Four days of rafting and glamping on a legendary Oregon wild river

written by Cathy Carroll

The wide ribbon of clear, teal water is picking up speed, and the four women in the raft glance back at guide Katie Duffie as she tells just how they’re going to ride Horseshoe Bend rapids. Duffie, wielding two oars—each twice the length of the paddlers’ single, lightweight models—scans the white peaks boiling over a jumble of boulders ahead.

“OK, ladies, give me two strokes forward!” she commands. The women lean, digging into the gurgling Rogue River, swirling eddies giving way to a turbulent roar and thwap! It raises its great, ice-cold liquid hand, slapping the front two squarely in the face, an age-old prank of this ancient river of snowmelt. Momentarily stunned, their eyes squeeze tightly shut before opening simultaneously with a giant belly laugh that’s joined in by the river and fellow paddlers.

It’s day two of a four-day Momentum River Expeditions journey of more than 34 miles through a stretch of wilderness so remarkable in its beauty that it’s one of the original eight rivers Congress protected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.

It’s why the river’s remained undammed, unspoiled and unbelievably fun. Considered not only one of the best destinations in America for rafting as well as salmon and steelhead fishing, it’s been a central character in everything from Zane Grey novels of the 1920s (you’ll stop at his cabin of peeled logs and hand-split shingles) to the 1994 adventure-thriller The River Wild (Meryl Streep’s a rafting expert who takes on a pair of armed killers and the rapids, too).

Today, however, the ensemble cast is composed of nine women breaking away from the demands of modern life to discover how much moxie they’ve got when faced with class 3 and 4 rapids and wilderness camping. With the guides’ beguiling blend of outdoors chops and glamping sensibilities, however, it’s all thrills, nary a bitter pill.

During breaks from the action, they watch salmon leaping over Rainie Falls and climb a bluff to dip into the glassy pool above, nestled in the rocks. Some leap 15 feet into the river, emboldened by chants of “Do it! Do it!” from the others, sprawled on the rocks like sunbathing lizards.

In the late afternoon, pulling up onto a dry, dark sand beach, the tents have all been set up. Guide Mark Crawford confidently wears a floral-print apron over a burly wool camp shirt, pouring Rogue Valley sauvignon blanc and pinot gris and serving appetizers: salmon and avocado toast with lime pickled onions and local salsa and chips.

“I’ve just been the happy homemaker,” he says.

After a dinner of miso soup and sesame-tofu-hoisin curry with bok choy and cauliflower, the group gathers in a circle of camp chairs beneath the stars. Storytelling gives way to karaoke, thanks to the pink bedazzled microphone a rafter stashed in her pack. In sleeping bags atop thick pads, they drift to sleep to the sound of lapping water and the occasional fish jumping as a full moon rises over the ridge.

In the morning, fortified with brie-stuffed French toast, local breakfast sausage, berries and coffee topped with the extra whipped cream kept chilled from last night’s berry shortbread dessert, they head to the rafts. Long-legged great blue herons perch along shore, their necks sinuous and translucent in the soft morning light. A family of black bears meanders along the bank and stops to gawk back at the humans. Western pond turtles sun themselves on logs and couldn’t care less as the rafters drift by.

Around a bend, the monolithic walls of Mule Creek Canyon come into view. For about a half mile, the river that cut this path millions of years ago narrows between walls as high as five-story buildings. Within these confines the rafters percolate through the class 4 Coffee Pot, with Duffie expertly aiming the raft’s strategic bounce off the wall to put them exactly where they need to be. The big test, though, was next—Blossom Bar, the class 4 pinball machine of boulders infamous for flipping rafts. Duffie’s long brown hair ripples in the breeze on the approach as she briefs the crew on how to navigate the complex of obstacles.

The water shifts into fifth gear as they funnel toward van-sized Volkswagen Rock. Duffie times their strokes perfectly, turning them into the eddy, avoiding the next intimidating set of outcroppings known as the Picket Fence. As they careen through, a collective “Wooo hooo!” echoes against the canyon walls.

The final night in camp, after cocktails, grilled steak and flambéed bananas Foster, the nine women agree that a nighttime dip is the only way to end this escapade. Shedding their clothes on the beach, they wade into the moonlit river—reborn as nymphs, ready to return to civilization, renewed.

LEARN MORE

For more on Momentum River Expeditions’ Rogue River trips, head to www.momentumriverexpeditions.com/trip/rogue-river-rafting