Flotsum from the derelict New Carissa.


The beach is looking fairly clean I saw no bunker fuel or bird deaths like in the past when visiting her.

Wednesday June 26, 2007 I went for a hike to see the New Carissa before our State wastes 20 million dollars removing an interesting artifact of government incompetence.

The local tug boat captains, salvage divers and general public have told me they believe when this boat first ran aground there were people in Coos Bay ready willing and able to save the ship. Unfortunately the captain left the boat via Coast Guard helicopter and when he did the chain of command was broken.




The story I was told is the unified command was set up of State and Federal staff that spent millions of dollars ruining this savable ship. They had insurance money to spend and anxiously spent as much as possible very quickly. It seemed if they were more interested in playing with the pyrotechnics and guns than saving the ship. They set the vessel on fire, they bombed it shot it with cannons they even broke it in half. They drug the bow out to sea and lost it on another beach which also was fouled with bunker fuel before finally sinking it with a torpedo. We were glad their arsenal did not contain a nuclear weapon.


Fishing boat off the beach next to the New Carissa.



















Close up of the listing stern covered with marine growth on flood tide.






















Shells and treasures on the Oregon Beach with the New Carissa in the background.

Joe Approaching Clarno Rapids

When Mike Graybill offered the use of his solo unblemished canoe to run the John Day, I had great reservations. The first scratch on a canoe is always a little traumatic. I knew 70 miles of river would have many opportunities to scratch the unblemished bottom. The river guide even suggested some of the rapids were of a questionable nature for an open canoe. Clarno rapid was rated class IV depending on water level. Now that was a little confusing knowing that low water levels can make rapids more difficult and higher water can have a similar effect. The rating did not say at what level the river was rated at.

A canoe is like a woman they have some things they like and others they do not tolerate. It takes a while to learn these idiosyncrasies which I did not have time to learn. A canoe with tumble home is easier to paddle but will not have the same final stability as one with flare. A canoe with a flat bottom will paddle faster and one with rocker will turn easier. With this ambiguous information I began to plan.

I wanted to be safe and self sufficient so brought everything from Sterno to cook with (no open fires allowed) to a portable toilet.

This is a no trace camping area and all human waste is to be packed out. I had a "garage sale" bucket with bags and a toilet seat. Not being one to waste money I purchased kitty litter to control the odor and prevent liquid spillage from the filled bags. This was on sale, a waterproof one gallon plastic jug of baking soda kitty litter was $4.50.

To secure the river bags into the boat and provide extra flotation I tied ropes under the inside of the gunwale the length of the boat. Then I tied a dozen prussic knots with parachute cord along the rope. This allowed connection points to secure the river bags, water jugs, kitty litter, and toilet in case of a capsize. River bags were filled with fluffy items to provide extra flotation. This meant I had more bags than would fit in the canoe and had to tie my bedroll on top. I made the best of this by using it as a back rest behind the seat. On flat water I used this as a seat.

Swallows on the painted red cliffs.

Green rocks on the banks of the John Day

Camp Host

Sunrise on the painted hills

70 miles on the John Day River

Larder for a Northern Shrike Basalt column over looking painted hills
Spawing carp

The longest un-damed river in Oregon is the John Day. This desert oasis is remarkable for the beautiful scenery and exciting white water. It is best to run this in the spring between the winter floods and the summer droughts. Mostly snow melt feeds this river as it cuts through impressive colorfull canyons on its way to the mighty Columbia River. Spring is also a beautiful time to be outdoors with the flowers blooming and the animals with their babies. I was determined to make a 50 mile canoe trip when I recovered from spine surgery. When Chuck Morgan and Martin Wheedle invited me on a 70 mile adventure to share I was anxious to attempt it. I had a lot of fears that I would not be able to keep up or even complete a 70 mile trip paddling a solo canoe. They both took rowing pontoon boats but I wanted a canoe. I tried to get several family members and friends to paddle a tandem canoe with me, when this did not happen. I opted to accept the offer of Mike Graybill to use his 14' solo canoe. It was with great reluctance I accepted such a genrous offer. I was afraid his pristine boat would be damaged bouncing across rocks and rapids that ranged up to class IV. I began my research on the internet and found great maps and a river guide from the BLM office in Pinville.

The first day was June 12, 2007 Martin and I drove two rigs 400 miles to the Cottonwood Bridge. Leaving my car and trailer and packing all our gear in his truck we drove on through Fossil Orgon to Clarno. This is next to the National Fossil Bed Monument. There we met Chuck in the late afternoon and I launched the canoe. We spent the first night camping on the river 3 miles downstream about a 45 minute paddle and a 30 minute drive.