Well, we are finally back to normal winter weather after one of the craziest stretches of weather I’ve ever experienced in Oregon. Portland was virtually shut down for several days around Christmas because of snow. We had over a foot of snow in some parts of the city and because plowing is pretty spotty, it’s pretty interesting trying to get around town. All the water in the rivers was locked up in snow as well and just getting to the put-in of many runs was impossible. Once things started to melt a bit, we had a couple heavy rain storms which raised river levels to flood levels. The combination of snow, rain and high winds snapped trees and caused mudslides. Once we were able to get on the rivers again we were constantly wondering how bad the damage would be and whether new dangerous features were present. Thankfully, all the rivers I did were none the worst for the storms and I had some great days on NF Washougal, NF Clackamas, and TRF Molalla.

I also got a chance to run the Devil’s Lake Fork of the Wilson which I haven’t run for probably 6 or more years. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the rapids and scenery. Of course, we had snow at the put-in which is extremely rare for this coastal river.

Snow at the Devil’s Lake Put-in

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