River

Forks of the John Day, 2021, Part 2, North Fork

After a short break following our trip to the South Fork our next stop on our John Day adventure was a float down the North Fork. This week was originally set aside to float the Owyhee, but with less than 200 CFS in the river and needing more than 1000 it was clear an alternative was needed, and the North Fork flows were looking good. Not great for this time of year, but plenty good for a few days floating through some of the prettiest country Oregon has to offer.

Getting excited to get on the water
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Macks Canyon, 2021

We continued searching for signs of spring. If you don’t recall, it was blackbirds on the John Day River that kicked off our spring search, followed by a trip to the coast that revealed daffodils in bloom, and then a weekend in the Columbia River Gorge for some spring wildflowers. Spring is all around, you just have to get out and find some signs. This time around we were bound for the lower Deschutes river. What signs of spring would we find?

Hills taking on a shade of green, a sure sign of spring on the Deschutes
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Continue ReadingMacks Canyon, 2021

Steelheading and Stargazing

We headed out late on a snowy Friday in February with plans for steelhead and stars, and neither was looking too promising. Brand new telescope packed away in the back seat, we hoped to get a chance to see what it would do, but obviously you need clear skies to see the stars. Steelhead, well, who knows. It is getting late in the season, but we were headed a ways up river, and I figure you can’t win if you don’t play!

We arrived after dark at Priest Hole and settled in for the night. We had the place nearly to ourselves, with one other camp a bit downriver that left the next morning. The river had a jump in flows in the day or two before our arrival, but was on the fall. Maybe a good sign? I haven’t ever targeted steelhead on the John Day and have always been on it in the warmer months chasing the plentiful bass. I think I still have a bit to figure out, but what a beautiful place to spend the weekend!

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