Whitewater Packraft - North Fork John Day River – Dale to Monument

Six of us packrafted about 50 miles of the North Fork John Day River in early June.

We put in at Driftwood Campground. Launching here, about 6 miles upstream of the standard launch near the Haden Creek confluence, added some of the best boating of the trip. (We knew to do this thanks to Dennis, the only one in our group who’d boated the NF previously.) We drove to Driftwood the night before, camped, and launched in the morning directly from our campsite.

Two miles downstream of Driftwood Campground (photo: Brian Collins)

It was 100 in the shade when we put in Monday morning, but we stayed cool enough on the water and found shaded campsites.

Just enough shade for lunch (photo: Fionnuala Morrish)

Starting in a narrow valley in ponderosa pine forest, the trip transitions to a broader desert valley.

(photo: Robert Kaye)

(photo: Robert Kaye)

This trip is a great alternative to more popular Oregon rivers: campsites were plentiful, we saw no other boaters on our three-day trip, and permits are walk-up.

The flow was about 1000 cfs. This is above the recommended minimum of 800 cfs, and it was fun, with lots of rock gardening and Class II rapids. But the fun likely increases non-linearly with added flow, and we thought 1500 cfs is likely a good minimum to shoot for.