Synopsis: This file contains everything you need to know about the OWA's annual Lochsa River rafting trip. First is a general collection of information followed by lots of additional details in the FAQ section. There is a separate file on Safety. Please read and understand it! There is a separate file on the Rapids so you can print it out and take notes on it. All of this information is available on-line at: http://www.europa.com/~layport/lochsa/ Summary: Who: Oregon Whitewater Association members and guests What: Rafting the Lochsa River When: Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend Where: Lowell, Idaho, approximately 90 miles east of Lewiston on US 12 Why: Because it's great time! How: Rafts and Cats River Summary: The Lochsa (pronounced Lock-saw) is a snow-melt class IV-V river. It is big-time whitewater with huge wave trains and some big holes. It is my favorite day-trip river. However, this is not a river for IK's or beginners. Flips and swims are commonplace. Five to ten flips per trip is not uncommon. This river splits all rafters into two types: those that have flipped on the Lochsa and those that have never run the Lochsa. Wetsuits are mandatory and a drysuit is preferable. Helmets are invaluable for protecting your head from flying oars and bodies when you have that inevitable flip. The river follows US-12 the whole way and there are numerous access points. The exact portion of the river we run depends on the flow. I have been running this river for years so feel free to contact me if you have any questions. The Lodging: We stay at Three Rivers Resort which is at the confluence of the Lochsa and the Selway. The resort offers a variety of amenities including outdoor heated pool, three hot tubs, playground, showers, cabins, motel rooms, tent camping, RV parking, store, and a cafe open for dinner. Their store is small but has all the essentials including ice and beer. Three Rivers Resort begins accepting reservations on January 1. You can either make your own reservations directly or you can call me and I'll coordinate our reservations as a group. In the latter case, please contact me before January 1st to get on the list. Or you can contact Three Rivers directly. See contact info below. We can usually accomodate people at the last minute by pitching tents around the cabins but in good years, the campground fills up fast. Best thing is to make a reservation. You can always cancel it. See the resort's web site for their cancellation policy. More info at the resort's web site or call 'em... Three Rivers Resort: (888) 926-4430 (208) 926-4430 www.adventuresports.com/resort/threerivers/ Lochsa Ranger District: (208) 926-4274 Food: No group meals on this trip. There is a restaurant across the highway from Three Rivers Resort which is open for breakfast/lunch/dinner. The food is acceptable but nothing to write home about. Three Rivers' restaurant is open for dinner. And they have Moose Drool Ale on tap! Coffee is available in the morning in the lobby of the resort. Pack your own lunch each day. We'll have a lunch stop somewhere along the river, probably at Fish Creek. Logistics: Most people prefer to drive to Idaho on Friday, raft Saturday and Sunday, then drive home Monday. It is about a 9 hour drive from Portland. For those of you applying for Selway permits, I might suggest choosing dates which coincide with the Lochsa trip; then invite your fellow OWA'ers, naturally. Usually there are a few folks who get their early and run a section of the river on Friday. Sometimes there are people who hang around and run again on Monday or run some other river such as the South Fork Clearwater which is nearby. Some people do the drive over in two days, leaving Thursday night. I like to go to Umatilla on Thursday night, 3 hours from Portland. I stay at the Umatilla Inn & Suites. Their number is 800-423-9913 or 541-922-3271. Not a fancy place but clean and friendly. They're right on the main road through Umatilla (US 730) about a half mile west of Interstate 82. Address: 1370 6th St Flow/Weather/Snow Pack: Be careful when accessing flow information on the Internet. The best Internet site is at http://kayak.als.orst.edu/~tpw/kayaking/display.cgi/Idaho.html but these readings are taken from a gauge located a few miles upstream from Lowell. The Internet level is supposedly two feet higher than the "bridge at Lowell" level but the difference changes at different water levels. I always use the bridge level because we can actually see it from Three Rivers Resort. The river level is difficult to predict. It is subject to rapid rising during hot weather and after big storms. There are no dams on the river so everything is snowmelt and rain water. The Lochsa is part of the Clearwater drainage if you want to check the snow pack on the various web sites that show that. Here are two snowpack sites: http://www.ocs.orst.edu/pub_ftp/weather/snow_reports/ and http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ I have run the river as low as 2 feet and as high as 9 feet. In my opinion the river is the most fun between 3 and 5 feet. At 7 feet the rapids tend to run together and it once took us 4 miles to corral a flipped boat. Once the river gets above 6 feet, people should seriously consider not boating. You can see most of the rapids from the road so take a look and decide for yourself. Personally, I would not run above Nine Mile above 6 feet because Castle Creek is class V+ at high water. Gasoline: There is a gas station in Lowell but they're not open late. Gas is available in Kooskia (pronounced "koos-key"), Kamiah (pronounced kam-ee-eye), and Orofino. There is 24-hour gas in Kooskia which is about 60 miles from Lewiston. The gas station may appear closed but you can pump your own gas 24 hours a day if you have a credit card. Speeding: The cops are out in force Memorial Day Weekend. Over the years I've noticed people tend to get speeding tickets in the same places. Those places are: - I-84 between The Dalles and Biggs Junction - I-84 near Arlington (where I got my last one) - US-12 between Pomeroy and the turnoff to Starbuck - US-12 just west of Clarkston More Details on the River Itself: The Lochsa is divided into four sections. Section 1 is first and is long (25 miles) and easy. The only reason to run this section is for the scenery. Section 2 is between White Pine and Fish Creek and is 20 miles of fun whitewater. The rapids in this section tend to be longer and wider with some rocks and holes to avoid. Some of these rapids are difficult. At Triple Hole it is hard to avoid hitting one of the three holes. Section 3 is between Fish Creek and Split Creek. This section is shorter (about 9 miles) but it is the most fun. In this section the river is narrower and the rapids are more pool and drop. This section includes the famous Loshsa Falls, Bloody Mary, and Grim Reaper. Section 4 is between Split Creek and the Selway confluence. This is about a 15 mile run and except for Hellgate rapid there is nothing to worry about. I have floated this section when the flow is too high to run the rest of the river. (And I flipped in Hellgate but I hit the hole on purpose.) A good first day is put in at Nine Mile which is around the middle of section 2. We run the lower half of section 2, all of section 3, and the first 3 miles of section 4 which gets us down to a nice take-out at Knife Edge. This is a total of about 22 miles. I have found this is a nice compromise between folks who want to run all of sections 2 and 3 and those who have real jobs and haven't been on the water enought to be in good shape. For the second day, we can made adjustments. Depending on how people feel and the water level, we can do one of the following: - do the same run again - start at the beginning of section 2 (an extra 10 miles) - start at Eagle Mountain in section 2 (an extra 5 miles) - do all of section 2 and skip section 3 (take-out is harder) - just run section 3 again or run section 3 twice - split into groups where some do more, some do less Shuttle: We run our own shuttle. Parking is limited at the Nine Mile put-in. The more boats we can stack the better so please be prepared to carry other boats or have your boat hauled by someone else. Scouting: As we drive toward the put-in, we will stop and scout about 3 or 4 of the major rapids. If you want, you can stop and scout more of them. The biggest difficulty with scouting this way is it is hard to keep track of which rapid is which. I recommend you take paper and pencil and take notes as we scout. I find it helpful to write down the highway mile markers, many of which are visible from the river. There is an excellent waterproof map you can purchase ($9.00) at the Historical Ranger Station which is located near the end of section 2. At a minimum, we scout Lochsa Falls, Grim Reaper and Bloody Mary. Directions To Three Rivers Resort: Summary: Follow I-84 to US-730 to US-12 and stay on US-12 to Lowell. Said another way, from Portland go to Umatilla, then to Walla Walla, then to Lewiston, then head toward Missoula and stop in Lowell. It takes a total of about 9 hours to drive from Portland. Details: - From Portland, take I-84 east - Take the US-730 exit toward Umatilla - Stay on US-730 through Umatilla - Eventually US-730 turns into US-12, just keep going straight - Stay on US-12 through Walla Walla, Waitsburg, Dayton, and Pomeroy - Stay on US-12 through Clarkston and Lewiston - Stay on US-12 through Orofino towards Missoula. - Lowell is about 90 miles (2 hours) east of Lewiston. - Turn right on the Selway River Access Road to get to the resort. You can easily see the resort from US-12. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): Q: ... wondering about the Lochsa river trip you are leading in May. Is there still room? Yes, I don't have a limit. There are quite a few people planning to go so it will be a pretty good size group. Q: and is this a camping or Lodging trip? Both. They start taking reservations for cabins and motel rooms on January 1st. For Memorial Day weekend, they will all be booked pretty quickly. Even the campground has been known to fill up so you should make a reservation as soon as possible. You can always try to get a cabin cancellation as we get closer to the weekend. If the weather is lousy, or if the river is un-runnable, then there are usually cancellations. I can put you on my waiting list for a cabin. In past years, there has always been someone on the trip who decides not to go and their cabin becomes available. Even if the campground fills up, you can still pitch a tent next to one of our cabins. I think they'll still charge you $5/night/person for use of the showers and pool. Q: What's the weather like? It seems like it always rains at some point. It very often rains at night but not during the day. Sometimes it gets downright hot during the day which can mean isolated thunderstorms in the evening. Nights are cool but not cold. It would be rare for it to get colder than the low 40s at night. Highs range from 60 to 80. The resort is only 80 miles from the Continental Divide which means you can expect typical mountain weather, otherwise known as "unpredictable". Q: What activities are available after rafting? We return each day to the same resort where they have three outdoor hot tubs and an outdoor heated pool. Don't forget your swimsuit! No glass is allowed in the pool area so bring cans or plastic cups of your favorite beverage. They're pretty strict about this rule. If you've never seen Selway Falls, it's worth the 20 mile drive up to the Selway takeout. About 60 miles up river is Jerry Johnson Hot Springs, a 2-mile-round-trip level hike with 2 nice soaking pools. You don't need a swimsuit here! Q: Is this a family-friendly trip? Yes. The resort is quite fun for kids. They have a playground with a play structure, teepee, swings, and teeter-totter. There is also a basketball hoop and volleyball net. I think I remember a foosball table outside the main building. I always bring my kids (1 and 5). If you've got teenage girls I can hire as babysitters, let me know! The cabins have televisions for those rainy days but there aren't a lot of channels to choose from. As far as rafting goes, the lower section (4) is (mostly) suitable for kids but even so, the water is ice cold. I wouldn't take kids on section 4 if the water is high and I'd also have them walk around Hellgate rapid. We've had 16 year olds on the main river (sections 2 and 3) but they've been strong and experienced and capable of saving themselves. Q: We have never run this river but have driven by it and it looked like alot of fun. It's a blast when the flow is right! This is my favorite day-trip river in the country! It's relatively big water for such a small river. Q: Do I need to sign up for this trip or can I just show up? I appreciate it when I know how many people are going to be there. All communication is done via email or snail mail. If I don't know you're coming, I can't tell you about changes in plans or let you know the itinerary. Q: We have a 16' raft, and a 13' raft, which size would you recommend? Either would work. It kind of depends on how averse you are to flipping. I can't emphasize this enough: you should plan to flip! You might not but flips happen often enough that it's just a matter of time. The water is cold; all snowmelt. I've had people in wetsuits take long swims and decide to quit in the middle of the run because they couldn't get warm. Fortunately the highway is there at all times. Anyway, a 13' raft will flip more often, obviously. I would use the 16 footer unless the water is really low, especially if it's your first time on the Lochsa. Q: Where in Idaho is the Lochsa located, and how far is the drive from Portland? We stay at the "town" of Lowell on US 12 about halfway between Lewiston and Missoula. It's 90 miles from Lewiston to Lowell and that part takes a little less than 2 hours to drive. It takes me about 6 1/2 hours to drive to Lewiston so figure 9 hours for the trip which includes a stop for gas. Q: What are the costs associated with this trip, and what supplies do we need to provide? There are no club charges or trip charges but you have to pay for your own lodging and meals plus you need to get there, of course. Cabin, motel, and campground rates are on the resort's web site. You may want to buy the nice waterproof Forest Service map which costs about $9.00. They're sold at the Historical Ranger Station just up river from Fish Creek, about 25 miles upriver from the resort. The only supplies you need is your own rafting equipment. Or, there are always people who want a passenger to add weight to the front of their boat. Q: What is the character of the river, and how many miles of it will be covered? The Lochsa is big-time whitewater. The entire river is divided into sections 1 through 4. We typically raft part of section 2 and all of section 3 for a total of about 22 miles. And then we do the same thing the second day. Section 2 is longer rapids with rocks and holes to avoid but no big drops. The holes can flip you but they're fairly easy to avoid, but you definitely need to be paying attention. This section is more technical in that there are things to avoid. Section 3 is more pool and drop and is the most fun, and the most scary. The rapids have names like Bloody Mary, Grim Reaper, and Termination. Also, Lochsa Falls often flips boats. In 2001 we had five flips over two days. In 2002 we basically lost count! Both sections have some large wave trains. By large I mean 10 foot swells. Also, the river is cold, all snow melt and at high water, swims can be long. I've seen people in wet suits have problems after swimming. Fortunately the highway is always right there. A lot depends on the flow, of course, but in general I would call this a class 4 river with about 10 class 4s, and 30 class 3s. Some are rated fives at high water. US Highway 12 follows the river the whole way and there are multiple put-in and take-out scenarios so we can make adjustments depending on the people and flow at the time. Both sections together is 30 miles but that's a bit much for most people. We have had people do the entire 30 miles on the second day, however. Others have opted to float the class 2 section 4 on the second day. Q: I have been paddling an inflatable kayak for a little over two years now, and have paddled up to Class IV and a few Class V rapids. My paddling partner also paddles an IK, but is not overly fond of Class IV waters unless he is in a raft. Last year (2001) we had a guy (Mark Yauney) run the river in an IK. He swam a few times but never lost his boat. I thought he was crazy but he did fine. My wife normally paddles an IK but she won't run the Lochsa in it. Q: Do the folks on this trip with rafts often have any empty seats that he might be able to fill if he were to go? Yes yes yes. You would have no trouble finding a boat to ride in. Most people would like some extra weight up front not to mention someone to pull them back in :-) Q: Could you tell me what the itinerary for the trip usually looks like? I typically leave Thursday after work and go as far as Umatilla. Others leave Friday morning. Usually there are a few people who get there early enough on Friday that they raft a short section Friday afternoon. People who live in Walla Walla can do that easily. Saturday we drive up river to the takeout, drop off a few rigs and then continue driving up to the put-in, stopping to scout 4 or 5 rapids along the way. A good put-in is a place called Nine Mile. Then we float for a about 2 hours and pull over for lunch, typically around Fish Creek. Then after lunch the big and fun rapids of the pool and drop section are upon us. Usually we're back at the resort by 4 or 5 for hot tubbing. Sunday, do the same thing again unless we change the plans. We could decide to do more or less depending on what people want to do. We could have one group go earlier and do more of the river, meeting up with the main group at the main group's put-in, for example. Monday, I am planning to stay and raft again and probably there will be some others who will too. If the South Fork of the Clearwater is runnable then we'll go do that on Monday. Or, run the Lochsa again. For meals, I've found most people prefer to do their own thing. We'll have a big fire going in front of one of the cabins for an evening get together and usually we pile into one of the cabins to watch video of the day's carnage! There is also a professional photographer at either Grim Reaper or Lochsa Falls. The photographer usually camps at Three Rivers so we always let her know what we're doing so she'll be there when we are. Q: Do you go by Mountain Time or Pacific Time? That's easy since Northern Idaho (including the Lochsa area) is in the Pacific Time Zone. So, no need to change your watch. Hope this helps, Steve --------------------------------------------------------------------------- email: stevenh@tek.com | | ,_ o work phone: (503) 627-1498 | Steve Herring | / //\, home phone: (503) 646-6100 | 15018 SW Telluride Ter | \>> | cell phone: (503) 348-0648 | Beaverton OR 97007-6634 | \\, fax: (503) 627-5373 | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- $Revision: 1.2 $