Joint Minam River Training
Operational Details
Teams involved: Swiftwater Rescue (Wallowa & Union Counties), Manned Aviation, General Membership
River & Flow: Minam River (Minam Lodge to Minam), Flow: 2400 cfs at launch
Watercraft: 3 inflatable kayaks, 1 paddle raft (13 ft), 1 pack raft
Water Temp: 47 degrees F
Hazard Considerations: Cold Water, High Flows, Floating Logs, Lack of Eddies, Long Sections of Whitewater
From May 29th to 30th, the Wallowa and Union County Search and Rescue swiftwater teams along with the Wallowa County Manned Aviation Team, conducted a joint training to improve our ability to respond along the Minam River corridor between the Minam Lodge and Minam. This majority of this reach is within the Eagle Cap Wilderness and access is extremely limited.
While this reach does not currently receive a high volume or recreation boating, we have noticed an uptick in activity as pack rafting becomes more popular. Boaters normally hike or fly into the Minam Lodge or Red’s Horse Ranch to launch their trip. Some more adventurous boaters have ventured into the upper sections of the Minam River, however this section requires a much higher boater skill level along with additional logistical challenges.
The increase in recreational boating prompted a discussion among swiftwater team members about the need to understand what an incident response would require. Our planned training trip required careful consideration of what gear was required as we were limited by space and weight when flying into the Minam Lodge air strip. Additionally, very little information is available regarding different flow levels and how they affect the safety of the trip. Part of the reason for this post is to provide a report of our trip and make information available.
Brent Neely approaches the runway at the Minam Lodge with Wallowa County Swiftwater Team members over members tents who were shuttled to the launch site the night before.
Now, the WCSAR Swiftwater Team has a real knack for picking training dates that incidentally coincide with peak flows, and we managed to do it again here. As we watched flows throughout the week leading up to our launch, the weather turned warm and flows started the classic cyclic increase that comes with snowmelt. So we gathered the information through blogs, phone calls, and emails, to make sure we weren’t crazy for putting on at higher flows. We became more comfortable with the trip but knew there would be additional challenges.
Our plan was to fly gear and personal in to the Minam Lodge in three flights, two from Enterprise and one from La Grande. We learned that we can fairly easily fit a crew a the appropriate gear on one plane (Cessna T206 Turbo) load for a quick response if needed. This trip however was aimed at training and for our benefit, we included additional personnel, thus the three trips.
Minam River flows with vertical line indicating our push-off time. The daily rise and fall of the river is classic during spring snowmelt.
Teams prep gear prior to launch on the Minam Lodge runway.
We pushed off from the bank just before 10:00 and made our way down river. The first few miles are fairly calm with a couple class II rapids. Overall this section doesn’t present much of a challenge and eddies are available for stopping and early gear adjustment. However, at these flow the river was moving fast and it was apparent there would be some challenging water.
Between two and three miles downstream, a section of continuous class II and III water begins. At these flows this section is moving extremely fast and there is a complete lack of eddies. We did spot a few micro-eddies where someone could pull over, but not for a crew with five boats. While the water wasn’t particularly technical, the lack of safe places to pull over or self rescue presents a significant safety issue where a long swim in cold water presents concerns of hypothermia, flush drowning, or encounters with strainers. This is where we had not one, but two unplanned water entries. One kayak and the pack raft were overturned by a rock that was concealed by the paddle raft they were following until the last second. With two people in the water, the paddle raft rapidly switched to rescue mode and pulled our crew members aboard and retrieved their boats. After this incident we decided to stop to regroup however, the lack of eddies forced an additional 40 minute float, or about five miles, before we found a suitable eddy for our group.
This illustrates the dangers of high water during snow melt. If appropriately prepared rescuers were not available, the swimmers may have suffered a long cold swim with varied hazards. Our crew was properly prepared with training, appropriate equipment including thermal protection, and a good plan if someone entered the water that was discussed prior to launching. These are all things anyone should consider when they are on the water.
One thing that made it particularly difficult to pull over was the numerous strainers along the bank. While most of these strainers were easily avoided while paddling, any self rescue or attempt to pull over would be complicated by a dangerous situation below (see photos below).
The stretch of continuous whitewater dissipates slowly over the next 10 miles or so though the river remained very fast. As we approached the wilderness boundary more eddies appeared and stopping became much easier. There are very few rapids in the last 12 miles but there are fun play waves available and the paddling becomes easier.
For recreational boaters considering similar trips, you should consider you paddling ability, determine if you have the proper equipment, make sure your crew has the proper training and skills for a trip like this, and only paddle in flows that are appropriate for your skill level. At these flows, this reach should be paddled with multiple people that can assist in an emergency, and inexperienced boaters should avoid this until flows are lower. While the flows were not overly technical there are major hazards that could be life threatening.
Swiftwater team members floating the relatively calm waters of the lower reaches of the Minam River.
For our swiftwater rescue teams, this was a good opportunity to sharpen our skills on the water, assess our ability to respond in one of the many remote settings in our service area, and provide a report to hopefully keep others safe on the water. If you are planning a trip and would like more information, feel free to use the contact page or send us an email and we’ll get you in touch with one of our swiftwater team members.
The teams would like to thank The Minam Lodge staff for their hospitality and letting us use their facilities for our training, the Manned aviation team for shuttling personnel and equipment, and general membership for shuttling vehicles.
