Every year, when we see summer rolling in—igniting the Gorge’s hillsides with wildflowers, and resurrecting Double Mountain’s legendary Heirloom Pie from the archived summer menu—we at Blue Collar have one thing on our minds: whitewater rafting.
Goofy—we’ve got this covered!
Our home, the Columbia River Gorge, is known for having some of the best recreational river access in the country and every year the mechanics pull on wetsuits, tighten down PFDs, bear our meanest game faces, and tackle the tumultuous whitewater that is The White Salmon.
The White Salmon River, once relieved of the Condit Damn in 2011 became one of the most famous freed rivers in North America, inciting excitement in anglers, environmental activists, rafters, kayakers, and making a grand appearance in one of the most talked about documentaries of 2014: Damnation. Check it out if you have a chance, the footage of the removal is incredible.
Early one Friday morning, brandishing our paddles against the impending Class III-V whitewater unfurling before us, we separated into two teams, purely for heckling purposes. Team Jabba, followed closely by Team In-One-Ear-And-Out-Your-Mother put on the river, all clad in whitewater ‘armor’ from our heads to our toes.
Our fearless leaders from Wet Planet guided us down the first several miles of Class III-IV rapid action until we took out to portage around the thundering BZ Falls. Cliff jumping was optional, and almost every mechanic made the huck, earning extreme style points while we were at it.
Pretty soon, the only thing standing between us and Wet Planet’s delectable catered Beer-BQ was the whole 12 looming feet of the most commercially rafted waterfall in the country: Husum Falls. While some of us might have been hoping for carnage, every mechanic made it though the falls, paddle-in-hand, body-in-boat.
Queue: party time. A flurry of cheersing and beersing ensued after tossing the rafts back on their stacks and thanking our guides. ‘Till next year, White Salmon!