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

We here at Momentum are excited for summer and the begginning multi-day river trips on the Wild and Scenic Rogue River!! Known as one of the best multi-day river trips in the country, the Wild and Scenic Rogue is 32 miles of wilderness canyon full of exillerating whitewater, abundant wildlife, rich history and amazing scenery.  It is a must do for any river connoisseur as well as those who are first timers to the river world!  The Rogue is the perfect get away for families and friends looking for a little beauty and relaxation, a break from the hustle and bustle of the “real world”.  Take a trip into the history and lore of the Takelma Indians native canyon, the favorite fishing holes of Zane Grey and the filming location for movies like The River Wild.  Jump in one of our inflatable kayaks for some up close and personal river excitement through rapids such as Wildcat, Graves Creek Falls and Horseshoe Bend.  Take some solo time on an evening stroll along the Rogue River Hiking Trail.  Explore the waterfalls at Tate Creek and make sure the kids give the natural water slide a go!  So much to see, so much to experience! We offer lodge based trips as well as our famous camp trips, both comfortable and restful.  As always, Momentum’s delicious meals will tempt and satisfy! And, as if that weren’t enough, wine tasting, hiking and world class fishing are even more reason to come experience the magic of the Wild and Scenic Rogue River. Our Rogue season is in full swing and looking good!  Water levels are perfect, the weather is warming, and the river is waiting!  Our summer trips are filling up fast and our guides can’t wait to get back to “the Canyon”.  Snow pack for the Rogue drainage basin is above average and flows for the river look solid for the summer according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the US Army Corp of Engineers.   So what are you waiting for?  Come play with us on The Wild and Scenic Rogue River!  Let the Momentum crew treat you to a few days of beautiful wilderness, exciting rafting, good food, friends and an amazing river trip!!!

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.

Last year a photographer and writer from oregon travel joined us on a Lower Owyhee Rafting trip. The trip was featured on the cover of this springs Travel Oregon Magaizne. The photos are amazing! You can check out the article and even get a free copy if you like here.

3 days September 16 , 2009 - $965
Guest Photographer: Jared Cruce
Call or Book Online Here

Join professional photographer Jared Cruce for a visual journey down the Rogue River - one of America’s truly wild and scenic rivers. This trip will provide a supportive and educational environment to practice and improve photography skills while capturing the dramatic light, fall colors, wildlife and scenery of the Rogue.

While primarily emphasizing landscape photography, Jared will provide group and one-on-one instruction on digital capture, workflow, travel and adventure topics that are relevant for beginner to advanced photographers. Each evening we will review the current days work and discuss techniques. Students will have ample opportunity to ask questions, learn and apply new concepts that are relevant to their style and photographic goals. A personal portfolio review is optional.

All are welcome on this trip regardless of your photographic passion or experience. For those with photographic intentions a digital slr camera and media is required**. Film,Medium / Large format cameras are welcome but discussions and techniques will emphasize digital capture. A complete list will be sent with confirmation.

About Jared:
Jared Cruce is an Ashland, Oregon based commercial and editorial photographer. He is one of a select group of sponsored Lowepro photographers, an alumnus of the Eddie Adams Workshop and an Explorers Club member. He has an amazingly diverse photographic palate that covers, landscape, travel, action, and portraiture. His images have been commissioned and published by companies and magazines such as New Balance, Camera Arts Magazine, Trail Runner Magazine, Oregon Travel, and Energy Trust of Oregon. He is an avid kayaker and rafter and has boated and photographed a multitude of the west’s rivers as well as photographed in over 17 countries worldwide. Jared’s Photography Work can be seen here: www.JaredCruce.com - Oregon Professional Photographer.

Call if you have any questions, it is an amazing time for rafting on the Rogue!

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. 

Wooo hooo!

Location: Etna Pass - headwaters of the Scott and Salmon. 4+ feet of new snow and this was just the beginning!!!

In the last two weeks Northern California has been pounded by snow and in some places the snow pack has more then doubled! We won’t know exact numbers for a while, but my guess is we are slightly above 100% on the Salmon! And while we have a short break next week after that the snow is supposed to continue. It is looking to be an amazing spring!

Our rivers in Oregon are looking just as good - The Rogue, Klamath, and Owyhee are all at about 90% with more predicted to come. The long term forcast is looking particularly good for Owyhee Rafting Trips - the one fear we always have with the Owyhee even in a good snow year is a hot march, but that does not look likely.

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:

We are excited to offer a new trip for 2009! The Rogue River is an iconic American classic and one of the world’s great summer wilderness trips. We have been working on this for a long time and we are honored to have one of the best summer rafting trips in our back yard!  The rapids and the choice of craft make the Rogue almost unmatched in its ability to satisfy a wide range of tastes and skill levels. Most of our Rogue rafting trips are 3 day lodge trips where nights are spent in comfortable and rustic wilderness lodges. We also offer 4 and 5 day camp trips on select dates and for groups. There are very few places in the world with a system of remote riverside lodges only accessible by boat. It allows for the amazing experience of true wilderness adventure capped off by comfortable and cozy evenings in a remote lodge steeped in pioneer history. You can read more on our Rogue Rafting Page. Or give us a call!