One more thing, The port of Kalama launch is a little less nerve wracking to use. The Gearhart ramp is fine, but the only sand bar in your entire trip you wil need to worry about is the one at the mouth of the Cow. You can avoid it by driving five minutes further to Kalama, and then you have a nice, free launch, with docks to tie off to. Mo' bettah.

If you do use Gearhart, follow someone else down the first time. I know, you need only 4 inches, but there's a reason I'm telling you this. A personal reason. An embarrassing reason. If you get my point.