woodenboatadventures

Wild & Scenic Rivers Part One with Greg Hatten and Pendleton

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Note: Please enjoy this guest post from Greg Hatten, of WoodenBoat adventure fame. He took some Pendleton blankets along on his latest river runs. Here’s his write-up!

The Painted HIlls blanket by Pendleton, at Oregon's Painted Hills. Photo and hand-built wooden boat by Greg Hatten

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

“The great purpose of this act is to set aside a reasonable part of the vanishing wilderness, to make certain that generations of Americans yet unborn will know what it is to experience life on undeveloped, unoccupied land in the same form and character as the Creator fashioned it… It is a great spiritual experience. Unless we preserve some opportunity for future generations to have the same experience, we shall have dishonored our trust.”
Senator Frank Church (1957-1981)

In 1968, Congress passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and President Johnson signed it into law. The primary goal was to “protect and preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations.”

Eight rivers were inducted in the original group and, now, fifty years later, there are over 200 rivers in the program. The state of Oregon has more protected rivers than any other state by far – with over 50 included in the program.

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of that legislation, I’m running several of the classic rivers that are under its protection in 2018.

Buffalo National River

I started in the Midwest with a spring high water kayak run down the upper section of the Buffalo National River in northern Arkansas. It’s 153 miles in total but I only ran a short section where it runs through the Ozark National Forest.

Greg Hatten's wooden boat on the trailer at the entrance to Lost Valley, before he takes on the Buffalo River.Greh Hatten's wooden boat waiting on the banks of the Buffalo National RiverA woman stands on a rocky outcropping, taking in a view of the Ozark Mountains. Photo by Greg Hatten

This run features a steep gradient drop, whitewater rapids and dramatic topography that includes sink holes, caves, beautiful limestone bluffs, numerous hiking trails and spectacular views of the Ozark Mountains.

Running the Deschutes River

In late May, I went out west to join up with my river running buddies for a fly fishing and camping trip on one of our favorite Wild and Scenic Rivers in the north central part of Oregon – the Deschutes. On my way through the state, I stopped just short of the river to see the Painted Hills in the John Day Fossil Bed National Monument. The Pendleton blanket I had chosen for the trip was the Painted Hills blanket and I was amazed at how the accent colors of the blanket matched the vivid hues of the hills so perfectly.

Painted Hills in the A pile of Greg Hatten's gear, including the Painted Hills blanket by Pendleton, at the John Day Fossil Bed National Monument

A rafter on the rapids of Oregon's Deschutes River. Photo by Greg HattenThe attraction of this river is the incredible native redsides that come alive in May when the hatch of large salmon flies sets off a feeding frenzy that is amazing to witness–and so much fun to fish.

A redside in the hands of a fisherman. Photo by Greg Hatten

It also features the Class IV White Horse Rapid which is the scene for probably more boat “wrecks” than any rapid in the Pacific Northwest. Another attraction of this trip? The elaborate meals cooked beside a rushing river on open fires and Dutch ovens by some of the best river chefs in the great outdoors.

A collage of campfire cookery delights. Photos by Greg Hatten.

 

RIver running gear in Greg hatten's wooden boat, including the Painted HIlls blanket by Pendleton. Photo by Greg HattenI have several more Wild and Scenic Rivers to run in 2018 – stay tuned for periodic updates.

Greg Hatten

See the blanket

Thanks, Greg! Here’s the Painted Hills blanket.

See it here: Painted Hills blanket

The Painted Hills blanket by Pendleton Woolen Mills.

Rising from the dry plains of Eastern Oregon, bare earth undulates in folds of scarlet, ochre, and yellow. These are the Painted Hills, whose brilliant stripes inspired this design and were created by oxidized mineral deposits in layers of volcanic ash. Adventurers who want to take a road trip into the past can see the hills, visit the nearby John Day Fossil beds and explore the ghost towns of this remote part of Oregon’s landscape. 

• Unnapped 
• Ultrasuede® trim; twin is felt-bound 
• Pure virgin wool/cotton 
• Fabric woven in our American mills 
• Dry clean 
• Made in USA

Greg Hatten’s Woodenboat Adventures: Rainier National Park’s Waterways

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Meet Greg Hatten

As we’ve mentioned before on this blog, our friend Greg Hatten, the WoodenBoat adventurer, is floating some of our country’s National Parks as part of the centennial celebration of the National Park Service. For this trip, he invited along Seth Patterson, an avid sportsman and photographer who happens to work at Pendleton.

Greg has some coffee before the Rainier float.

Greg is an accomplished guide and fisherman who splits his time between Missouri and Oregon. He is happiest on the river in his wooden drift boat, the Portola, built to the exact specs of the original Portola piloted by conservationist Martin Litton down the Colorado River in 1964 as part of a historic journey that helped save the Grand Canyon. Greg’s 2014 recreation of this journey is part of his larger commitment to our National Parks.

But this trip to Rainier National Park did not involve the Portola, as Greg explains his his blog post:

This park is special to me. I’ve admired it from a distance and experienced it up close.  I’ve hiked the trails, skied the slopes, climbed the mountain, slept up at cold Camp Muir, and enjoyed the cozy warmth of Paradise Lodge.  As familiar as I am with Rainier, I’ve never explored the waterways. Since it’s impossible to put a handcrafted wood drift boat into the trickling streams of the park in the early stages of their life cycles, I did my initial exploring by boot instead of by boat.

I picked the Cowlitz for my river experience. It’s the largest river of the six and named for the Native American Indian tribe that still calls this area “home.” I hiked up the path to the glacier that gives it life and then, just outside the park boundary, I fished it – with a favorite fly-fishing friend on his favorite stretch of that river.

Greg and friend by the wooden boat.

There was a time when Rick LeBlanc and I chased steelhead all over the Pacific Northwest – once even riding a historic old canyon train in the very Northeast corner of Oregon to catch wild winter steelhead as we struggled to keep the eyes of our fly rods from icing shut. Rick is a fisherman’s fisherman. Though it had been years since we were together on a river we wasted no time in picking up exactly where we left off – a brothers’ bond of rivers, fish, flimsy rods and fancy flies. 

Reel, rod, fly
Rainier coffee cup on the fender of Greg's Toyota Land Cruiser

And wouldn’t your camp coffee taste great from this mug?

You can read the rest of Greg’s post at his Woodenboat Adventure blog. It’s a thrilling ride with a satisfying conclusion, and wonderful photography of its own. We had so many terrific shots to choose from that we decided not to duplicate. Over at his blog, you can click on Greg’s photos to see the larger versions of each photo. It’s the next best thing to having your own fly fishing adventure in Rainier National Park.

Catch of the day

We’re looking forward to Greg’s next trip! Who knows where these wooden boats will take us?

Nose of the boat in Rainier national Park

Read the full post: Greg Hatten at Rainier National Park

See Pendleton’s Rainier National Park gear: Rainier National Park

Photography: Many thanks to the mighty Seth Patterson

Seth Patterson drops his line.