5/28 - 6/10 To the Rain Shadow |
5/29 - I'm doomed. At least for the rest of 2005 I fear: My weather curse continues. I won't repeat my 1967 weather curse story, but you can find it here. So, back to our adventure... I'm headed over the Cascades to the Deschutes River area. It is purported to be in the rain shadow of the Cascades. Well, I say "show me the money."
After dodging the rain all last winter in areas that are (or were)
known for sun, I returned to Eugene at the end of April in time I hoped
for spring. Hah! Three solid weeks of rain greeted us. It seemed like
it might be finally lifting, when a week ago there was a 10 day forecast
of solid sunshine. Two days later 
it
rained. Again the forecast brightened: 15 sunny days ahead! I guess
I owe an apology to everyone who was planning a nice Memorial Day weekend
on the McKenzie River. I decided to spend the weekend at Marten Ridge,
overlooking the McKenzie, before heading over to the Deschutes, hopefully
after the weekend crowd had headed home. Within 2 hours of setting up
on the ridge, it was thundering & raining. The cookout I had planned
with my friends Rhett & Nancy was washed out; we barbecued in their
carport.
There was no sun at all today (Sunday), just a cold overcast. This morning
I awoke literally in a fog, a white out. By midmorning it was lifting
enough to reveal the McKenzie valley below among mist shrouded ridges.
But that's as good as it got... weatherwise anyway. I spent the afternoon
fishing & landed the largest trout that I have ever hooked, easily
20". What a beautiful fish! The McKenzie is catch & release
for wild trout, so that's what I did. I hope that was a portent, since
I plan to fish the Deschutes this coming week. The other positive note
here is that the ridge is festooned with Oregon Iris: dozens of bunches
all along the roadside.
I do miss Timmy though; he's staying with his mom, my ex. It seemed odd to be heading off without him. This is a short trip though, just 2 weeks. Then a week in Eugene to finish the work on Gypsy & on my mouth, before we head out for a longer summer sojourn.
5/30 - This trip nearly came a cropper. I was a little concerned about my brakes after coming down off Marten Ridge. They got hot enough to smoke a couple of times even though I tried very hard not to ride them. But that is one steep drop. The real problem, though, was the bright red GEN light on the dash all the way down. Heading over the Cascades now seemed out of the question. I stopped by Rhett & Nancy's to talk about the problem since they had tentative plans to join me on the Deschutes. Then, when I went back to start eBoy for the trip to town, the GEN light went off. Hmmm. Well, let's head up the river & check things out. The short of it is that the GEN light never came back on, everything worked fine & I made it to Maupin on the Deschutes by midafternoon.
It's an interesting drive, the high desert plateau contrasting markedly
with the misty McKenzie rain forests. And I have to admit that the clouds
dissipated on the way down the eastern Cascade slope. I'm parked at
Maupin City Park, right on the river bank, with full hookups for the
senior price of $16 a day. Nice! The only problem is that cell service
is really flaky here in the canyon. It seemed like it was going to be
OK at first, but it appears to be getting worse. I fear I may have to
relocate tomorrow if it doesn't improve.
The prime Deschutes fishing areas stretch 5 miles up & 5 down the river from here. The guide books describe it as a "brawling" river & it certainly seems robust; a lot like the McKenzie in size & amount of whitewater, at least what I've seen so far. I got in about an hour of fishing this evening & brought in a nice 10" rainbow. An auspicious start.
6/1 - Sure enough, less than 24 hours from my arrival in Maupin, it rained. Another bright, sunny 15 day forecast ruined! And as I thought, I found it necessary to relocate to obtain a reliable cell signal. But the good news is that I'm in a campground right next to the river for half the price in town. And since I was joined by my buddy Rhett for the first night, we used his Golden Age pass to get half off again. Too bad the weather didn't cooperate. Between the rain & a lot of wind, fishing hasn't been much fun.
I've got a couple of pictures to share: the first is a Bullock's Oriole
that I saw peeking from among the tree branches. I didn't know there
were orioles in Oregon. The second is of a salmon fly, a really big
(more than 2" long) aquatic bug (stonefly) that the Deschutes is
famous for. It makes for a scrumptious snack for the trout.
6/3 - OK, maybe there is something to the rain shadow. No rain since Tuesday, although it has been cool, sometimes cloudy & quite breezy. Today the winds slackened noticeably& it was sunny most of the day. I had a good day on the river too, catching 4 trout & the last 2 were trophy sized: 16" & 18". If you saw "A River Runs Through It", where Brad Pitt has to work really hard to land his trophy fish, well that's how it felt on the big one today, though I didn't have to go swimming to get it in. And that makes 3 lunkers this week; I'm on a roll!
I didn't mention earlier another 
"feature" of this stretch of the Deschutes... There is a railroad
track on the other bank & large SFBN freight trains pass by several
times a day, including during the night. So far though I have only noticed
the night runs when I was already awake.
Not too much in the wild flower department here. These yellow flowers are probably common sunflowers, but though they may be common, they are still pretty.
So, big dilemma - where to spend next week. I could do a lot worse than just staying right here. There has hardly been anyone at the campground all week & I've never seen a river with such great fishing & so few fishermen. I'm considering the upper Deschutes also, south of Bend & possibly the Crooked River, east of there. The weather forecast is generally promising, with some cloudiness likely Monday. I don't have to decide until Sunday morning...
6/5 - With no compelling reason to go anywhere, I decided to stay put.
That meant I had the day to get out & see more of the area, in addition
to replenishing my larder & fresh water. I drove all the way down
to Sherars Falls, the lower end of this stretch of river & then
looped around & drove to the upper end. I got some interesting images,
not all river related but too many for this page, so I guess I'll just
have to do a Deschutes Gallery.
At Sherars I watched some Native Americans (Warm Springs tribe) fish
for Chinook; the falls is actually on tribal lands & is currently
closed to salmon fishing by the public. I saw them land one & caught
it "on tape."
I fished a lot yesterday; caught several smaller trout, but the big
guys must be on to me. A cold front came through today making for very
windy conditions, not good for fly fishing. Probably won't be better
until about Wednesday. A few campers spent Friday & Saturday night
here, but I have the campground to myself again tonight.
6/6 - It was cool & breezy nearly all day, with only partial sun & it even blew up a thundershower in the late afternoon. I sat out the shower watching the swallows put on an amazing aerial display. There were caddis & mayflies in the air, so no doubt they were feeding, but I sometimes get the feeling they are just showing off or maybe flying for sheer joy. Nature has gifted them with such amazing flight capabilities that maybe they feel somehow compelled to be all they can be by doing all they can do.
After the storm there was a quiet spell when the sun came out briefly before dropping below the canyon rim. It was about the only fishable weather all day. I donned my waders & grabbed my rod as quickly as I could. The same water that skunked me yesterday, today yielded a nice 12" rainbow. The Deschutes regulations allow taking trout over 10" & under 13", so I claimed this one for the frying pan. I offer the obligatory photo as proof, lest you think that I am making up all these fish stories. But I pledge that I won't bore you with a lot of dead fish shots, although I believe I'm allowed one (note the golden stonefly imitation). Besides, it was a nice fish; tasty too. I haven't mentioned the golden stones heretofore; they are slightly smaller but more numerous cousins of the salmon flies & the trout gorge on them this time of year.
6/9 - Yesterday was the first really nice day we've had in a week: sunny, pleasant & NO WIND! Toward evening as I was returning upriver from a couple of hours of fishing, it happened that a freight train was headed the same direction at the same time on the other side of the river. We were both going about 40 MPH, as fast as you would want to go in this winding canyon, just staying abreast. Then I noticed a pair of great blue herons flying together upriver, just between & a little in front of us. This went on for a couple of miles: me, the train & the herons, cruising up the canyon in formation, rounding each bend in turn. It only ended as I slowed to turn into my campground... One of those small, serendipitous moments that sometimes makes a whole day.
Another vignette from yesterday. As I was eating lunch, I crunched on a foreign object in my warmed over fried rice: one of my temporary crowns had come off. Luckily I didn't swallow it (or crush it). After discovering how sensitive the unprotected tooth was (even a sip of water caused discomfort) & checking with my dentist in Eugene, my options seemed to be a) wait until next week to get my permanent crown done (somehow working around the discomfort) or b) head back early. Then I decided to see if there was a dentist in the hamlet of Maupin. I asked at the post office & was directed down the block (the main street is only 4 blocks long). The door was open & the doc said come back in 40 minutes. He had me munching again within the hour for the grand sum of $20 cash. Where else but in a small town can you find that kind of health care?
6/10 - The wind was back today with a vengeance. Gypsy was rockin' & rollin' as heavy gusts blasted us all day. It made for miserable casting when I got out for a late afternoon fishing expedition. Still, I caught 2 smaller trout & my third big'un (16"). Hooking that big feller was satisfying because it was one of those cases where I could actually see his dark shadow lurking below the surface. I placed my fly where it would drift near him, tickled it just a bit as it came closer & he went for it.
I'll be pulling out in the morning, heading back to Eugene via The Dalles & Portland. Despite some very aggravating weather, it has been a very pleasant stay. And since I hear it is again raining on the west side of the Cascades, I guess there is something to the rain shadow here. Fishing a great trout river nearly every day was good for the soul. On the occasional moments when the air stilled, the sweet fragrance of mock orange blossoms was nearly intoxicating. I may just return here when the stoneflies are swarming again.
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