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Tricky rafting spot on Rogue River has been very deadly this year
Monday, August 04, 2008 | No comments posted.
AGNESS (AP) — The name Blossom Bar Rapids doesn’t conjure up danger in most people’s minds, but rafters know otherwise — that section of the Rogue River can be deadly.
And due to this year’s water flow, it’s deadlier than in year’s past, having claimed three rafters’ lives in the past year.
In June 2007, Valerie Casey, 47, of Phoenix, Ariz., fell out of her raft at Blossom Bar Rapids on the Rogue River and drowned, trapped against a rock. It happened again last June 27 to Cynthia Vontungeln, 52, of Irvine, Calif., who shared an inflatable kayak with another woman.
On July 26, Kathleen Mills, 57, of Portland fell out of a raft at the same place and drowned while pinned underwater.
They all wore life jackets and died in the roiling Picket Fence section of Blossom Bar. The class 4 rapid, on a scale of six, is the best-known on the river.
It draws the respect even of highly experienced rafters.
“Unfortunately it has a death count, and its scary now,” said Brad Niva, owner of Rogue Wilderness outfitters in Merlin.
The problem is undercut rocks, with a rapid flow of water underneath, said rafting guide Ferron Mayfield of Ferron’s Fun Trips, also in Merlin.
“If you land in the wrong spot, it’s a sieve. It’s a challenge every time.”
Mills’ body was missing at midweek, said Sgt. John Ward of the Curry County Sheriff’s Office. It became dislodged from the row of rocks that make up the Picket Fence.
“Our marine deputies go up there at least once a day, and all the tour boats are still aware she’s missing, Ward said. “They go up there six or seven times a day.”
The rapid is trickier this year because of water flows 50 percent higher than the five-year average.
Niva said his company no longer lets clients use inflatable kayaks at Blossom Bar or equally tricky Mule Creek because of the flows.
“We haven’t seen water levels like this at this time of year in a long time,” Niva said.
To run Blossom bar correctly, rafters must get through a slot leading to a long boulder garden. Those who miss the slot can get pushed onto the Picket Fence.
The high flow means the eddy rafters usually catch to get through the slot is hard to catch.
Chris Dent, river programs manager for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, said they’ve had more requests for information after the latest incident but that people apparently are not canceling trips.
Levels are expected to start dropping but will remain above average into September.
There have been two other drownings in the Rogue this year.
And due to this year’s water flow, it’s deadlier than in year’s past, having claimed three rafters’ lives in the past year.
In June 2007, Valerie Casey, 47, of Phoenix, Ariz., fell out of her raft at Blossom Bar Rapids on the Rogue River and drowned, trapped against a rock. It happened again last June 27 to Cynthia Vontungeln, 52, of Irvine, Calif., who shared an inflatable kayak with another woman.
On July 26, Kathleen Mills, 57, of Portland fell out of a raft at the same place and drowned while pinned underwater.
They all wore life jackets and died in the roiling Picket Fence section of Blossom Bar. The class 4 rapid, on a scale of six, is the best-known on the river.
It draws the respect even of highly experienced rafters.
“Unfortunately it has a death count, and its scary now,” said Brad Niva, owner of Rogue Wilderness outfitters in Merlin.
The problem is undercut rocks, with a rapid flow of water underneath, said rafting guide Ferron Mayfield of Ferron’s Fun Trips, also in Merlin.
“If you land in the wrong spot, it’s a sieve. It’s a challenge every time.”
Mills’ body was missing at midweek, said Sgt. John Ward of the Curry County Sheriff’s Office. It became dislodged from the row of rocks that make up the Picket Fence.
“Our marine deputies go up there at least once a day, and all the tour boats are still aware she’s missing, Ward said. “They go up there six or seven times a day.”
The rapid is trickier this year because of water flows 50 percent higher than the five-year average.
Niva said his company no longer lets clients use inflatable kayaks at Blossom Bar or equally tricky Mule Creek because of the flows.
“We haven’t seen water levels like this at this time of year in a long time,” Niva said.
To run Blossom bar correctly, rafters must get through a slot leading to a long boulder garden. Those who miss the slot can get pushed onto the Picket Fence.
The high flow means the eddy rafters usually catch to get through the slot is hard to catch.
Chris Dent, river programs manager for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, said they’ve had more requests for information after the latest incident but that people apparently are not canceling trips.
Levels are expected to start dropping but will remain above average into September.
There have been two other drownings in the Rogue this year.
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