2020. Rivers were closed, trips were canceled, but by the time the calendar rolled around to the dates planned for the Grande Ronde, things had opened up. I mean, if you can’t find distance to float down a river, where can you find it?
So, off we went to northeast Oregon in June. I’ve had some floats in June where flows were great for fishing but it seems like the last few years….not so much. Flows always seem to be off the charts lately. But just the beauty of the place is enough to warrant a trip in my opinion, even if the fishing presents a challenge.
There’s not a lot out of the ordinary to report for this trip – except – a bit of wildlife made it interesting.
The first night a few goats were roaming downstream. A while after they had enough to drink they made their way back up hill.
The next morning, before we packed up to leave, we had visitors sauntering through camp. It seemed as though camp contained the tastiest grass in the neighborhood.
This camp was also the site of a Lewis’ woodpecker collecting caddis for an entire afternoon and shoving it into holes in an old snag for later dining. The sun was kinda a challenge to capture that, but it will be a scene playing in my mind for quite a while.
We moved down the river, soaking in the sun, a bit of rain, and a few more wildlife encounters as well. I was just glad to be back on the water again.
