Recent Posts from Zachary Collier
Futaleufu River Trip Report
by Zachary Collier (and improved on by Janda Siebert) The Futaleufu River is known for its turquoise water, big rapids, and jaw dropping scenery. Located in Southern Chile in the region of Patagonia in the Andes Mountains, this part of Chile is strikingly beautiful, and for the most part undeveloped. To get to the river, we flew from Portland, Oregon to Santiago, Chile and then flew to the very small town Balmaceda, Chile, which is the regional gateway for travelers visiting Patagonia. From Balmaceda, we drove...
Rafting and Cultural Tour of Bhutan
This October ECHO will run an incredible river trip exploring the tiny nation of Bhutan. Located in Central Asia sandwiched between India and Nepal, this Himalayan Kingdom has a rich history and has retained its ancient culture and traditions in the face of modernization. Bhutan has become increasingly open to foreigners in the last decade and offers many virtually untouched natural environments for rafters to explore. Many rivers carve out deep gorges and are fed by summer monsoons and Himalayan snow melt. You'll raft past monasteries...
Definition of Mancation
man·ca·tion (măn-kã′shen) n. 1. a coming together of men to celebrate all things man. 2. an annual activity comprised of great friends that is limited to men and can include some or all of the following: climbing trees, getting lost, picking on the weak ones, excessive drinking, and discussions of the finer things in life. 3. an opportunity for men to relive their college days. This event usually ends in some sort of prison term or injury. v. mancationed, -tioning, -tions [Middle English mancacioun, from Old...
Family Rafting on the Oka River in Siberia
Vladimir Gavrilov came to us from Latvia in 1992 after a career as a researcher in radiation chemistry. While he was in the former U.S.S.R., he explored the rivers of Central Asia and led expeditions down many unexplored rivers. He's designed and built his own boats, won rafting championships, and recently wrote a book about the rivers of the former Soviet Union. We asked Vlad to lead a family oriented trip to Siberia this summer and he picked the Oka River in the Sayan mountains. He...
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act Turns 40
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is turning 40 this year. Here at ECHO, we celebrate the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act because it provides unparalleled protection for both the Middle Fork of the Salmon River and the Rogue River. In fact, the Middle Fork and the Rogue were two of the original eight "charter"rivers designated by Congress when they signed the act on October 2, 1968. The Act declares: "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers...
Lake Creek Update - June 16, 2007
Fires associated with the Pistol Creek fire of 2000 charred the Lake Creek watershed. Since then two microburst storms have caused mud and trees to slide down Lake Creek and block the river. The most recent occurred last summer and caused the blockage at Pistol Creek Rapid that was removed by the Forest Service. During that time, we had a trip on the water that had to end early and you can read more about that trip here. Earlier this spring, higher water moved some logs...
Partners and Accolades
Outside Magazine Our Rafting and Cultural Tour of Bhutan was recognized in 2011 by Outside Magazine as one of the top ten Trips of the Year! This trip combines rafting the pristine rivers of this tiny kingdom with visits to traditional Buddhist cultural sites. Every fall we take a handful of rafters to this fascinating country known as the last Shangri-La! Travel Oregon NWRC owner Zach Collier is Travel Oregon's Ask Oregon Rafting Expert for good reason. In addition to being the owner of a successful...
Big Water and Sunshine: The Perfect Combo
We just got off a fantastic five day Middle Fork of the Salmon Rivertrip on Tuesday. We lucked out with gorgeous, warm, sunny weather and awesome medium-high water flows! The first day was full of adventure with Velvet Falls and The Chutes, plus enormous wave trains. Some of the haystacks (big waves) made the Salmon River feel like the middle of the ocean. Folks kept asking what the rapids were called and were shocked to discover that many of them don't even have names. By the...
Idaho Guide School Report
Due to trip logistics and possible road closures, the decision was made to fly our students into Indian Creek. Once we heard the road was open to the Boundary Creek put in, the guides headed in to start from the top for a little pre-season training. We encountered some of the biggest snow flakes as we headed up over the pass, putting few inches on the road. When we finally reached put-in, we all took a look at the river that was flowing just over 6...
ECHO Family Runs a High Water Tuolumne Trip
The ECHO training trip on the Tuolumne was a huge success! Some hailed from as far as Salt Lake City and New York to come on "The T" and both Dick Linford and Joe Daly freed up their weekends for what was supposed to be relaxing river trip. As we gathered around for the safety talk at Meral's Pool, Dick Linford said with a grin, "If I'd known the T would be running at 8,000 cfs, this trip would've been cancelled last week!" But, the boats...
