Tumalo Creek Blog

John Hise, one of the managers at Tumalo Creek invited me along for a paddle on the Upper Deschutes last Tuesday in an attempt to train me on how to be an “on call” kayak guide. My other ulterior motive was to take pictures and learn a little bit more about the area to create a page on our website and further get the word out about our offerings for small group tours.

Before departing, John consulted with me for a few minutes about what boat we should load on to the trailer for me to take out that morning. I bragged that Geoff had given me a “very narrow” boat to paddle for the Pole, Pedal, Paddle and that I “wasn’t going to flip over, or anything.”

After arriving at Slough Camp, unloading gear and giving a short talk about safety and stroking with our guests Jess, Julie and Joan Fainberg, I was asked to depart first. I’ve been in and out of boats 1000s of times in my life, but something about the way I held the paddle and shifted my weight at the last minute did not agree with the Eddyline Fathom LV, and into the water I went, camera and all!

We had an amazing (if soggy) paddle along the calm waters of the Upper Deschutes, and John even showed us a semi-secret lagoon that we found after rowing down a narrow river trail. Though my camera was not too happy about being wet, I also got a few great shots of the crew. Thanks John and Hannah and Fainbergs for a wonderful afternoon.