Camping In Style In The Wilderness
By Bob Van Leer

  Last year I promised grandsons Rob and Chris Johnson a drift trip down the Rogue River as a reward for both making the honor roll at Gold Beach Union High School. Circumstances prevented the trip last year, but now it was time.

  We were going on a three-day drift trip with Rogue River Outfitters, operated by Denny Hughson, Gold Beach guide, and the only outfitter of downriver drift trips based in Gold Beach.

    The trip through the Wild section of the Rogue Wild and Scenic River area started at Argo launch site, a couple of miles above Grave Creek, the main launch point. Grave Creek is about 30 miles downstream from Grants Pass. 

By Bob Van Leer

  At Argo the water craft were waiting for us. There were two rafts, paddle boat and five "tahitis", a sort of an open rubber fabric kayak. We put on life jackets, piled into our choice of crafts and headed down river. The rafts are of a space-age plastic made by a Grants Pass firm. Rob and Chris took the paddle boat, where passengers have to paddle, and I went on a raft where you sit and watch the boatman row when needed.

  From Argo to Grave Creek the white water patches are mild and a good way to get practice before heavy water begins. At Grave Creek this changes. In rapid succession are Grave Creek Riffle and Grave Creek Falls. The falls claimed three of the tahatis.

By Bob Van Leer

  After breakfast we were off on the river again. Camp was already struck and a guide took off ahead of us on a raft with all the camping gear. Two of the guides slept by the food supply to keep bears away.

  I decided to try one of the tahitis and took it from above Dulog about five miles to Winkle Bar. It is a lot of fun to go through the rapids in the little craft. I found that in a rapid you are not worried about anything because it takes 100% of your attention just to get through upright. A couple of times I came close to losing it but always managed to recover.

  At Kelsey Creek we crossed the line and were back in Curry county.

By Bob Van Leer

  This was Monday and to be the last day on the river. We dropped downstream stopping first at Tate Creek. A difficult mile up the creek is a falls with a chute for the hardy to slide down the falls.

  Further downstream we went through Clay Hill Rapids. At the trail on the cliff above the falls is where Hathaway Jones fell off the trail and was killed.

  A little below Clay Hill, in the far distance, we could see a clear cut, the first since we started the trip. We made one more stop for lunch.

   On the trip we saw a number of deer, but no bears. Birds abound including great blue heron and osprey. We didn't see any eagles on this trip. Surprising to me was the number of Canada geese on the river. Denny said he started with Dick Sturgill in 1966 and bought the business from him in 1970. Denny lived in Albany at the time and commuted for a while. He fell in love with Gold Beach, bought property there and moved permanently in 1986. Bill McNair is business manager for Denny and the business is operated out of Bill's Jerry's Jet Boats office with Wendy as secretary. Denny, Helen and two guides, Pat and Greg, operate two three-day trips a week this time of year. Later in the year they will run steelhead fishing trips.