Our excitement was for the day’s 65-mile ride. Our destination:  A tiny river town by the name of Maupin, which is built around the Deschutes River. Will and Dan would be meeting with some great fly fishing, rafting and kayaking guides in the area.

Greenery is replaced by desert shrubs as I look out across a canyon near the Columbia River.

On July 8, we rode along a smooth highway. Approximately 10 miles out of Hood River, the scenery abruptly changed from lush green trees and cool winds, to dry, wheat-colored grasses and measly shrubs.  We first encountered the Deschutes River nine miles from Maupin. We were able to find a flat place to sleep along the river bed as the grey-blue twilight sky was replaced by flickering stars in the blackness of night.

Maupin is a quaint town with a population of approximately 400 people. After a hearty breakfast at a local eatery, Dan and Will set out for their meetings. Will signed Deschutes Angler and Deschutes Canyon Fly Shop, while he met with Sylvie’s Fly Fishing Guide Service, who he is continuing to work with on getting on board. Dan spoke with Sage Canyon Outfitter, who signed up immediately, and All Star Rafting, Kayaking, Fishing and Lodging, who’s excited at the prospect of partnering with SWAE.

A fly fisher flicks his wrist and lets loose his line, searching for Anglers in the Deschutes River

While Dan and Will spoke with outfitters, I got the chance to spend the day riding around town, taking photos and talking to the locals. In the evening, I rode a few miles out of Maupin to take photos of fly fishers along the Deschutes. I have never been much of a fisherman. In fact, I haven’t touched a fishing rod since I was 12 years old. But as I sat on the banks of the river, I found myself captivated by the peaceful concentration which these people had as they waded in the cool-running waters.

Every movement these fishers made had purpose. Every tug of their lines, every flick of their rods, was an attempt to mimic the movement of an angler’s evening meal: a midge, a mosquito, or some other tiny river bug. As they searched the rolling currents and still waters for their intended prey, these men and women seemed most at home when they fished. It was inspiring to see others who were so at home in the outdoors.

Eduardo Macias, a local of The Dalles, has been fly fishing for over eight years along the waters of the Deschutes.

Something which I have found commendable and reassuring about small towns like Maupin, is the symbiotic relationship they have with their environments. Not only are local adventure guides able to make a living out of playing outside, they promote the preservation of their natural surroundings. Whether it’s flyfishers preserving angler populations, or campers continuing the practice of “Leave No Trace.” It’s important not only to enjoy your surroundings, but also to help keep them naturally beautiful for the next generations to come.

So Hood River is sick. The Columbia River Gorge blazes its path through this arid high desert leaving an exposed convergence of land and water where the hot dry winds from the east meet the cooler damp winds from the deciduous west. What results is that these winds funnel between Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams with such ferocity that any kid or forty-something in a half pulled down wet suit with boards strapped to the top of their Subaru can tell you makes for the best kiteboarding locale on earth. Dan spent the last couple days meeting with guys like Kite the Gorge, Big Winds, and Brian’s Wind Surfing School and getting them stoked on SWAE. Next time you’re in the area look them up. If they can teach John Kerry to rip it, you stand a pretty good chance.   

To make this area even more of a playground, the White Salmon River cuts its way from Adams on the Washington side of the bridge and empties itself into the Columbia. If you’re not familiar, the White Salmon is the most intense commercially run river in the country. Two-thirds of the eight-mile stretch the guides take you down is Class III and IV with a Class V waterfall in the middle.  The water that forms is virtually continuous white froth that is a combination of glacier melt and water that seeps up through the area’s lava tubes to make its first appearance in daylight. What I’m getting at is this river will probably be the cleanest body of water you’ll ever lay eyes on. I had some wonderful meetings with rafting outfitters up there. My first day in town I met with All Adventures Rafting. They are a great hometown outfit and Karen took a lot of pride in the intensity and uniqueness the White Salmon had to offer. Our meeting concluded with her filling up my water bottle with some crystal clear spring water that bubbled up on the edge of her property. The next morning I peddled back up the canyon to meet with Jaco of Wet Planet Whitewater. Looking at their new site, I was seriously impressed not only by the skill of their graphic designer, but how it laid out everything their company was doing to minimize their ecological footprint: from using biodiesel in their buses to implementing a system of carbon credits. I am just always impressed when people use their businesses as a medium for social and environmental change, all the while doing what it is they love most.  

So that was written yesterday morning but I didn’t get around to posting it until just now. Currently, I’m sitting in a big Adirondack chair, whose back is a series of masterfully crafted inter-woven trout, along the banks of the Deschutes River in Maupin, Ore. We did a 60-mile tour yesterday through the rolling wheat fields of Central Oregon that I’m sure must have been the inspiration behind Katherine Lee Bate’s America the Beautiful. The Deschutes is apparently one of the best trout rivers in the country and thus, makes for a very good reason why world-class guides like Brian Silvey’s Fly Fishing, The Deschutes Angler, and the Deschutes Canyon Fly Shop call this quiet little town home. I’m waiting to meet with one more fly fishing guide this afternoon whose sign on the shop has informed me that he’s “gone fishin” and that there’s a good chance he’ll be back around 1:30 pm: right on!  I’ll leave it at that and hope all is well in your world.  We’ll talk again in Bend and to Claire: Happy Birthday Darling, I LOVE you and can’t wait to see you soon!