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The Night Is Darkest Before Dawn A Look Downstream at the Wild & Scenic Rogue River Canyon Despite what can only be called an abnormally warm and dry Winter for Southern Oregon, recent assessments by officials charged with managing water in the Rogue Basin offer good reason for optimism, if not outright celebration. According to Jim Buck, operations project manger for the Army Corps of Engineer’s Rogue River Basin Project, "we’re pretty likely looking at filling Lost Creek," the dam that more or less controls the Rogue's water supply, and to put it simply: a full L... Keep reading ›

Let It Rain! Updated data from the National Water and Climate Center (NWCC) puts snowpack and anticipated streamflow forecasts for Idaho's Salmon River basin at roughly 116% of average, which should make for some first-rate whitewater on our Main Salmon and Lower Salmon River Trips this coming 2014 season. According to NWCC hydrologists, the boosted levels are the result primarily of inordinately heavy February precipitation (upwards of 150 percent of normal in the Salmon and Payette River Basins) combined with continued cooler mountain temperatures (Snowpack Recovery in PNW). ... Keep reading ›

Guides' First Rivers Series River guides are notorious storytellers. And whether they be true or tall or somewhere in-between, the stories we tell about the river are a part and reflection of our own story. They are a part of who we are and we will be. (Deep water, brother...) So, in this spirit of storytelling and in homage to rivers everywhere, we've asked our guides to recall a notable "first" paddling experience, broadly defined, and to tell a story about that experience.  THE LOWER SALMON RIVER QUEEN Makepeace employing the "Slagle Brace" midway through China Rapid on th... Keep reading ›

Why Crater Lake is Awesome (in the true sense of that word) 1. It's deep water, Brother. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States (in terms of maximum depth). Crater Lake is deepest lake in the Western Hemisphere (in terms of average depth). Crater Lake is the seventh deepest lake in the world. 2. It's clean, clear and under control. Due primarily to the absence of any inlets or tributaries, the waters of Crater Lake are singularly clear of pollutants. 3. It's water has memory (figuratively speaking) As aforementioned, there are no rivers or streams flowing di... Keep reading ›

Guides' First Rivers Series River guides are notorious storytellers. And whether they be true or tall or somewhere in-between, the stories we tell about the river are a part and reflection of our own story. They are a part of who we are and we will be. (Deep water, brother...) So, in this spirit of storytelling and in homage to rivers everywhere, we've asked our guides to recall a notable "first" paddling experience, broadly defined, and to tell a story about that experience.  Salmon River Love Richard, his fiancé, Jamee, and her dad, Grant, on the Main Salmon River in our pr... Keep reading ›

OTT Featured Friend | March 2014 Laurie F.   What trips/rivers have you run with OTT?   Lower Salmon - 2011; Rogue River - 2012 & 2013; Sun Koshi, Nepal - 2013; and I already signed up for the Klamath 2014 Hotshot trip   *I bought my own IK--not as good as OTT SOTAR version--for paddling practice, however, there are no rivers in Georgia that can compare! What was your first trip/river with OTT?  Was this your first river trip? Why did you choose OTT?  My first trip with OTT was on the Lower Salmon River, Idaho. I did Cataract Canyon with a large group on J-rigs that same summer, and ... Keep reading ›

Guides' First Rivers Series River guides are notorious storytellers. And whether they be true or tall, the stories we tell about the river are a part and reflection of our own story. They are a part of who we are and who we will be (deep water, brother...). So, in this spirit of storytelling and in homage to rivers everywhere, we've asked our guides to recall a notable "first" paddling experience, broadly defined, and to tell the story of that experience. In this installment, OTT guide Travis Tocher recalls not his first river or river trip, but a series of firsts surrounding the river an... Keep reading ›

With Spring around the corner, conversation around here has started to turn to snowmelt, rainfall, and the prospect of Big Water. Definitions: What it is! OTT Guide Matt Weiseth bombing into Ikes Falls on our 2013 Klamath Hotshot Season Starter The question is: what constitutes Big Water? Not surprisingly, there is no set criterion here--and as we've talked about this piece, the issue has turned into something of a debate among some of us here at OTT. Some of us contend that when we talk about Big Water, what we’re talking about is high volume rivers and/or comparatively highe... Keep reading ›

In this weeks edition of a guides first rafting trip our General Manager and fellow river guide shares how the Rogue River and an old Willie boat live deep into the traditions of his family. The Generations of a Willie Boat By Erik Weiseth Nish and Rowan during Rowan's first day on the river. I like to believe I was born into a life on the river. Loving the Rogue River is built into my DNA - the same way my brown eyes and a tan complexion are something I was bestowed by the genes of my parents; not a choice, just is. My father grew up exploring the Rogue River in the days when it was... Keep reading ›

  OTT Featured Friend | February 2014 Leigh R.   What trips/rivers have you run with OTT? I’ve run the Umpqua, Klamath, Lower Salmon, the Gold Hill “Nugget Falls” and the Lower Wild and Scenic sections of the Rogue River with Orange Torpedo Trips. What was your first trip/river with OTT?  The Lower Rogue River. The Lower Rogue was my first guided river trip. My only other river experience previously was on the Upper-Middle Rogue. What is your favorite trip/river that you have run with OTT?  They are all favorites—each an extension of the other.  It’s like picking your children.  Eac... Keep reading ›