John Day, N. Fork

Our group that included Thomas O'Keefe and Omar Jepperson in kayaks and Adrian Boloveschi and Chris Barnard in packrafts came planning to run the section above this one but were not able to access it due to snow coverage. We were able to arrange a driver at the Dale Store who took us up to Oriental Campground and we ran from there down to Monument over four days which was a very relaxed pace (we could easily have covered the distance on a 3 day trip). Flows hovered just above 2000 cfs which would be a great flow for intermediate paddlers or advanced beginners with appropriate support. I would come back and do this as a family trip. There are a few old ranch houses and newer vacation homes along river right but they are infrequent and did not detract from the overall experience. We found plenty of camping on both sides of the river. Campsite competition was a minor issue on Saturday evening as we approached the take-out and sought a spot upstream of Wall Creek. The take-out was busy on Sunday at noon with several trips taking off the river.