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.