Hagen Gorge is on a small tributary to the Washougal River in southwestern Washington. About 3-4 miles long, this creek can be characterized by class IV boogie-water boofs and slides with various vertical class IV/V drops dispersed throughout. There is no gauge to the creek, so it’s all about proper guess-work. On our trip, the [...]
Year in Review: 2012
2012 was a pivotal year in the rebuilding of Sundance Kayak Schools. Our goal is always to run the best kayak instruction courses in the world, but we also did some great exploratory trips and training with our instructors. We started out the paddling season with a kayak trip on the Smith River and an [...]
Self Support on the South Fork of the Salmon River, Idaho
What happens when four lady paddlers are getting married in the same year? You have a Bachelorette Paddle! Earlier this month, 9 ladies from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California and Montana, rallied for a 4-day wilderness self-support on the South Fork of the Salmon River, near McCall, Idaho. At 5.25 feet, the South Fork of the [...]
Taylor Creek – a magical tributary to the Rogue River
Taylor Creek is an exotic tributary of the Rogue River. It flows into the recreational section of the Rogue near Morrison’s Lodge. It also happens to be the place where Sundance’s beginner schools train throughout the summer. While on a boating safari this spring, Zach Collier and I visited the Smith River in Northern California. [...]
Upper Trout Creek, Washington
We are lucky as paddlers to live in the Columbia River Gorge. During the rainy season, within a half hour drive it is possible to be at over a dozen different rivers. Each and every one, unique, and awe-inspiring. The author boofing on Upper Trout Creek (Photo: Bryon Dorr) One of my favorite rivers in [...]
West Fork of the Hood River
The West Fork of the Hood River, located near the town of Dee is a fun Class IV run perfect for those with an after work time-crunch, or those looking for a fun day on the river. Jesse in his firecracker Diesel 80 One Sunday afternoon Team Sundance decided to mosey over to the [...]
Little Klickitat Trip Report
The Little Klickitat River flows out of the desert about 30 miles east of White Salmon in the Columbia River Gorge. It is one of those special runs that only comes in maybe one day a year during extreme high water, and when it’s in, it’s on! Zach Collier and I, from Team Sundance, met [...]
Team Sundance: Jim’s First Kayaking Experience!
My first, and so far only, experience with kayaking took place in June 2011 with Sundance Kayak School on the Rogue River. In the past, I have taken many canoe camping trips with my son, and other members of my family. As a result I expected that although kayaking would be challenging I would pick [...]
Destination: Fern Ridge Wave, Oregon
Water Levels: 1050-1400 cfs on the Long Tom River Near Alvadore Description: While feature is known as the Fern Ridge Wave, it is more of a hole. It is created as water pours over slab of slanted concrete, which at the right levels, creates a gentle, but retentive hole. It’s deepest on the river left [...]
North Fork of the Washougal
Yesterday J.R. and I were excited to see a new section of river so we headed out to Washington’s Washougal River. Flows were a little low, but we really wanted to do some creeking and decided to check out the North Fork of the Washougal. We were immediately impressed with this beautiful canyon and the [...]
