Sunday, February 8, 2009

Revenue to Dodge - TR


Sunday, Feb 8, found the OKCC Beginner Progression on the Revenue to Dodge section of the Sandy River. Not really a beginner run, this stretch is a considerable step up from the old reliable Dodge to Oxbow run. It starts out pretty easy, though, and gets tougher as boaters continue. There are some nice boulder gardens and a few wall shots to keep things interesting. A few play spots appear along the way, but nothing worth writing home about. Flow was on the low side, 1,800 cfs at the Bull Run gauge location. At higher water, many of the rapids are washed out, but some are more formidable.

This day found 14 paddlers at the put-in, so we broke into two groups, an intermediate group and an advanced group. I led the intermediate group. A few of us caught a few waves and then did take the left hand route around the island that gave us a taste of the first boulder garden. We did so well, we headed down the most difficult drop without a shore scout, only a review from an eddy just above. Continuing this way produced a couple swimmers and a lost paddle. Fortunately, we had a spare paddle. Even more wonderful, the lost paddle resurfaced as the advanced group came through the rapid, and it was returned to its appreciative owner.

The sun came out, and everything was wonderful. We continued on, making our lines and having a few learning opportunities. Everyone did great!

Again I reflected that this is an underutilized run. It's got quite a bit of variety, and it's nearby.

Right now, Lusted Road is closed between Dodge and Bull Run / Revenue, so the shuttle is 8.2 miles rather than 4.4, but that's not much of a problem. Parking at the Revenue Bridge is also a bit of a problem, but we just used the area at the junction a couple hundred yards above the bridge and carried the boats down. SYOTR...

safety talk pictures courtesy of Dave Hoffman / northwestriverguides.com

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