Rafting the “New” Klamath
The Klamath River, and Klamath Falls, is not in Central Oregon, but like Baker City, it’s an accessible part of Oregon, and gives the feeling of being remote and adventuresome in the West… and I LOVE that feeling.
Months ago, Marsh was listening to his favorite podcast… Explore Oregon with Zach Urness, and heard an episode with a guy named Will Volpert who Marsh knew from his kayaking days. Will owns a Company called Indigo Creek Outfitters in Phoenix, OR (Medford area) The interview was about the Klamath River and the rafting and kayaking available now that 4 dams have been removed. After the interview Marsh was sold. This was class IV and V rapids (way above our boating capabilities in our inflatable kayak) and this river is NEW. It’s running wild for the first time in 100 years.
There is a section called Kikacéki (Ward's) Canyon, that was “dewatered” It was closed off by a dam called Copco II and water was diverted to a reservoir lower down called Irongate reservoir. This area of the Klamath may have been our favorite with columnar basalt formations, Blue Heron rookeries, and big rapids! I’m getting ahead of myself…
Wood River Headwaters.
To begin our trip we decided to check out the “headwaters” of the Klamath River. The NYT’s had published an article the week we left for this trip, about a group of Native American teens from the Klamath tribes, who had trained in a kayak for three years so they could be the first to run the river in its entirety from the headwaters to the Pacific Ocean; its a 300 mile stretch. In the article they mention that the headwaters were near Chiloquin, OR. Read that article here. I knew that Chiloquin was on our route to the river trip and suggested we stop on our way. Marsh did the research, and found the magical spot where we started our vacation.
The head waters of the Wood River is a secluded little spot with a tiny little sign. We walked to a clear pool with the sound of bubbling water calling us. It was easy to see why this spot was a sacred place to the Native Americans who lived in the area. Once we saw the Wood River, we altered our overnight plans to camp at the tiny state park near the river. We blew up our kayak and took an evening paddle complete with binoculars and a koozie of beer. The bird sitings (baby sandpipers) and wildflowers were just a taste of things to come the following day.
We arrived at Indigo Creek HQ on Monday morning at 9:30 am. We didn’t really know what or who to expect. We had a dry bag with binoculars, a bag of nuts, some bug spray, and sunscreen, and two water bottles. That small dry bag went in the boat with us. Our bag with clothes and layers went into individual dry bags that we were loaded on a gear boat. There were 2 other couples, and one had a 14 year old daughter. Seven of us and three guides, jumped in a van and headed to the put in below the now removed Copco I dam, and right above our first rapid called Caldera. Three of the five, other guests on the trip were past river guides in Utah. One couple lived in Seattle and the other couple was in Denver. They were on this trip because they had gotten skunked getting permits for 5 years, and wanted to get on a river! They went looking for something new and exciting and they were not dissapointed. None of us were. We ate likes Kings and Queens! Salmon, steak, bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, salad, aspargus, broccoli, sautéed mushrooms… the delicious food, wine from the Rogue Valley, paired with local cheese and meats. All prepared by bad ass guides that were educated on the river, the geology, the tribes AND they could navigate big rapids and rocks!
When we sat down for dinner on night one around a long cloth covered table, one guide asked what our favorite part of the day was. My highlight, was coming around a bend in a lush remote forested part of the river and seeing a pair of huge white pelicans on a rock less that 15 feet from us. The bird watching on the whole was a highlight. A Belted Kingfisher, an evening grosbeak, an Acorn woodpecker, merganzers, osprey, eagles, herons… the list goes on.
Night two of the three day trip was a surprise for all of us. Marsh and I were suprised because we decided at the last moment to add an extra day. Indigo Creek had a cancellation and our plans for the following day had just fallen apart that morning. We were expecting another night in the provided three person tent with sleeping bag. We didn’t know, that the only way the company could offer a three day trip through Hells Corner and Wards Canyon was to lease a furnished house on what is now the old Copco reservoir. What a treat to spend the second night in a clean bed after a hot shower!
Each day had stretches of whitewater that kept coming. Despite the warm weather I was happy to wear neoprene pants and a neoprene shirt. We were wet all day from a wild cold river.
I’m wrapping up this story with photos taken by Ian, from Indigo Creek. After he successfully guided his boat through the rapids, he quickly transitioned to photographer! These guides made us breakfast lunch and dinner and then scouted these new rapids with unknown and ever changing obstacles for three days straight.
Doing this trip and being able to say we were one of the first commercial trips down this stretch of the Klamath River feels just as good as I hoped it would when we first booked it in late 2024. Cheers to Dam removals and the “New Klamath”.
