A mere three days passed between pulling off the Owyhee and our next river trip of the spring, a three-day float down the North Fork John Day.
We attempted this trip last year but the flows dropped too low just days before the launch. With the deep snow pack this year flows weren’t an issue. The North Fork is a different setting than the main John Day. For most of the 41 mile float you are in ponderosa pine and even some Douglas-fir. It’s almost more of a Grande Ronde feel than the dry country of the main John Day.
The trip was three days and two nights, putting in at Camas Creek and taking out in Monument.
There aren’t too many rapids along the way, and the flows were a bit high for fishing so it was mostly a kick back and enjoy the scenery type of float. Rough duty.
It starts to be a bit more open and dry towards the end of the float, with lots of evidence of fire. Overall a pretty quiet weekend for a Memorial Day (until the takeout of course, but I’m trying to forget that).
