There's no water.

The last month and a half have been brutally dry here in Oregon, but how dry?

I went back and looked at data for the Illinois River to compare to this year and here's what I found. I counted the number of days the Illinois' mean flow was over 700 CFS between November 1st and December 17th for the past 20 years. This year, during that same time frame, the Illinois has hit the mark 10 times. There are two other years (in the past 20) that this has occurred; in 2008 and in 1991. But the absolute worst year was 2000, in which the Illinois only hit 700 a miserable 5 times.
Here's the data:

Days when average flow reached or exceeded 700 CFS at Kerby on the Illinois River between November 1st and December 17th:

2011: 10
2010: 37
2009: 14
2008: 10
2007: 17
2006: 34
2005: 31
2004: 11
2003: 15
2002: 12
2001: 29
2000: 5
1999: 32
1998: 32 (record 20-year for time frame on 11/21 was 20,400 CFS)
1997: 35
1996: 30
1995: 20
1994: 31
1993: 11
1992: 15
1991: 10

Back when there was water, January of 2011:

Kadoma to debut in Ashland, Oregon June 23rd

The much-anticipated film Kadoma will debut in Ashland on Thursday, June 23^rd starting at 8:00PM at Ashland Greenhouses. Local filmmakers, Chris Korbulic, 24, of Rogue River, Ore., and Ben Stookesberry, 32, of Mount Shasta, Calif., share their terrifying and true story of unmatched adventure that resulted in the tragic death of their kayak guide. The Ashland premier of Kadoma will benefit the local filmmaker’s good friend and fellow kayaker, Matt Thomas, who was paralyzed while mountain biking in Southern Oregon almost 2 years ago.

Korbulic and Stookesberry appeared at Jackson County Library Foundation’s Southern Oregon Arts and Lecture Series this past April to tell their story and share pictures. They left with the promise to return with a feature film documenting their adventures. Kodoma’s world premiere took place at the Mountainfilm: The Festival in Telluride, Colo. over Memorial Day weekend. “Nothing can replace personal experience and the stories that come from expeditions to remote, but still affected places,” says Korbulic.

Join us to support Matt in his journey to recovery and meet the filmmakers, Ben and Chris. We'll also have raffles and beer, plus one of the best views in Ashland!

What: Premiere of Kadoma to benefit the Matt Thomas Recovery Fund ($5 donation at door)
When: Thursday, June 23rd starting at 8:00pm (film will begin at sunset)
Where: Ashland Greenhouses - 650 East Ashland Lane - Ashland, OR 97520
Info: DesireeW@live.com or info@jclf.org

**If you're unable to attend and would like to make a monetary donation or donate a raffle item, please contact DesireeW@live.com for details.**

Redwood Creek | January 8-9, 2011

Check out the full Redwood Creek trip report.

Although the gauge nearest our put-in suggested the flow to be 250 CFS, it seemed like a lot more than that. Perhaps there's a large tributary between the gauge and put-in, or maybe the gauge is broken. Either way, we were pleasantly surprised that we never had to drag the raft, which is what we thought we'd be doing the first few miles. In fact, the "creek" (this thing is a huge creek), chugged along at a fast pace. Despite the low gradient, the river always has current.

Since none of us had been on this river before, we relied heavily on information from http://www.cacreeks.com/redwood.htm. We were able to track down Kathy and her brother to help with our two vehicle shuttle, which is certainly worth the amount of time you save by not having to do your own shuttle. From Orick to where we put-in was about an hour and fifteen minutes. We were nervous about what the put-in would be like but ran into no problems. Coyote Creek comes in on river-right about seven miles downstream of the put-in. We stopped there for an early lunch break at 11:00.

Read the full trip report here... Redwood Creek Trip Report.