I've been done with my Owyhee trip for a week now. Since starting work on the Oregon Desert Trail late last year it's been my goal to hike/packraft the entire 750 miles. This Owyhee chunk has me up to 425 miles, and I'll complete the trail in September with the section between Bend and Plush, Oregon.
For a packraft alternate in the Owyhee canyon, I'll be putting together specifics on which sections are suitable at low water to paddle; from 3 Forks to the area just after Iron Point I would recommend paddlers be comfortable scouting and running low flow to at least Class III. From Five Bar to 3 Forks and from Iron Point on I think less experienced paddlers would be fine (200 cfs and less). Stay tuned for more details.
All this rating of rapids in a remote canyon however is a bit of a faulty science. After talking with Kirk at length about what a Class III looks like road-side, compared to a Class III in a canyon days away from civilization, it seems like there could be a better rating system. Not all rapids are equal depending on your surroundings.
He shared this video with me about Addison's scale that separates rapids or rivers into ratings based on the difficulty, danger, and exposure. Based on this rating boaters can get a much better picture of the true risk involved in a rapid or river.
For example, with the trip I just completed at low flow on the Owyhee, there wasn't too much difficulty in the rapids, definitely some maneuvering and scouting, so I'd rate it a difficulty of Class III. The danger - risk of injury or death, was also in the realms of 3, however I think some of the portages may have been 4, getting around The Ledge, Half Mile, and Widowmaker involved some serious rock scrambling, lifting and lowering of the boat, climbing...even being very careful I slipped and cracked my tailbone good on one portage. Risk can be high, so I'm inclined to go with a 4. As for exposure, you are far far away from help on the Owyhee. If I had to hike out it would be days to help. I had a Delorum Inreach beacon, so that could have brought help to me, but that could take at least a day as well. So for exposure I would give the Owyhee a C rating. So for the Owyhee at low flow I give it a Class III-4-C rating.
Now for my gear list. I definitely had some extras that I should have brought, but 4 pairs of socks??? Don't know how that happened. I brought 2 throw bags, but didn't need 2. So below is mostly what I brought, but leaving off the extraneous things that I regretted bringing.
| Item | Specific Item | Weight |
| Pack | Six Moon Designs Flex Pack | 51 oz |
| Packraft | Alpacka Llama with Cargo Fly | 8 lbs (with added thigh straps, back band and other modifications) |
| Paddle | Werner Player 4 piece | 40.5 oz |
| Helmet | Sweet Protection Strutter | 14.1 oz |
| PFD | Astral Hybrid | (no longer available, sob, I want one!! I used Kirk's for the trip) |
| Throw bag | Kirk made a small one | |
| Bow bag | Kirk made me one | |
| Patch kit | Tenacious tape, aqua seal, boat patches | |
| Sleeping Pad | Gossamer Gear Air Beam 3/4 Wide (Air Beam is not available anymore) | 11.7 oz |
| Sleeping Bag | Western Mountaineering Ultralight 20 degree | 29 oz (I need to get a summer quilt, this was too warm) |
| Ground Cloth | Tyvek | 5 oz |
| Shelter | Six Moon Designs Deschutes Cuben Fiber | 7 oz (I should have brought a free standing net tent) |
| Stakes | TOAKS Titanium stakes x6 | 1.3 oz |
| Poles | Black Diamond Z-Poles with foam for tips when storing in boat | 17 oz |
| Cook Pot | TOAKS Titanium 1100ml Pot | 4 oz |
| Spoon | Oboz plastic spoon/spork | 1 oz |
| Stove | TOAKS Titanium Backpacking Wood Burning Stove | 7.9 oz |
| French Press | I bought at REI 10 years ago, I use plastic inner cup | |
| Water Containers | Platypus Hoser 1.8 liter | 3.4 oz |
| Vapur 1 Liter Bottle | 1.4 oz | |
| Water Filter | Sawyer Mini | 2 oz |
| Water treatment | eye dropper of bleach | |
| Camera/Phone | Galaxy S5 | 5.1 oz |
| Lifeproof Case | 1.6 oz | |
| GoPro 3 (3 batteries) | (I lost my GoPro day 2) | |
| External Battery | Anker 2nd Gen Astro E5 | 10.9 oz |
| Headphones | Generic | |
| USB charger & 2 charging cords | Verizon | 7 oz |
| GPS/Beacon | DeLorum InReach | 7 oz |
| Umbrella | Six Moon Designs Silver Shadow | 8 oz |
| Headlamp | Petzel Tikka RZP Rechargable Headlamp | 4 oz |
| Stuff Sacks | OR UltraLight Dry Sack | 1.6 oz |
| Knife | Gerber US1 | 1 oz |
| Bag Liner | Trash compactor bag | |
| Jacket | Montbell Alpine Light Down Parka | 11.8 oz |
| Patagonia Hoodini | 4.3 oz | |
| Outdoor Research Helium II | 5.5 oz | |
| hat | Hikertrash trucker hat | 2 oz |
| Outdoor Research Pinball Hat | 2.7 oz | |
| First Aid | Misc | |
| Long sleeve shirt | Outdoor Research Reflection sun shirt | 7.5 oz |
| Pants | Outdoor Research Ferrosi Pant | |
| Skirt | Purple Rain Skirt | |
| Long johns | Outdoor Research Essence Tights | 5.2 oz |
| Socks | X3 pairs Point6 merino socks | (should have just brought 1 pair of socks) |
| Shoes | Oboz Luna | 12.6 oz |
| Luna Sandles - Mono | ||
| Rain skirt | trash compactor bag | |
| Mittens | Gordini Stash Lite Touch Mitt | |
| Gaiters | OR Gortex Gaiters | 10.2 oz |
