Always appreciate the heads up on stuff like this. Don't float much these days, but it's always good to know what's out there.

As easy as that river is in the winter, it can really sneak up on you at summer lows. Boulders all over the place (many just out of sight but not out of reach of your boat) and occasional, tight maneuvers around wood hazards... and new, different hazards each year.

A few summers ago, a friend and I were floating the campground down in pontoon boats. After the rapid below the campground, we bounced off submerged rock or three, but it was smooth going, until we were getting close to the takeout and came up on a tailout dropping into a narrow, shallow chute, with a logjam at the bottom end. Pretty standard for our rivers, but this was one where the logjam had a little something special... A big, unavoidable sweeper sticking out of the top end. I instantly got a bad feeling and got out to scout it, but my buddy committed. I knew this was going to be trouble, so I started running down the bank toward the jam, almost knowing I was going to have to make some sort of rescue. Fortunately, my friend's pontoon had a standing platform, and as soon as he figured out he wasn't getting around the sweeper, he turned into a mountain goat.

He stood up, stepped on to the sweeper just as his boat was about to hit it, and somehow made his way to a stable log in the jam where he could stand (amazing what we can do when we know it's do or die). His boat eddied out and came right back to him, but he had lost an oar. I had him throw me his rope and jump on, then pulled him around the log. Good thing we were close to the takeout, because, I had to row for both of us the rest of the way. Luckily, it went pretty smoothly.

Can't say it enough. Be careful out there... especially at low flows.