Looking for information on the J.D. River. I’ve heard there is one set of rapids, Clarno[?], to be wary of. Is there any portaging etc. Any information would be appreciated.
John Day River
I haven’t floated it yet but from the pictures that can be found on various websites, it really looks like my kind of river ! I have 4 sit on tops now, and I am going to be buying a Cobra
Maraurder today. This River looks very much like The Lower Flathead River, in an arid , almost badlands type of setting. The Flathead is a much bigger river though.
John Day River
Clarno Rapids has a good and well-defined portage trail around it. Their are some smaller but at certain flows significant rapids below clarno which do not have portage trails but are still possible to portage or line around. This is a fantastic trip which I would highly recommend. Also the bass fishing is great if you’re into that.
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Look in places to paddle
Somebody just posted a nice trip report. Sounds like a great place to paddle.
Hey Boo,
Been wanting to do the John Day myself for quite a while. Not much of a WW paddler though – bumping my way down non-tecnical class IIs is about it. I met some paddlers who did it in my beginning WW class so I think at least parts of it can be ran without too much WW skills. If you’re interested maybe we can get together for a trip down it. Though, I won’t go on a river that I can’t portage or line around anything I don’t want to run.
John Day
– Last Updated: Feb-08-06 10:41 AM EST –
Yaknot,
I'm not sure when I'm going to do it. But, I'm out of a canoe right now. That's why I've been asking about the Rendevous, Supernova, and Freedom solo. Until I get a canoe I'm high n dry.
nth fork john day with rshaffer
I went down nth. fork john day with rshaffer in his homemade driftboat musta been his first time cuz varnish was new and we ran the whole thing sideways including flood level rapids, thought he was gonna drown us! Every morn I woke up sprawled out at least 6 feet from my sleeping bag with empty beer cans strewn about. I figure he musta staged this cuz it’s outta character for me, plus I don’t remember. For the shuttle he drove a 73 chevy with vise grips for handles and battery cables that didn’t always permit the truck to start. He found a “shortcut” that I still can’t find on a map.
Clarno Rapids is right below the bridge at the start of the run. It is a long rock garden of a Class III rapid that eats a lot of canoes.
You can line it or portage it river right.
The flow on the main John Day River varies considerably. High flows are commonly seen in April and May. I have run it at 6,600 cfs which is too much for canoes.
There are plenty of rapids on the John Day River you do not want to just stumble down. At higher flows they get big. Some are very difficult to portage or line due to canyon walls. It is a canoeable river but not for newbies.