MIDDLE FORK OF THE FEATHER

SWIMMING WITH GUS, EMILY AND TAREK

Fall 1992

Milsap Bar to Oroville Lake

The trip from Hartman Bar to Milsap Bar had given us confidence. We looked forward to swimming quietly through deep pools between granite cliffs on this next section to Oroville Lake. This section featured Curtain Falls and Bald Rock Canyon. We would pass Feather Falls just before entering Oroville Lake. Unfortunately, the falls would be out of sight.

There would be one new complication. Oroville Lake was actually a reservoir. The branch that we would enter was very long, a flooded canyon extending back twelve or fifteen miles. We did not want to attempt this much swimming with no current to help us. Dennis and Connie McCullah, friends from Berkeley, suggested renting a party boat on Oroville Lake and cruising up the reservoir to meet us. What a great idea. I just hope the party boat comes with a cooler full of wine.

We made one mistake in our planning; we forgot to bring cameras.

The Canyon Mouth

Les and Bev

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Coming Into Oroville Lake

Tarek

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Coming Out

Les and Bev

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Closer

Oroville Lake

The Group

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In Oroville Lake

Gus

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Floating

Les

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Floating

Les

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Swimming

Bev

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Floating

Bev

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Floating

The canyon mouth could have presented great difficulty. The Dirty Devil River where it flows into the Colorado is jammed with several miles of floating logs and debris from the houseboats on Lake Powell. There is also the possibility of quicksands and mud. Soon we were well below the high water marks on the canyon walls; eventually the river just flowed out into the lake with solid banks on both sides. There was Dennis and the party boat. He took the first pictures of us walking the last of the river and swimming the last few feet to the boat.

The Party Boat

Cruising

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Down Oroville Lake

Ducks

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On Oroville Lake

Dennis

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On The Party Boat

Connie

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On The Party Boat

Gus

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On The Party Boat

Tarek

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On The Party Boat

It took us a long while to negotiate our arm of Oroville Lake. But every turn of the channel was a joy. We were not able to see Feather Falls. Falling 640 feet, this is the sixth highest waterfall in the US. There was wildlife and new vistas at every turn. No other party boats appeared until just above the Oroville dam.

This trip was another huge success for our method of travel. We had recently been hiking in the Grand Canyon of Mexico, known as Copper Canyon, with a long time hiking friend Richard Henke. This canyon was in some ways similar to the Middle Fork of the Feather. The Urique river formed west of the Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico, then broke through the mountains to the Sea of Cortez. The result was another huge canyon, arguably larger than the Grand Canyon in the US. On our first trip with Richard we descended to the Urique river south of the gorge and hiked downstream to a small town Guapolina, and then up a side canyon with the intent of visiting a Tarahumara Indian village. The Tarahumara Indians are noted for their prowess in long distance running. It began to rain, and our side canyon quickly flooded. We were trapped. Several days later the local villagers and some indians rescued us. The Urique River had flooded, changing from a narrow stream between gravel banks, probably a foot or so deep, to a torrent filling the valley, maybe ten feet deep. Many of the local roads were washed out. This made us aware of the gorge upriver, and we decided to see if we could swim it.