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Deschutes
River
Maupin, OR
August 4, 2001
We arrived at
City Park in Maupin, OR around 9:00am that morning and met up with our
party, camping in the shade of the locust trees, on the shores of the
Deschutes River. Ken, Sandra's Friend from school, and his
brother Scott, sisters Wendy and Carrie, and friend of the family Jill
were scouting the route and setting up a shuttle. When they
returned we headed upriver to hit the rapids!
We rented a raft and three kayaks from All-Star Rentals, a company in
Maupin. We put in at Harpham Flat about 10:30am, with Ken,
Scott, and Wendy in kayaks and Jill, Carrie, Sandra and I in the raft.
As the other paddlers were familiar with the river, Sandra and I
occupied the back of the raft. Within minutes, we hit
Wapinitia, followed by Cape Canaveral, and Boxcar, where photographers
gather on surrounding rocks to take your photograph as you hit the
rapid. You can buy the photos at several different locations
around town for a staggering $15 apiece. Wendy capsized on
all three rapids, but everyone else stayed afloat. Wapinita sent
me sailing into the front of the boat, but Jill broke my fall!
We continued
downstream through several long flatwater stretches, broken up by
small rapids. Water fights broke out all over the crowded river,
with water cannons, paddle splashes, and buckets of water filling the
air. We were armed with four water cannons, but the buckets were
a bit overpowering!
After stopping
by our campsite for a quick snack, we set out downriver again, running
through long flatwater stretches, interspersed with rapids named Surf
City, Oak Springs, Elevator (we body-surfed this one...COLD!),
Escalator, Roller Coaster, White River, Staircase, Powerline,
and Osborne, before taking out just before 75-foot Sherars Falls.
The largest
rapids
on this stretch of river (Boxcar, Wapinita, and Oak Springs) were
just Class III, but this stretch of the Deschutes has the highest
concentration of rapids on the river.
After taking
out at 3:30pm, we loaded up and headed back to camp for a quick lunch
before heading back to Harpham Flat and going downstream again!
This time, Sandra and I led the way, hitting the Wapinita head-on,
sending Jill flying, and I stood up in front of the raft and rode the
rapids like a cowboy, while Sandra tried to dunk me. I
intercepted her attempt and sent her flying over the side (funny).
Then Carrie tried to pull me off, which got her splashed repeatedly
with the paddle, and then overturned in her kayak! After I
splashed Scott a few times, he decided to try to dunk me, so I jumped
on his kayak and flipped him over! After our festivities, we had
to hurry back into the boat, as Boxcar was quickly approaching.
We hit the rapid dead-on, and got soaked, but didn't overturn.
Several rafts bit it during the day on Boxcar and Oak Springs, but not
us!
Overall, the
day was a lot of fun, although the rapids were mostly Class III, and
far apart. The water battles royale helped pass the time during
the flat spots, however, and made for a fun atmosphere.
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