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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Emergency services, May 3 Former San Quentin guard publishes book Photographers capture some lovely blooms in latest Mail Tribune contest Soaring rents, stagnant wages create housing crisis Wimer's Highland Games appeal to both the kilted and kiltless Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Emergency services, May 3 Dozens of drivers nabbed in Medford pedestrian sting Emergency services, May 2 Gold Hill man torched his foreclosed property No leads on who smashed about 20 windows in Ashland before dawn Thursday Politics and Elections BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Freddie Gray's death Earthquakes hit regularly in Medford (Oklahoma, that is) Medford School Board, Position 6: Curt Ankerberg vs. Janet Lightheart Arthur I. 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Onorato: Food items appear in the funnies Home and Garden Heirloom tomatoes bring ageless flavor Betty Montgomery: You can have a variety of ferns in your garden Clean out household chemicals Friday and Saturday Dear Monty: 10 tips to avoid tenant complaints Home Help: Upgrade your entryway with simple DIY projects Health Dr. Murray Feingold: Turn down that noise Health Watch: Pack your pantry with healthy items HealthStyle: It’s all in the family dinner 'Game changer' for heart patients Health Watch: Tips for protecting your eyes Hiking Biking Faith Religion Briefs: Friday, May 1 Religion Briefs: Friday, April 24 Religion Briefs: Friday, April 17 Religion briefs: Friday, April 10 Milestones and Achievements Wedding: Melody Ann Madi and Lyman Martin Stiles Engagement: Anders-Stanley ENGAGEMENT: Sellers-James Witham's birthday bash draws hundreds for 1950s prices Charlesworth-Murphy Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories 5 picks for live entertainment Live Music in Local Clubs Master Gardener Spring Fair at The Expo Randall Theatre stages 'Little Shop of Horrors' Camelot Theatre presents 'Arsenic and Old Lace' Theater REVIEW: Carson, Patton shine in 'Arsenic and Old Lace' Some Oregon Shakespeare Festival crew members seek to unionize Randall Theatre stages 'Little Shop of Horrors' 'Much Ado' at SOU Thanks for the Memories stages 'Company' one night only Music Thunder's Edge, Steel Cranes tonight at Club 66 The Farr Side: CMAs do it right, in many ways Live Music in Local Clubs Trio Brasileiro plays Old Siskiyou Barn Interview: Offspring plays hits new and old on tour Community Events Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Master Gardener Spring Fair at The Expo A Taste of Ashland pairs food and wine at galleries Rogue Valley Earth Day 2015 Foreign language film festival set at SOU Movies Movie review: ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ has a lot going on Movie review: ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ knows how to party Catching up with the Avengers Interview: Sofia Vergara talks ‘Hot Pursuit’ Quick Flicks: ‘Cinderella,’ ‘Insurgent’ and more Dining Restaurant inspections, May 3, 2015 Taqueria Picaro offers casual Mexican cuisine Restaurant inspections: April 26, 2015 Island Grindz serves up Hawaiian specialties Have you wandered down the Bear Creek Wine Trail yet? Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Our View: Our picks for Medford School Board ... Bright spots in the dark ... Guest Opinion: Animal-killing program pulls wool over taxpayers' eyes ... Our View: Our picks for Medford School Board ... Bright spots in the dark ... Guest Opinion: Animal-killing program pulls wool over taxpayers' eyes ... FAST AND FURIOUS Rafters speed down the rampaging Rogue River Comment By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Feb. 13, 2015 at 12:01 AM By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Feb. 13, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Will Volpert, Aaron Lieberman and Hunter Connolly say they're not crazy. They just wanted to experience the full force of the Rogue River, which raged at flood stage by the time they got done with their 4 1/2-hour express raft trip Saturday afternoon at Foster Bar near Agness. It's typically a two- or three-day excursion in summer, covering 35 miles. They even arrived before their shuttle driver, as they careened down the mocha-colored, frothing, log-laden mess of a river. "There were small moments of terror in places, but for the most part we did a great job of being in control," said Volpert, a 28-year-old veteran river guide from Ashland. "I've heard from a few folks that it's the first time it's been done (this high). It might be." It was so high Rainie Falls may as well have been Rainie Flats, not even noticeable, Volpert said. Inspiration Point, that popular vista high above Mule Creek Canyon during summer? Under water. The toilets at Foster Bar, normally 200 feet from the bank? Only the stacks on the roofs were visible. More than 10 inches of rain fell in three days in the mountains feeding the Rogue's lower tributaries. When the trio put in at Almeda Park below Galice Saturday morning, the flow was around 25,000 cubic feet per second. When they beached at Foster Bar, the nearby gauge at Agness indicated flows still above 90,000 cfs, after peaking at over 100,000 cfs Friday night. "For the most part, entire river bends were gone," Volpert said. "It was flowing almost in a straight line. Landmarks you'd normally use were completely gone. There were places we went, 'You think we're going over this right now? Uhh, I think so.' " They joked that from now on they'd camp at Horseshoe Bend only at flood stage, since the campsite was at river's edge on Saturday. Volpert, owner of Indigo Creek Outfitters, took photographs and video, while Lieberman, 26, did most of the rowing in his 16-foot SOTAR raft he named Killum, after a rapid on Idaho's Salmon River. Lieberman, of Merlin, is operations manager for Orange Torpedo Trips, which specializes in inflatable kayaks. Connolly, of Grants Pass, guides for Orange Torpedo in the summer. On Saturday, the 18-year-old Connolly paddled a hard-shell kayak. Lieberman said, "Hunter is going to be a name we hear in the future, in kayaking." "Hunter had some interesting rides," Lieberman went on. "He probably had to roll four or five times. At one point he got stuck in an eddy line and went halfway under the raft." They catapulted down the river fast enough to beat their shuttle driver, Jeanne Fields, who drove through Brookings and Gold Beach, by 10 minutes. "I can't definitively say this is the highest anybody's ever done it, but I don't know of anybody else who's run it that high," said Erik Weiseth, manager at Orange Torpedo. "There haven't been many opportunities when the water was that high." Since 1960, the Rogue has hit 100,000 cubic feet per second at the Agness gauge in 15 different years, or almost once every three years, according to USGS records. Flood stage is approximately 55,000 cfs, which has happened in 36 years since 1960. Five of those 100K-plus readings were epic floods, above 200,000 cfs, including the 290,000 cfs during the 1964 flood, and 240,000 cfs in the New Year's Day Flood of 1997. Clearly the 100,000-cfs-benchmark is uncharted territory for rafting. Volpert said it didn't feel that way the first 15 miles below Grave Creek, where the popular Wild Section starts. But at Quail Prairie, below Winkle Bar, a series of rocks the size of houses that please swimmers in summer turned the water into a swirling dervish. "Both of us felt like if we made a mistake, put the boat in the wrong spot, we could end up in the river and that's going to be a bad deal," Volpert said of he and Lieberman. Mule Creek Canyon and Blossom Bar, the Rogue's most notorious rapids, were surreal. Lieberman said they got below the Coffee Pot at Stair Creek Falls — at flood stage no longer a falls — where there was "an incredibly ugly set of hydraulic rapids — these incredibly large boils and hydraulics like I've never seen before. We got caught on one and surfed in a way that's not even possible. It let us out after a couple of seconds." They went left at Blossom Bar to avoid smashing along the outside of a sweeping curve, and avoided a wave train down the middle. At Foster Bar, Volpert said it was a feat for Lieberman to pull the raft into the bank. Volpert said he's received mostly positive comments from folks who saw the photos and video online, along with some negative ones. "That was from folks who are concerned about other people copying it, or who thought it was a stunt," Volpert said. "I've thought a lot about it. I don't think it was a stunt. The three of us have a tremendous amount of respect for the river. It would be a stunt if we weren't aware of the risks. But we were very much in tune with what we were doing." Weiseth said it was quite an accomplishment. "It was three highly skilled paddlers who took on a big challenge and successfully navigated it," he said. "All three would admit it's a high combination of skill with a little bit of luck thrown in." By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier MailTribune.com By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier Posted Feb. 13, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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