VTR: Owyhee River, Middle Section

[@seanfraser7738]

Great video, and commentary. You have a very insightful, peaceful way of explaining your moves, and the thoughts behind them. I really appreciate that. Thanks Cody!

[@PrivateWhitewater]

Appreciate the support Sean!

[@90Duck]

Thanks for posting this and for sharing your observations. You are spot on that there is a dearth of info out there on this run. Well done!

[@aaronsety839]

Ummm, very possible this its the best rapid description and video I have ever seen. You coverd it all and left out all the bs. Nicely done, thank you for sharing

[@PrivateWhitewater]

Thank you very much for the thoughtful comment.

[@gpasquin]

Nice work Cody! Great lines and commentary!

[@PrivateWhitewater]

Thanks dude! Illinois season is looking promising this year.

[@zackkozel2226]

Great video. I’ve been down the section a number of times at different levels. As flows move above 8,000-9,000 Ledge gets easier and the wholes and waves in 1/2 Mile become very large and pushy.

[@PrivateWhitewater]

Thanks dude! I for sure, could see how halfmile could get like that at higher flows.

[@NickFiorante]

That thumbnail pic 😮‍💨 awesome video

[@PrivateWhitewater]

Such a beautiful canyon

[@bigbadb80]

Love the videos! Thanks! Who do you recommend for an Owyhee shuttle?

[@PrivateWhitewater]

owyheeadventureshuttle.com/

[@bigbadb80]

Great. I’d like to do a Lower Owyhee trip starting May 31st but worry there won’t be enough flow. My group all has 14ft rafts. Thoughts? Got a crystal ball?

[@PrivateWhitewater]

@@bigbadb80 just have a good backup plan to head to a different river if the flows get to low. You could probably snag a cancellation permit for the rogue around that time.

[@bigbadb80]

That’s the plan. Would you say the trip is viable above 800 in rafts?

[@PrivateWhitewater]

@bigbadb80 As the water level drops, the owyhee gets harder. You and your crew have to come to a no go level on your own.

[@JohnHershberger-g9h]

Nice video! Is this upstream from Rome or downstream? Thanks

[@PrivateWhitewater]

Upstream. The section downstream of Rome is the lower section and the more common ran section.

[@TypeIIAdventures]

2 questions: I noticed you both were in cats. Do you think this needs a cat to run, or would a 16’ raft be suitable? Second, how would you compare Widow-maker to Green Wall?

[@PrivateWhitewater]

You could run this in a raft easily. I personally wouldn’t take my 16 foot round boat down it, unless I knew I had 4500 CFS the entire time. Rapids like the ledge as water level drops would become really tricky in a larger boat and a huge risk of pins. I would take a 13ft round boat down anytime. I would say that widowmaker and green wall are very similar. I think the crux move is harder, but the crux is at the bottom of the rapid. On green wall the crux move is dead center of the rapid. I have heard from other paddlers that you run the middle section, and then if you feel comfortable you head to the Illinois.

[@TypeIIAdventures]

@@PrivateWhitewater thanks! Very helpful information. That explanation on the raft size to flow makes a lot of sense. I’m hoping flows on the lower hold up until the school year ends so I can get on it. (I got lucky with that in 2019, fingers crossed.)

[@petercomeau2974]

4 ft drop tops

[@PrivateWhitewater]

When you ran it, you thought it was only 4 ft? I looks and seems a lot bigger than that.

[@blakecollins1674]

2 foot drop “That’s about an 8 foot drop” 😂

[@PrivateWhitewater]

Sorry you disagree with me, but the camera doesn’t do it justice.

[@MichaelRuff-il8se]

Have you ran it?