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Past Activity

Owyhee Rafting Trip

  • Start date: 05/15/2016

  • Start time: 12:00 AM

  • End date: 05/20/2016

  • End time: 11:59 PM

Description:

We’ll explore 63 miles of this scenic and dramatic canyon at a leisurely pace with great hiking, camping, birding and hot springs. This is a 5 day guided raft trip where you can hang out on the guide’s oar raft, become part of a paddle raft or paddle one of their inflatable kayaks. We will be camping at a BLM campsite site in Rome May 15. River trip is May 16-20.
A pre- trip meeting will be scheduled to arrange carpooling, discuss post trip lodging and other trip details.

$1,140 member; $1,145 non- member. (includes Obsidian trip fee, all meals beginning with May 16 lunch through May 20 lunch and gratuity for guides) Non member registration begins on January 27.

Deposit is $200. Please send check payable to Obsidians within 5 days of signing up and send to:
Diane Schechter; 3541 High St, Eugene, OR 97405
Deposit is refundable (less $40) if you cancel before April 15.
Final payment is due April 15

  • Event Leader: Diane Schechter

  • Event Leader Phone: 541-206-7723

  • Event Leader Email: dsp053@gmail.com

  • Assistant Leader:

  • Event category: Extended Trips

  • Area Type: Mountain

  • Departure Location: See Trip Description

  • Rating:

  • Roundtrip total drive miles: 730

  • Season: 2016

  • Permits Required:

  • Event Status: Passed

  • Supplies and Equipment Required: Quick drying clothes, water shoes, warm socks, and toiletries. Ouzel provides 2 person tent, sleeping bag and pad. Dinner May 15 and breakfast May 16 are on your own. You can bring food or purchase it at a cafe across from our camping site.

  • participant prerequisites:

  • Conditions:

  • Total Distance:

  • Member Fees: 1140

  • Elevation Gain:

  • Non-Member Fees: 1145

  • Committee: Extended Trips

  • Junior member fees: —

Trip Report



Luck was with us for an amazing five day trip to the Owyhee River. After four years, there was finally enough water to run this river… although it was touch and go till the last minute. The Obsidians and Ouzel Outfitters were perfect partners. The canyons were beautiful, the river was exciting, the food was delicious, and the guides were fun.

Although it rained at times - we had dry skies while we were paddling! Our group consisted of two paddle rafts, a lunch boat (aka the princess boat) three inflatable kayaks and two gear boats. The gear boats went ahead of the group to secure a campsite and set up. People had the choice of rotating throughout the week on the various boating options. The Owyhee is mostly class 2 and 3 rapids, along with stretches of flat water. There were some class 4 rapids and the guides did an excellent job of coaching the kayakers through these stretches. This made for a fun trip with whitewater to keep it exciting and calm stretches to enjoy the scenery.

Throughout the t rip, the guides and Tom answered questions and gave us lots of information about the geological formations, the processes that shaped the canyon, the thousand foot rhyolite cliffs, sand castle rock formations and deeply carved canyons. It was like a field trip to a very remote location, that only a few people are lucky enough to experience.

There were opportunities throughout the week for short hikes to vistas, slot canyons, caves, hot springs, hoodoos and petroglyphs. The wildflowers were in bloom, we saw eight bighorned sheep and Randy, our birding expert, counted over 30 species of birds! The cheat grass was everywhere and we all found ourselves pulling it out of our socks in the evenings.

The food was absolutely outstanding! Our guides provided hors d’oeuvres for happy hour. The dinners were great which included salmon, tri tip steak and more, along with hearty breakfasts and wonderful lunches. We had desserts every night including a birthday cake for Tom- made in the Dutch oven.

We had a great group of people, who shared lots of laughs together, while enjoying the beautiful Owyhee River.