Every guide thinks that their training was the toughest. We sit around the campfire and talk about how we survived cold weather, long days, unsympathetic trainers, bad lines, and bad swims. Of course, all of this only served to make us tougher and better guides. Inevitably, someone brings out the "Yea, trainees these days have it easy." line and we laugh and nod. Well, the 2008 Blue Sky trainees may well lay claim to the coldest training ever. After a cold first weekend of 50-55 deg. and raining, we got 75 deg. weather the next weekend. That only made this last weekend seem even tougher as an unusually cold weather system rolled into Oregon and made for some "interesting" rafting conditions.

No coffee needed this morning! 

We awoke to snow on the ground and frozen wetsuits. We rarely get snow in January so snow in April was quite a shock. I think most of the group would’ve been happy to skip training and hide under the covers for awhile but not getting that option, everyone made the best of it.

Lots of energy helps keep the cold at bay

The upside of cold, snowy days in April is some exceptionally beautiful scenery on the river.

The Clackamas River is a special place

We had snow and sleet showers throughout both days on the river but everyone toughed it out and ended up getting some good training. As cold as it’s been this spring, the water levels have made the rapids super fun.

Big, cold water!

Kudos to all the trainees for getting after it despite the weather. Here’s looking forward to some nice warm, spring and summer days on the river!

For the last 7 seasons, our rafting season has begun with a group of kids from Catlin Gabel School in Beaverton. Catlin Gabel has a strong outdoor education program and we always look forward to a high energy group of rafters. The trip usually takes place in March so the weather can be quite chilly. Rafting at this time of year takes a special group of kids with a positive attitude and a willingness to try something most folks think is a little crazy. Despite some challenging weather this year, the 3 days of rafting were characterized by lots of fun, some water fights and a few swimmers. We started the trip with high water on the Clackamas River. Big water and lots of excitement made for a memorable start.

Crashing through Toilet Bowl on the Clackamas River

The next day we headed just a little bit south to run the Molalla River. We are the only commercial company with a permit for rafting on the Molalla River and every trip is special. The Molalla has 3 big rapids named Papa, Mama and Baby Bear. Each are a little tricky to navigate in a raft but we managed pretty well with only a couple swimmers in Baby Bear.

Fantastic Geology on the Molalla River

Navigating Baby Bear

Day 3 found us on the Wilson River. The Wilson River is a pretty river in the Coast Mountains west of Portland. We were forced to spend some time portaging some unexpected wood just before lunch but that’s all a part of exploring rivers in the Northwest. The kids spent more time today utilizing their Super Soakers and riding the bull on the front of the raft.

All in all it was another great trip with the kids from Catlin Gabel and a great way to get the season started with a bang!