would still have to deal with an undercut cliff wall before exiting into the pool below. It was an easy descision for me going solo and in a playboat, so I shouldered and did the somewhat difficult portage. (Lots of climbing and lowering the boat)

The outflow of Killer Fang

Looking back at Killer Fang.

The lead-in to The Sieve.

The next rapid below Killer Fang is a rapid known as the Sieve. I hopped out and scouted right first and then ferried back left to get another look. The Sieve is a solid class IV rapid with significant consequences for a mistake. After looking it over, I opted to portage the initial drop leaving a mandatory ferry back to river right. (The Sieve can be portaged it's entire length on the left.)

The entrance to the Sieve. I portaged just below the log.

This is where I put back in to ferry across. Still class IV, but manageable.

The rest of the run was fun with one class three that stood out. I had a nice mellow level of about 1,000 cfs at Three Lynx. It was nice to finally see the run, but I think it will be awhile before I go back. If you haven't seen it, I wouldn't let the Killer Fang name hold you back. It is just one rapid after all. Do be careful to check all of the narrow slots for wood before committing, otherwise it's a nice class II-III float.

Illinois River Video

At the end of February, my friend Will Volpert put together a great trip on the Illinois River in southern Oregon. Here are the video clips from the trip. We had just a little raft carnage on an otherwise fantastic trip. I hope to post some pictures and a write up soon. Will had also arranged to have a writer and a photographer from the Medford Mail Tribune with us on the trip. Here is a link to the article. Wild Ride on the Illinois

Video courtesy of the Mail Tribune


Video courtesy of Will Volpert


Video courtesy of Alan Douglas


Also, here is a link to an interesting short film about a documentary being made about the Illinois. Illinois River Video

TR: Upper EF Lewis

The Upper EF Lewis River has been a run I have wanted to do for some time. It's not the hardest run around, but one I have been meaning to get to. This past weekend, Dan Thurber was back in town so we planned on getting out on the water. The initial plan was to try for Copper Creek, but with more rain than we had expected we turned our attention to the Upper East Fork. We set shuttle, using Mike Olson's house as our take out, and headed up to the put in. We got stopped by snow just short of the put in, which wasn't all bad as we could see a mandatory portage around some wood just upstream.

Wood was on the menu for the day. Lots of small alders had fallen with the heavy snowfall this year making us keep on our toes. Everything was manageable with lines around all of the wood.

As we approached Double Drop, I was probing and somehow missed the normal eddy. Fortunately, I grabbed the last chance eddy just upstream of the lip. While it looked good, no one in our group decided to run it. We continued the portage past Tombstone and headed down river. Tombstone looked awful at this level with all the water pounding the 'Tombstone' rock in the center of the drop.

Looking back up at Double DropLooking downstream into TombstoneWe made our way down to Sunset Falls without much trouble. However, that damn Huka got Dan stuck in yet another hole providing some amusement for the rest of us. Sunset was different than I had seen it in the past, much more water. The left side that I usually run didn't look so inviting so it was time to try the middle line. After a short look at the falls, I took off first to get below and take some pictures. What a great line over this falls. I really enjoyed it. Alex came down next and took the far right line without trouble. Everyone else went center and mostly had good lines. Dan was the only one that struggled here getting shoved into the center slot on both trips over the falls.

Dan proving the center line can go wrong.

After Sunset it was nice trip down through Sky Pilot to Mike's house. Another great day on the river.

Canyon Creek, WA Video

TR: Sandy Gorge or: That Hole That Almost Kicked My Ass

It had been about a year since I last went through the Sandy Gorge. With the Marmot Dam coming out this past fall and limited time in my day I found myself interested in revisiting this section of water. Alan Douglas and Matt Haven met me at the put in and after a quick shuttle we were on the river. The gorge looked good and it was a beautiful day to be on the water.

Alan and Matt gear up for the Gorge.

We had heard that there was new wood in the first significant rapid, Boulder. I eddy hopped down the left side and scouted for a route through. The right line and the center line both had wood so we opted for the easy portage down the left side.

Matt sneaks down the left side at Boulder.

Looking back upstream at Boulder.

Below this the rapids get closer together with the next one being Rasp Rock. I felt pretty confident about running this drop so I charged ahead. It was only as I began to drop in that I realized the size of the hole. I disappeared into the foam and resurfaced a couple feet shy of breaking through. The rodeo had begun.

Rasp Rock aka "The Hole"

I quickly got pulled back into the hole and threw a nice compilation of boat ends and paddle blades as I struggled to gain control over my boat. I was just hoping Alan and Matt had decided to scout because it was looking like I was going to need a rope soon. After what seemed like far too long I managed to get a my boat under control and began a bouncy side surf in the hole. It was at this time I realized that the hole was backed up by a large rock and the exits were only on the extreme edges of the hole. It also quickly became apparent that this could be extremely difficult to swim out of and there still was no guarantee that someone was going to be able to hit me with a rope. As the gravity of my situation began to settle in I happened to look to river right and see the bottom of Alan's boat in the hole with me. OH SHIT!! Now there's two of us in here, what the hell are we going to do. Fortunately, Alan's time in the hole was relatively brief as he was able to grab some deep water and flush out the right corner of the hole. Unfortunately, there was no way I was going to be able to surf over to that exit without getting trashed and it wasn't a sure thing that I would flush out the same as Alan. My only option was to back surf out the left side. Working my skulling brace I managed to get to the left corner and begin to finally find some water that was exiting the hole. I pulled hard and popped free. I was immediately propelled downstream and flipped before hanging up on another rock just downstream. I reached around the rock with my paddle and pulled myself free. A quick roll and BAM!! piton into a rock. I drifted into an eddy, spent and happy to be free. What a ride. Lesson learned, scout Rasp Rock. (Not only for the hole, but it is known to collect wood) I walked back up to get a picture of the hole that nearly kicked my ass. It was strong and I certainly would have run it differently had I looked at it ahead of time. It did feel good to know that I was able to handle a tough situation. It was the first difficult hole I've ever been in with my Salto and it performed great. It also appeared to me that it would have taken Matt a while to get a rope to me if he could at all. It looked a little sketchy and I'm not sure he could have positioned himself in a manner that would have allowed him to pull me out.

A closer look at the backed up hole that almost gave me a beating.

After some pictures of Rasp Rock we continued on to Drain Hole. Drain Hole has an ugly sieve on river left that you must cut hard to the right above in order to miss it.

Matt runs through Drain Hole first.

Alan takes his turn making the "move"

Everyone had clean runs at Drain Hole and we proceeded to the last rapid on the run, Revenue Bridge. This rapid has cleaned up nicely with the extreme right and center lines looking really good. I went center while Alan decided to go right. Matt had portaged down the left. All in all, it was a fun run and I'm glad that I gave the gorge another try.

Alan at the top of Revenue Bridge rapid.

As a side note, it appears that Revenue Bridge is being replaced so parking is limited at the take out.