How To Run Horseshoe Falls And Rattlesnake Rapid In Low Water

October 28, 2011 Leave a comment

Since quite a number of people have wondered how to run Horseshoe Falls and Rattlesnake Rapid in low water, I will tell them in this post.  When approaching Horseshoe Falls, you’ll notice a large rock on the left shortly before the main drop.  Pass just to the right of it then slide into the drop with your boat pointed left.  The problem at Horseshoe is to go too far right at which point you would encounter a waterfall with sharp rocks.  Avoid it!  Immediately below Horseshoe a ledge has formed over the years that you must go to the right of.  You are now approaching Rattlesnake, which is made up of three parts.  The first part requires you to pass between two large rocks on the right.  The passage is very narrow, but needs to be negotiated to put you in proper position for part two.  This is a steep drop, which you go through by locating a long sharp jagged ledge, and passing just to the left of it.  Then you pull right to move between two ledges, and as you float through the second drop, you will skim over rocks at the bottom.  Do not go over the center, because there is a rocky ledge with a straight drop!  You made it!  Now take out your fishing pole, because right below the rapid is an excellent steelhead hole.  Enjoy the scenery that follows.

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A Reversal Of Eden In The King Machush Novels Of Janusz Korczak

October 26, 2011 Leave a comment

An analysis of of Janusz Korczak’s most famous Polish children’s novels, the King Machush novels, reveals a reversal of the Eden motif so prevalent in much of children’s literature.  If it was Eve who tempted Adam, and caused the subsequent banishment from the garden, it is the boy, Fellek, who tempts Machush into a close friendship while eating cherries in the king’s garden, leading to Machush’s exile and eventual destruction.  Fellek is the son of a platoon guard, whom Machush envies because of his independent nature and ability to lead.  Machush never acknowledges Fellek’s devious nature, lack of desire to truly learn, and immense ego.  His trust in his “beloved” Fellek becomes his undoing.  It is the Young King’s spy, posing as a reporter for the children’s newspaper, who realizes that Fellek can be an instrument to get rid of Machush.(The Young King is Machush’s greatest enemy, because Machush defeated him in a war.)  Machush’s kingdom is forced to surrender to the young king because of Fellek’s betrayal and Machush himself is sent to an uninhabited island.  So, the first Machush novel comes to an end.  Towards the end of the second novel, Fellek appears  again as a threat to Machush’s good will.  Machush’s trust in Fellek results in his giving Fellek a factory job.  When Fellek’s laziness and lack of initiative  reveal themselves in an altercation, it is Machush who is killed in the factory accident.  Thus ends the second and last Machush volume. Although Machush grows to respect adults, children younger than himself and older children, he fails to see the danger posed by his “beloved” Fellek.  Illustration of Machush’s thoughts by Waldemar Andrzejewski from King Machush on an Uninhabited Island.

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The Rapid Below Tucker’s

October 16, 2011 Leave a comment

The rapid below Tucker’s was another formidable obstacle for boaters before the 1964 flood.  It began as a shallow bar, which forced boaters into a deeper channel on the far left.  As the rapid progressed, boaters had to move quickly to the right to avoid some boulders with sharp drops.  Then the bar flowing from right to left and the left drops formed steep waves, and the river went straight over an enormous hole, which had to be avoided or you would capsize.  This was definitely a rapid I would never have considered inner tubing.  However, after the 1964 flood the river widened and the steep drop was gone.  There were still some large waves, but there was no danger.  I inner tubed the post 1964 flood lower Tucker’s rapid many times without any difficulty.  When the river flowed past lower Tucker’s rapid, it left its canyon environment and spread out into numerous bars.  The change was quite dramatic.  It revealed one of the finest steelhead fishing spots on the Upper Rogue.  It was also not uncommon to see salmon spawning in August.

The reader might ask where the name Tucker came from.  Nion and Phyllis Tucker had purchased the property adjoining the rapid from Walter Bowne in the 1930s.  Rogue’s Roost, which is what the Tucker’s called their summer home(their home was in Burlingame California) was truly something to see.  It boasted a swimming pool, a large vegetable garden and it was surrounded by magnificent trees.

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Remembering Jackson Falls On The Upper Rogue River

October 14, 2011 Leave a comment

Jackson Falls posed a considerable problem for boaters before it was erased by the 1964 flood.  Below Dodge Bridge the river went straight for about 3/4 mi. before making a sharp right angle turn, which created the falls(The river now turns right much earlier.)  The river flowed over a bar and moved slowly along some reeds. The mood was almost idyllic in its serenity.  Then the river was quite still as it flowed along a rock island.  It was here that Dad used to stop to pump up our rubber boat.  Towards the end of the island you could hear the roar of the river announcing the approaching falls.  At that point the river divided into different channels, which flowed over bars.  One of the channels flowed into a group of bushes.  All channels dropped over sharp ledges, which formed falls.  My Dad took the center channel, which was the largest one.  We navigated a rocky drop Dad called First Falls before pulling to the right bank to avoid Jackson Falls, a 5-6 ft. drop.  There was another small drop further on when the river made a quick left turn.  Although small, it was full of jagged rocks, which meant another portage.  When the river made its left turn it was one rapid above what is called Horseshoe Falls.

I remember walking along the bank with Grandpa Johnny, and being glad to be out of the water, especially when I looked back, and saw the falls we had avoided!  It is sad that there appears to be no pictures of this splendid falls, but, hopefully, some will be found in the not distant future.

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More On The Highway Rapid

October 10, 2011 Leave a comment

My Dad recalls the Highway Rapid: “The real problem was you would come down in a westerly direction, and the whole river would slam into the bank of the highway and then make a right angle turn. The force of the river would actually pin boats against the bank, and many of the guides would just pull the boat around.  Where it made its major right angle turn there were large boulders to dodge, and the river was very swift.  The waves were very high, and the river would smash into the bank,and create crazy currents.  The guide told my father and I to get out, and he would pick us up below.  He rowed a wooden boat right through, but some of the guides just roped their boats through there.  Below that rapid you came to the Ditsworth’s place, and I used to fish for steelhead in there.

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