Our trip started at Clarno where we departed on a 6 day trip down 70 miles of the John Day River. The deserted boat ramp at the put in was a good sign. River trips normally start with a lot of chaos as people who seemingly have no clue that the boat ramp is for rigging your raft and then moving out of peoples way mill around eating breakfast and watching their kids splash in the water. Having absolutely nobody at the boat ramp never happens. Until this trip. We received a peace and quiet bonus by getting to the ramp early, and we shoved off to the sounds of blackbirds instead of screaming kids. It’s going to be a great trip!
After successfully navigating Clarno rapid (the only real rapid of the trip) we settled in for a night at Basalt. The area gets its name from the large basalt boulders littering the river.
Once the sun was off the river, in went the catfish bait. We didn’t have to wait too long for a large catfish to start nibbling. Before too long we had it reduced to fillets and tucked away in the cooler. Yum.
The next morning we were back on the river and added a few bass to the nights menu. Double yum. Fish fry on the river.
Camp the second night featured a nice rock wall for viewing pleasure as the sun set.
We didn’t go too far on the third day. A camp with another nice view and good catfishing was open and we decided we better not pass it up. We decided on a layover and spent the next two nights here.
Catfishing didn’t disappoint the next morning, and I remembered to actually measure the fish (25 inches!) before it went the way of the last one. Two fish frys on one trip is a bonus!
A bighorn ewe walked the ridgeline as I sat on the shore waiting for a bite.
After a couple of relaxing days we packed up camp once again and continued down the river. You are never quite sure where you are going to camp for the day, as it depends on which camps are open. Sometimes you get lucky. We set a mileage marker that we wanted to get to before we started looking for camp for the night. The first available camp after that was a doozy, with another amazing view front and center.
It was getting hotter each day while we were on the river. We spent the majority of the afternoon chasing the shade as the sun moved through the sky. It was a relief when the sun set early behind the towering rock walls of the palisades.
We planned for one more night on the river. We awoke early to get a good start but by the time we had the boat loaded it was already blisteringly hot. Most of the camps with decent shade were occupied as we floated by, and as the day grew hotter we started running out of options for camp. Luckily we had the truck shuttled a couple days early. We took a look at the last camp, but sitting in the heat under a lone juniper with less than 5 miles to the takeout didn’t seem like the right thing to do. We kept going and took out a day early.
Six days of spectacular scenery and good fishing. What more could we ask for?
