Submitted by Jeff Edwards

Morgan's idea was to have a "final" river trip experience for Marc, a friend with Parkinson's, on the Deschutes. Marc was an ace kayaker and rafter in his day, but Parkinson's has made it so he needs a walker or wheelchair to get around. I had met Morgan and Marc in the early 80's in Ft Collins, Colo after I moved in with Jon and Ted, who were both avid kayakers and rafters. I had never been whitewater boating before then but had seen rafters boating through the Split Mountain Anticline in Utah and thought it looked like fun.

Morgan and a friend drove down from Bend a few days before the big meet-up and secured the Blue Hole campground just north of Maupin. The campground is graveled and has a relatively flat area, and has the handicap-accessible outhouse. It is also right on the river and has an accessible fishing platform, which Marc was able to use. Jon and his wife Lisa drove in from Montana, Ted and Marc flew in from Denver, and I drove in from Portland. A few other folks came from Bend for just one night.

It was mid-July and the timing of the trip was terrible. There were fires near Maupin and the temps were in the 100s every day. Ugh. Smoke wasn't too bad most of the time but in the mornings you could taste it. And with the heat, it was a great relief to get on the river.

We had 3 rafts and 2 IKs, and Marc was able to row a raft through some of the Class IIs. We did 2 runs from Harpham down to Sandy Beach, and a short but sweet run from Buckhollow to Pine Tree downstream of Sherars Falls. I had never run that section and it was a blast in an IK.

On day 3 (or 4?) a gust came that blew over and destroyed the canopy that had given us shade; a sign that it was time to leave! Marc and Ted had never been to Timberline Lodge, so I took them up there - it was a gorgeous day cool day up there. Then we joined up with the gang (the other folks went to shuttle equipment back to Bend) for one last camp in the woods at Bear Springs.

It was great to see old friends, tell crazy river stories, and get in some boating. A little bittersweet as Marc struggled to get around. A good time overall even with the heat and smoke.