Document text
Fun times in high water on the Rogue Jim Craven photos Rafters on the Rogue will face water that's higher and faster than normal this weekend; officials and experienced boaters are urging extra caution. Rafting the river? Make it safe By MELISSA MARTIN SHADY COVE -- The sun was low in the sky as three intoxicated rafters approached the diversion dam near Gold Hill. "Left or right?" they asked each other. The Rogue River decided for them, stalling their raft in Nugget Falls. It was dark when the three rafters waded through 44-degree water to an island in the river. By that time, swift-water rescue crews had arrived from two fire stations 10 to 15 miles upstream to pull the shivering boaters to shore. As rafting traffic on the Rogue River picks up, swift-water rescue teams gear up for a busy summer helping boaters who get into trouble. "It's a fun time on the river, but you have to be prepared to work at it," says District 4 Fire Chief Robert Miller in Shady Cove. Capt. John Burns, piloting Fire District 4's jet boat helps boaters in trouble on the Rogue. His rescue crews took their 21-foot jet boat out 26times last year. Occasionally they pulled stranded rafters out of Nugget Falls near Gold Hill, as in the rescue they helped Fire District 3 with last month. But they spent most of their time plucking people off rocks at Guard Hole, near the Obstinate J Ranch. This stretch of the Rogue between Lost Creek Lake and Shady Cove is one of the most heavily used sections of the river. "There are a lot of obstacles here," Capt. John Burns says as he negotiates the jet boat around a sneaker rock at Guard Hole. "There are rocks and riffles capable of turning a raft over." Memorial Day rafters will find a fast, full river. The water is expected to stay unusually high until June 15. The river level is above 5,000 cubic feet per second, compared to 2,000 cfs that's normal this time of year, Miller says. "Your raft trip will be faster," says Capt. Rick Mendenhall, one of eight swift-water rescue team members with Fire District 4. "The three- to four-hour trip from Casey State Park to Shady Cove will take one to two hours right now," he says. "So you have to anticipate certain maneuvers earlier." If a rafter fails and ends up in the water, he or she could be picked up by Rescue 4, the jet boat driven by Burns and Capt. Rick Lowe. They can maneuver the boat in a variety of river conditions, from the deep, fast flows expected this weekend to late-summer days when the river is only 8 inches deep in places. But rescue stories shouldn't scare people away from the river, Miller says. "If somebody wears a life jacket and plans ahead, they can have a fun time," Miller says. "If you see a hazard, row away from it as soon as possible and don't wait until the last minute," he says. Dennis Enriquez, owner of Rapid Pleasure, one of eight raft rental shops in Shady Cove, offers the same advice. "The river up here is the kind of thing that all you have to do is raft it once or twice and you know what you are in for," Enriquez says. Rafting shops give instructions about river conditions and about paddling and steering before they rent equipment. "This isn't a heavy-duty class water up here, but you need to know a little." For rafters who get in trouble, the Upper Rogue is filled with good Samaritans like Vernon Grieve, a second-generation river guide who lives upstream from Shady Cove. He loaned a boat to Fire District 4 before it purchased its rig in 1995 for $8,000. Its owner, George Oachs, donated the remaining $8,000 of the original price. "I'm surprised there are not more accidents up here," Grieve says. Whether by experience or luck, 90 percent of rafters get through the tricky spots, he says. "And for 50 percent of those, they amaze me how they did it," Grieve says. Rafting offers its rewards, says Burns, as he feathers the jet boat motor to watch a bald eagle gliding by. Rafters can pull into the warm waters of Elk Creek for a swim or sit in solitude in the placid waters of Dead Man Hole. "What's so amazing about this river is that it's lined with houses and filled with rafters in the summer, but you can pull off in these little nooks and find a quiet place," Burns says. "If you have the skills to do it, pull over and enjoy the view." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA