Oregon And Northern California Rafting Blog
            Momentum River Expeditions: World-Class River Trips

Some Video from a winter trip on the Illinois. It was my first try with out new flip camera - a little shaky! The weather and water were beutiful though.

You can check out photos from our trip on Flickr.

And read more about rafting Oregon’s Illinois River Here.

Our Illinois River rafting trip is in the March issue of Outside Magazine!

It is an amazing trip and filling up quickly. You can read more about the trip here.

Our full 2010 Rafting schedule is out for Oregon, Northern California, and for our Ashland based river trips. You can check out the full schedule here. You can also go to any one of our river pages for that rivers schedule. We will add more trips as the winter progresses. Some of more popular dates (especially for spring trips and trips on the Rogue River) are already starting to fill. Don;t forget, we LOVE doing custom trips. Call us or email if you have any questions.

We are in the heart of our summer season and looking forward to the rest of our trips – it has been an amazing year so far! However many of our returning guests and guests that have already rafted this summer are looking towards next spring and all the rivers that come alive for a short time in Oregon and Northern California. So, we just released our spring 2010 Rafting schedule. The California Salmon, Illinois, and Middle and Lower Owyhee all have 2010 dates and on some dates bookings have started. Give us a call if you have any questions or interest! Below are a few quotes from this years spring trips:

Just wanted to say thank you for such a wonderful time last weekend! I was so impressed with the professionalism of your guides, as well as the incredible relaxing but enthralling trip. I’ve never seen such impressible cohesiveness and talent.
– Anne – California Salmon Rafting

I just wanted to thank you again for the great Illinois trip a few weeks ago, it was definitely one of the best multi-day trips I have ever been on and, as usual, the attention to detail that you and your guides adhere to is astounding and very much appreciated.
– Paul - Illinois River Rafting

Your excursion was awesome, the food unbelievable (didn’t expect anything that great on a raft trip) and the guides were super. I’ve never seen five people work so hard and make it look so effortless.
– Susan - Owyhee River Rafting

Spring on the Illinois is here!  It’s been a great spring and we’ve had some amazing trips on the always exciting and ever beautiful Illinois River!  The weather and water levels have kept us on our toes but have come through and provided for some wonderful rafting!  While water levels were wavering a week ago, Pete and the gang went for it and proved that rafting the “Illy” is always good!  We’ve recieved some great shots from some of the crew of the beautiful weather and the jeweled water and all we want to do is go back.  Recent rainfall has been substantial and it looks as though our time on the Illy this spring just might last a little bit longer.  So, if you haven’t run it yet let us know…we’ll save you a spot!  

     Hello fellow river lovers. It is Erik Sol here and I just wanted to share my stoke from the last Momentum River Expeditions trip down the amazing Illinois River.  First, I would like to thank Merle,Paul,Pete, and Jason for another beautiful adventure.  If going down river for four days and three nights in the solitude of a Wild and Scenic preserved area with unparalled scenery and great whitewater sounds like what you need then this is the place to be. I can not thank Pete enough for all his hard work in making this happen.  This is one of the few places I have been to in the USA where I feel like I’m in a wilderness setting and it is ours to enjoy without any interuptions for days in a row, we saw one other person in four days on the river.   Oh, and the food was awesome. Of course we had my favorite BACON, which is a requirement, but some old favorites and some new twists make this years menu the best yet. Can you say “Carnitas”? I can’t wait for the next trip just to eat the food.   But, enough about that let’s talk river. The run was amazingly clear with just the perfect jade color being reflected from the forest to help leave all the worries behind.  The water level was on the lower end, but plenty of fun waves and manuevering required to knock the dust off and my crew was on it.   Day two gave us the opportunity to hike and explore the Pine Flat Homestead,do some mental time travel, check out the wild flower bloom which was going off, and have time to soak up some rays for the Oregon and Alaska boys after a long winter. The third day of our trip was a whitewater fest. No matter how many runs you have done anywhere the famous Greenwall Rapid will get your blood pumpin’, but by day three I knew my crew was ready.   There was about 15,000 cfs of water missing from the picture in my head from the last time I was there, so I took a good hard look during the scout.  All of us made it through in some pretty tight quarters and just when we were about to put a stamp on it we came to Submarine Rapid and things got exciting for a few minutes, well let’s just say someone owes beer.  The camps were perfect with each offering something different a confluence, an old homestead, and waterfalls. Even the ride back to Ashland was world class with views of the ocean and a leg stretcher in the Redwoods. Ahh, life is good. See you on the river.    

Mornin everyone!

All right, I am going to do something I have never done before. I am going to break down the snowpack, long term forecast, and spring and summer flow prediction for each river that we run… I actually do it neurotically every spring, I just have never written it all out. It has been an up and down year, it started off a little scary, but is finishing VERY strong! Here we go, it is looking pretty good!

Northern California Rivers / Rafting Seasons:

The California Salmon: The snowpack for the Northern California region is at about 93%. After lots of research (including backcountry skiing :)) my guess is that the Salmon drainage is somewhere between 95% and 105%. So basically an average year - perfect. The long term weather forecast through April 8th calls for below normal temperatures and normal precipitation so the pack may even increase a little more.

California Salmon Rafting Season prediction: Hmmm… A lot depends on the weather in May but my guess is we will have runable flows through June 15th with the peak between May 16th and Memorial Day weekend. We still have room on both of those weekends!

The Scott: Like the Salmon I think the Scott has a slightly higher snowpack then the overall Northern California area. A big portion of its drainage was in the “Shasta Storm Vortex” when Shasta got like 10 feet of snow in two days. I am guessing 95% to 115%.

Scott Rafting Season prediction: Hmmm… This one is tougher because you never know how much water will be diverted for farming… a lot depends on how much rain the fields get in April. I am going to guess runable flows through May 18th with a really good chance of making it through Memorial Day. A good solid Scott season.

The Lower Klamath: The Lower K is dam controlled so all we need is to be above about 65 - 70%. We are at 110%!

Lower Klamath Rafting Season prediction: Great water for rafting and inflatable kayaking all summer long.

Oregon Rivers / Rafting Seasons:

The Owyhee River: This one is always a bit of a crap shoot… a finicky low elevation snowpack, March temperatures that can zoom from 20 to 80… Good fun.  The great news is we only got about 4 days of the dreaded “late March unseasonably hot weather season destroying melt” and the long term forecast looks cooler than normal. Right now we are at 89% and I expect that will go up in the next few weeks with the weather. The Owyhee season literally depends on the last two weeks in March and first two weeks in April.  Things are looking great!

Lower Owyhee Rafting Season prediction: I feel very confident about the trips through the first few weeks in May (the May 1st trip should be awesome), and confident about our May 15th trip. After that who knows… Maybe a trip after Memorial Day weekend??? It could happen! Overall a solid Lower Owyhee season (some years we don’t have a season at all!).
Note: This does not affect our late June Lower Owyhee inflatable kayaking trips - they run on low base flows.

Middle Owyhee Rafting Season Prediction:  The middle needs higher flows then the lower and we need to be able to get into the put-in (meaning the roads need to be dry). Last year we had an unbelievable window – trips from mid April through late may! This year I feel really good about late April through the first week in May. The April 27th trip looks perfect.

The Illinois River: The Illi snowpack is probably about 80% (that is a wild guess:)). But illinois trips are all about late season precipitation – we have had a ton of that. Snowpack helps with the very rare late May/Early June trips.

Illinois Rafting Season Prediction: Yikes, this one might be the hardest of all. Baring any flooding, I think we will have good flows thought the May 12 the trip. I don’t think we will make it to Memorial Day this year. The trips from April 23rd through the 12th look great! Another perfectly normal season.

The Rogue: The Rogue is dam controlled and the volcanic rocks in its huge drainage area act like a big sponge and release water slowly throughout the season. So, the Rogue only needs to be above 70% or so. It is at 105%!

Rogue Rafting season Prediction:  Great water for rafting and inflatable kayaking all summer long!

The Upper Klamath: The upper Klamath is also dam controlled and it has ”daily peaking flows” for power generation so even in low snow years there is usually big water rafting all summer. This year it is at 105%. The best thing about that is, for this year at least, the farmers and struggling Salmon populations should both get water.

Upper Klamath Rafting prediction: Big water class 4+ rafting all summer long – even when other class 4+ rivers are low and rocky the upper k will be a blast.

A combination of airlines running below capacity, lower fuel costs, and new routes into our own Medford Oregon airport have made flying an unbelievable option right now. Airlines such as Allegiant Air have fairs below $200 into Medford from many cities and almost any search on Orbitz came up with great deals – flights to Medford from the east coast under $350 – especially if you are planning ahead.

Below are some trip options and itinerary ideas. We are also working with local hotels and as we get more information and package ideas we will update this. Please call us if you have any questions or need some advice!

Spring Ideas:

The California Salmon Long Weekend – Fly into Medford on a Thursday evening, spend the night in Ashland, have a late breakfast and then either rent a car or get a shuttle with us down to one of the best and most beautiful high adventure runs in the country. Spend 3 days and 3 nights at the river, get back to the Ashland area Monday evening and fly back Tuesday (or even late Monday). There are trips every weekend from May 8th – June 5th (some trips are getting very full).

Illinois Rafting Week -  Take advantage of Allegiant Air’s Monday flight schedule by flying into Medford on a Monday. Then spend Tuesday and Wednesday exploring Ashland, checking out plays at the Shakespeare festival, or rafting the Upper Klamath… I could go on, so many options. Then on Thursday morning we pick you up at your hotel and we head to the Illinois River for a 4-day trip down what is considered by some to be the best wilderness rafting trip in the country. After 4-days on the river you get back to your hotel Sunday night, have a great dinner and then fly our relaxed on Monday. Illinois trips are on Thursdays starting April 9th through May 7th. It is a very short season and we can only take 8 to 9 guests per trip.

The Owyhee Rafting Week – The Grand Canyon of Oregon. With the Owyhee you actually want to fly into Boise, Idaho. Luckily there are amazing flight deals there too! Our Lower Owyhee trip was just featured in Travel Oregon Magazine. The Owyhee River is almost unmatched in its remoteness and desert beauty. There are two trips - 4 or 5 days in length. Most trips begin on Fridays and the season is early April to late May.

Summer Ideas:

The Rogue Rafting Week – The Rogue River is one of the world’s great summer wilderness trips and is almost unmatched in its ability to satisfy a wide range of tastes and skill levels. Most of our Rogue trips start on Thursdays. You can take advantage of the Allegiant Air Monday specials and fly in on Monday - then spend Tuesday and Wednesday exploring Ashland, checking out plays at the Shakespeare festival, or rafting the Upper Klamath…etc. Then on Thursday morning we pick you up at your hotel and we head to the Rogue for a 3-day Lodge trip (The lodge system on the Rogue is extremely unique. There are very few places in the world with a system of remote riverside lodges only accessible by boat), or a four day camp trip. Then you are back in Ashland for the night and then flying out on Monday. Our Rogue trips run from mid June through mid September – some dates fill up quickly.

The Upper Klamath Rafting Weekend – An all whitewater weekend… Take advantage of Allegiants Friday/Monday schedule – fly into Medford on Friday and spend the night in Ashland. We pick you up at your hotel on Saturday morning and spend two days on arguably the best summer whitewater on the West Coast. You get back to Ashland on Sunday afternoon and either take an evening flight out or a Monday morning flight. Upper Klamath 2-day trips start in early July and end in Early September. 

Check out the artilcle here:  http://www.newsweek.com/id/184454.

We agree!

It used to be that when I headed east or abroad I would drive to Portland, or San Francisco and fly from there. But the last couple of years it has been way easier to leave from our little Medford “International” airport. In the last couple of months things have gotten even better with new inexpensive connections. It was just announced yesterday that there are flights now to LA as low as $69! You can read more here: http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090218/NEWS/902180336.

It is getting even easier to access Oregon and Northern California rafting - some of the best boating in the world packed into our little area! (and its is easier to go see grandma..)

Our Northern California rivers got hammered with snow last week. Now starting on Saturday it looks like a few ekks of solid snow for both Oregon and Northern California. We are excited!

Check out these long range forcasts:

- The 6 to 10 day precipitation forcast… White is average, light green is above average, dark green means a ton of snow!

- The 8 to 14 day forcast:

Here is a link to some AMAZING photos from an inflatable Kayaking trip on the Illinois.

Trip dates:  June 16th - 21st, 2009

Our “Exploratory” Inflatable Kayaking Trip on the Illinois. 6 days exploring the Illinois river during a time and in a way that has never been done before commercially (We think…). This will set the stage for future late spring and summer offerings on the Illinois. We are so excited about this trip. Please call if you would like to join us.

Leon Werdinger, a professional photographer and Guide will be joining us. Here excerpts of his trip description and pictures from the Illi in late spring:

Illinois River inflatable kayak expedition (SW Oregon)

Cost:  $1159
Meeting place:  Ashland or Grants Pass, Oregon
Information & reservations:  contact me or Momentum River Expeditions  http://www.momentumriverexpeditions.com/ 866-663-5628
Last June a couple friends and I did a low water self-support inflatable kayak trip on the Illinois River.  It was easily one of the most beautiful, enchanted and enjoyable river trips I’ve ever been down.  At the time I thought it’d be too challenging to run as a commercial trip.  But after seeing participants meet the rugged challenges on last summer’s Nahanni trip (mentioned above) I got to rethinking the Illinois.  In the last couple months I’ve been discussing a possible trip with the owner of Momentum and we’re both excited about going for it.
Everyone will paddle their own inflatable kayak that will also carry their personal gear and a share of group gear.  We’ll be going “backpack style” - think of what you’d bring backpacking, add an inflatable kayak, lifejacket, drybags, paddle, helmet, etc. and you get an idea of what we’ll be bringing.  Yup, this is not the usual raft trip “float & bloat” style.  There will be no raft support, as in mid-June the Illinois doesn’t have enough water for rafts.  This also means that we’ll have this gem of a river mainly to ourselves.
The two main challenges of running the Illinois at low water are the whitewater (the river’s rated Class IV and at low water the rapids are numerous and technical) and scouting and portaging along on rocky, sometimes bouldery, river banks.  On the other hand, we won’t have to deal with two of the challenges associated with running the Illinois during the rafting season - cold water and the likelihood of cold air temps and rain. Mid-June brings warm water and the likelihood of warm sunny days.  It also brings lots of hours of daylight which should give us time for exploring and relaxing.
If you have any questions, including about whether this trip is suitable for you, don’t hesitate to contact me or Pete at Momentum.
We’ll begin the trip with a half day of skills training on either an upper section of the Illinois or some other river (to be determined).  The trip is limited to 14 people maximum, including guides.  (There will be at least one guide for every three participants.)  The outfitter will be proving boats, boating gear, food, round trip transportation from the meeting point, etc.  Free to spread the word to others who you think would have the necessary skills and who’d be enjoyable to be with.
These images are from our Illinois trip last June.  As you can see, the Illinois at low water includes exciting whitewater and amazing pools:

Hello Everyone. Our 2009 Oregon and Northern California rafting schedule is official out. You can check out the whole schedule here. Or you can just go to the river page of your choice. Some of our most popular trips and dates are already getting full so call if you have any questions.