John Day - Service Creek to Clarno

Memorial Day weekend we ran from Service Creek down to Clarno. It was easy to simply rent a raft at Service Creek, so Cindy and I rode down in luxury. Katy and Chris paddled my indominatable Mad River Explorer.

The flow was actually pretty high, around 5,000 cfs. This flow made for easy rafting, but the canoeists lined the first couple drops.

First night we ended up on the gravel bar at Priest Hole. My concerns about 4WD access were justified when we heard drumming almost all night and were serenaded by 'Sweet Home Alabama' at 4:30 in the morning.

'The kids' did a phenomenal job of running Burnt Ranch Rapid and it seems like maybe that got them hooked on canoe paddling.

We laid-over at the first camp in the Big Bend area. There was good hiking up the creek draw and the fishing was not too bad either.

The weather was great, the water was high but moderate; we had one of the best trips ever.