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. 

The Rogue was one of the "instant" wild rivers created by the passage of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers act of 1968. An 84-mile section of the Rogue from the mouth of the Applegate River downstream to Lobster Creek is included.

  The 47 miles above Marial, in extreme eastern Curry county, are administered by the Medford District of the BLM. The 37 miles below Marial are administered by the Siskiyou National Forest from the Gold Beach Ranger Station. The river is further split into three sub-classifications, Wild, Scenic and Recreational. From the Applegate downstream to Grave Creek is classified Recreational. Grave Creek to Foster Bar above Illahe is classified Wild, Foster Bar to Blue Jay Creek below Agness is again classified Recreational. From there to below Wakeup Riley Creek the river is classified Scenic and below there to Lobster Creek, again Recreational.

  Each of the three segments has a set of rules for administration and the Wild section has the tightest rules. For most of the year, from below Blossom Bar to Grave Creek, motorized vehicles are prohibited. From May to Sept. entrance is by permit only with a maximum of 120 persons per day allowed to enter the Wild area.

  To avoid getting up before daylight, we drove over Friday evening from Gold Beach and stayed at Morrison's Lodge on the Rogue near Merlin, 16 miles below Grants Pass.

BEAR CAMP ROAD

  We drove over the Bear Camp Road, the only way east from Gold Beach. The drive is up the river to Agness. At Agness, the Rogue turns due north, makes a big bend, and comes back south again. The Bear Camp Road cuts across the bend, but to do it has to go high. A little way upstream from the Cougar Lane Store a Forest Service road sign points to Grants Pass. This is mainly a ridge road. It goes up Shasta Costa Creek to the top of the ridge, follows the ridge to the high point at Bear Camp (the county line), continues on the ridgetop to Galice Creek and drops down the creek back to the Rogue. From there on it is a Josephine county road out to Merlin and I-5.

   The road is paved all the way and driveable with any vehicle. The section from Agness to Galice is one-way with turnouts and is a slow-driving road. The rest of the way is two-lane. The driving time from Gold Beach to Grants Pass-Medford is about the same over Bear Camp or around through California and the Smith River canyon. But the Bear Camp road is 47 miles shorter.

  Morrison's Lodge is a delightful, well-tended spot on the river built in the mid-forties by Lloyd Morrison. We were served an excellent meal at the lodge and met some of those would be joining us in the river trip.

  The next morning, after breakfast, we were taken by van to the embarkation point. Our pickup would be shuttled back over Bear Camp (for $45.00) and would be waiting for us at Foster Bar, the takeout point, above Illahe. The weather for the whole trip was perfect - bright sunshine but not blistering hot.

  There were a total of 17 "dudes" on the trip and four guides: Denny, Greg Henderson, Grants Pass; Pat, plus Denny's new bride, Helen (more about her later) and Denny's son, Craig, his wife and two children.

  This turned out to be a mostly Gold Beach trip. In addition to our party of three were: Larry Wood, Jim Van Camp, Bill and Sherie McNair and daughter Stephanie and Bill's nephew, Kaylen from Medford, and Paul Colvin, former Gold Beach resident and now Portland school teacher. A party from Reno, Dr. Doug Brodie, wife Jule, her son, Brandon and guest Micah, plus a family from Marysville CA, David Kugelman, wife Robin, and daughter and son completed the party.