OWSR No. 30: Roaring River

Aaron Cavagnolo: Zach, thanks for organizing a beautiful day on the Roaring River. The colors of the fall leaves, the low angle of the light, and the clarity of the water combined with the continuous rapids made for an even more superb day than I had expected. It was challenging to stop focusing on the continuous boulder gardens long enough to take in the fine scenery. While I had heard the last self-sustaining run of native coho salmon in the entire Columbia River Basin were here and in other parts of the Clackamas River it was still startling to see one. A large coho salmon went shooting upstream under my paddle in about 4 inches of water just as I was entering one rather technical drop. Luckily I found myself stuck on a small rock long enough to enjoy the moment, regain my focus and then head downstream.

Zach Collier: A few days after an October rainstorm there was enough water to bump down the Roaring River in inflatable kayaks and enjoy the fall colors. We hiked a mile from the end of Road 4611 down to the river. This river drops just over 600 feet in 3.4 miles so the whitewater was non-stop Class IV with a few Class V rapids and wood thrown in to make it spicy. We enjoyed the high quality rapids and really appreciated the stunning old growth forest.