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20 years of Rogue rafting Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell A little rain and cloudy skies Saturday didn�t spoil Scott Linden�s 11th birthday party-rafting trip on the Rogue River below Casey Park. It�s been a good summer for rafting overall for outfits like Raft the Rogue and Rapid Pleasure out of Shady Cove, where rafting has been drawing locals and tourists alike for 20 years. Shady Cove has seen business boom as local and tourists ride the rapids By Melissa Martin SHADY COVE � Saturdays in the summer are pretty crazy for Dennis and Carolee Enriquez. They load up vans and trailers with customers, rafts, life jackets and paddles, drive to Fish Hatchery park, get their whitewater cowboys settled in the raft and floating down the river, and pick them up three hours later at Shady Cove Park, 13 miles away. Then they do it all over again. For two decades, the Enriquezes have operated Rapid Pleasure, the oldest of the seven raft rental companies that do business in Shady Cove. Rapid Pleasure rents rafts to about 3,500 people each summer. Rafting tax revenue rises It�s been a good year for rafting companies, if the city taxes collected per rented raft are an indication. Raft tax revenue as of July totaled $3,990 � $1,000 higher than last year�s midsummer total and $800 higher than the previous year�s. "This is our best water flow for this time of year since I�ve been in the business," said Jack Henson, owner of Raft the Rogue at Highway 62 Market since 1993. "Last year there was the perception of high water, but we had normal flow after Memorial Day." This weekend, the Rogue River is flowing at a rafter�s dream rate of 2,000 cubic feet per second, compared to a 1,600 cfs that�s more common in August, he said. "I love being in this business because everybody�s laughing, smiling and having a good time," Dennis Enriquez says. "I have a lot of fun with our customers; we�re laughing when we put them in and laughing when we take them out." The Enriquezes started with a Mexican restaurant, Mi Casita, across from Rogue Elk Cafe near Trail in 1980. River tourists would stop for the "Rafter�s Special" � nachos and a pitcher of beer. When the raft rental business that was leasing space at their site quit, the Enriquezes took it over. In 1985, they moved Rapid Pleasure to Shady Cove. Today their inventory has grown to 40 rafts, including many that are self-baling and equipped with Ethafoam floor pads that give rafters something solid on which to rest their feet. Rapid Pleasure was the first company to start shuttling people in vans up to the dam, where they put the rafts in the water. Three hours later, the rafting companies pick up the rafters at Shady Cove Park. "We have a reputation for picking people up promptly," Dennis Enriquez said. "Sometimes folks will say, �How did you know we were here?� It�s because I know the river so well." Enriquez calls the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency that regulates the river�s flow from Lost Creek Lake, every morning to collect data about the river. The ideal flow is between 2,000 and 2,400 cubic feet per second, he said. "The flow determines what the river is doing and the size of the rapids. When there�s more water in the river and it�s flowing faster, you get down sooner and you roll over the top of some of the rapids." Except for the weather, this would have been the perfect weekend to raft, he said, because the water is flowing at 2,000 cfs, higher than an August average of 1,600 cfs. "The (Corps of Engineers) didn�t dump the water in midsummer like they usually do, so the river has stayed higher and created better rafting conditions. It�s ideal rafting conditions." Competitor Jack Henson, owner of Raft the Rogue at the Highway 62 Market, agreed that this weekend may offer a nearly perfect � if a bit cool � ride on what�s known as the family-friendly stretch of the Rogue River. "We advertise this as a family fun section � the little adrenaline rush without getting you in trouble," Henson said. "The customer can sit back and let the river take them down. In the lower section of the Rogue, if the wind comes out, you almost have to get out and pull the raft." The 13-river-mile trip from the Fish Hatchery at Lost Creek Dam to the park near downtown Shady Cove has 23 rapids, compared to the Hog Creek to Galice trip in the middle Rogue which only has eight rapids. "The Upper Rogue has a reputation for the best water flow on the Rogue River for beginning rafting," Henson said. "We have enough flow that the river will take the customer down by itself. The lower you go, the more paddling you have to do." Families don�t let the Upper Rogue�s constantly low temperature faze them, either. "All the kids get in to swim; it doesn�t matter how cold it is," he said. The river stays at about 56 degrees, because the Corps of Engineers draws it from the same depth of the lake to keep the temperature constant for fish. By the time the river reaches its mouth at Gold Beach, temperatures can be as high as 70 degrees. Just as important as getting off the raft for a short swim in the river may be having a water fight with fellow rafters, according to Connie Moyer, who takes junior high and high school students from Sacred Heart Catholic Church on summer raft trips. "(Rapid Pleasure) always makes sure we have enough dip sticks on the rafts," Moyer said. "We always take plenty of adults along, too, so the kids can see that adults can have just as much fun in a water fight as they can." The Enriquezes use the 10-mile drive in the shuttle van to talk to customers about the river, explaining where the obstacles and challenges are and giving advice about how to avoid hitting them. Once they arrive at the fish hatchery launch site, crews help customers put on their lifejackets. "I have customers that have been rafting with us for 20 years," Dennis Enriquez said. "Some people go two to four times a year and they automatically call us. I have some people who I pick up at their home and then they raft back to the house. But we�ve put people on the river from all over the world, Asia, Europe and South America." Dennis Enriquez, a native of Wisconsin who came to Oregon on a bicycle with just a few dollars in his pocket, is realizing the American dream. He knew in 1975 he wanted to live in Oregon, but he couldn�t afford it. He moved to Las Vegas, quickly worked his way up to managing hotels on the strip and in five years, had saved enough money to move with his wife to Shady Cove. "We had Southern Oregon circled on the map when we pulled in with our U-Haul. The first piece of property we looked at, we loved and bought." The Enriquez family settled in a home on Crowfoot Road near the fish hatchery. Enriquez saw the writing on the wall before the rafting tourism industry hit Shady Cove. But as time has gone by, so did several other companies. "Through the 1980s, there were only three or four companies up here. But now with seven, we�ve probably reached a saturation point," he said. Riding a raft at a speed of about 3 miles an hour down the waters of the Upper Rogue is on the to-do list for many tourists. About half of the customers from Henson�s Raft the Rogue company come from the Rogue Valley, and about half come from other parts of Oregon or from out of state, Henson said. But, wherever they hail from, the Rogue River is guaranteed to create good memories, Dennis Enriquez said. "People come to Southern Oregon and enjoy the Shakespeare festival in Ashland, go to Jacksonville and do all the things Medford has to offer, see Crater Lake and then we take them down the river," Dennis Enriquez said. "I tell them the thing they will remember most about their time in Southern Oregon will be the trip down the river. It�s the highlight of their vacation." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA