River Rafting in Washington

By my estimation, I have trained over 600 river rafting guides in my lifetime.  A majority of them under the auspices of my rafting company, Orion Expeditions, Inc., informally known these days for search engine purposes as Orion River Rafting . I have a very clear idea of the skills someone needs to become a successful river rafting guide.  After all, I provide the training in order to meet my company's needs for a river staff every season.  My employees must be an extension of me.  I need to feel comfortable giving them the responsibility to escort the general public down a variety of white water rivers. When the state of Washington opted to look into white water rafting operators in the mid-90s - in response to tragic deaths during a rafting season - I chose to get involved along with a number of other prominent outfitters to head the legislature off at the pass from enacting onerous and unnecessary rules and regulations.  It was clear, due to the tragedy...

River Rafting Lessons from the Gauley Sixteen Orion River Rafting guides trekked cross country in a revitalized school bus last September to test their skills on one of the premier white water rivers to be found anywhere in the world - the Gauley River in West Virginia.  The Gauley River, dam-controlled and administered by the National Park Service, offers two sections of river to whet your white water appetite which are not-so-cleverly known as the Upper and the Lower.  The Upper reach of the Gauley, which sports five noteworthy drops, was the section where we spent four lengthy days recreating and - ultimately - getting schooled. Here is what we learned: Never underestimate the kindness of strangers.   Whether it was the kind-hearted campers at the put-in who welcomed our oversized rig to crash their party or the boaters strewn throughout the river offering encouragement and advice or the acquaintance of one of our party who was willing to take t...

the backeddy 11/8/13 “Where the World is Always Coming to a Beginning” Wrap Up of 2013 Trust me, the title pun was unintended.   If you have been following posts and threads on Orion Guides Facebook page over the last month and a half, you will know exactly what I mean.  It has to do with West Virginia, a rock called Dildo and an unfortunate mishap.  Apparently, the saga ends with the NPS lowering the river to 400 cubic feet per second in order to retrieve the erstwhile rock-condom before it became part of the geology.  In any case, the journey to the Gauley River was a fitting denouement to a very successful river season.   We had fun and it gave us some perspective.  What more could you ask? Guide Training The previous season's guide training found us in the uncomfortable role of outlaws caught red-handed on the Deschutes with too few toilets set up, too few kitchens for too many people, improper disposal of driftwood and ...

Leavenworth, Washington I first set foot on an inflatable raft in the '70s.  It was a product of military surplus, but designed specifically for white water rafting .  The bow was upturned to deflect and plow through waves, the fabric was neoprene reinforced by fabric and there were multiple chambers.  Built by Rubber Crafters in West Virginia, it was one of the best river running crafts being manufactured. Forty years later, we have inflatable rafts that are lighter and even more durable, self-bailing floors, urethane coating embedded with abrasive substances for better grip, foot cups, rafts that have uplifted kicks in the bow and the stern - basically - all sorts of technological and design advances.  Catarafts, 'Creature' crafts and smaller, more maneuverable rafts are exploring and challenging white water rapids, and stretches of river, unimaginable twenty years ago.  What's "possible" is getting extended every season. Life jackets are b...

Leavenworth, Washington It was the beginning of a new decade. Michael, Paul and I were in our mid-twenties, essentially penniless, living hand-to-mouth. Each of us lived with our girlfriends in their rented houses or apartments. Michael's wife-to-be, Rosie, was somehow cajoled into allowing her second story two-bedroom apartment near Green Lake to become Orion's original Seattle headquarters. At the time, I paid no attention to the Business section of the paper, but I was aware that America was suffering an economic malaise, or a hangover, from the oil shocks of the '70s. There was a question whether Americans would fork out perfectly good money for unnecessary luxuries like raft trips. Traffic was so light, it was possible to circumnavigate greater metropolitan Seattle in less than a half hour. I distinctly remember the owner of Zig Zag River Runners, Jim Fielder, a quotable character with a mop of hair and a brushy beard, a six foot four philosopher lothario, state ...

The season on the Deschutes River in north central Oregon is year-round due to dams that lie upstream from the prime overnight stretch that Orion River Rafting utilizes for its multi-day river trips.  Unlike free-flowing and more notorious rivers around the West, the dam-managed Deschutes rarely fluctuates more than a foot or so in height throughout the year.  Consequently, while many rivers in the western United States may be overflowing their banks in May, the Deschutes River is, more likely than not, flowing higher from the spring melt, but in no danger of flooding. May and June are prime months for river rafting the Deschutes because the weather in eastern Oregon (east of the mountain ranges) is drier and warmer than the maritime coast to the west.  Even so, the river is running higher than it will at any other time of the year, providing the maximum amount of excitement and adventure out of the numerous Class II+ to Class III+ white water rapids...

Tieton, Washington Labor Day has come and gone, the Seahawks are starting the football season, Seattle is in the midst of breaking a record for days without rain and - as I type these words - the Tieton River , a mere 30 minutes from Yakima, begins its annual white water rebirth.  Why, you may ask, is there water sluicing down the red rock canyon on the east side of White Pass, while every other commercial rafting river in the state flows at a trickle? The Tieton River owes its September existence to two factors: irrigation and fish.  Irrigation needs place a demand on the river late in the summer and that is why, toward the end of August and the beginning of our 'Indian summer', the outflow from Rimrock Lake starts to escalate.  But fish are the true driving force behind the September resurrection of one of the busiest Class III white water rivers in the Northwest. Thanks to our government accommodating the needs of fish every year immediately ...