We ran the Upper Klamath, a beautiful stretch of river starting just below the J.C. Boyle damn. After getting our life jackets and helmets we had bagels and great coffee at the Indigo office and in 15 minutes we were headed up Hwy 66 towards Greensprings.
Darby was the driver and Brandon was our guide. Both had levels of competence we only later came to appreciate. The river was beautiful with only two other boats on the water- one a BLM team and the other a group from Noah’s. We worked our way thru the morning runs which included a number of 4+ rapids that got everyone pumped up and of course very wet. We found a sunny pull in and had sandwiches, veggies, cookies and los of laughs.
The second half of the day was more mellow and Brandon shared his knowledge and love of the river with us. It was only after we were off the river in California that i found out how good Brandon and Darby were...
It turned out that in the course of the day a major fire had broken out. By the time we got to Hornbrook, Hwy 5 was closed and we were left without a way back to Oregon. folks at the highway blockade were very nervous. Quietly, Darby and Brandon conferred and told us that they knew of an old dirt road that worked its way back over the mountains to Hwy 66. They were confident we could do it and off we went. The road was rutted and in bad shape, but Darby held the wheel and Brandon naviagated us thru.
Two long hours later we were back in Ashland and I doubt that anyone else made it thru that night. The next day I happened by and the guys were headed out on a another trip- these guys are pros!