A few changes were made this spring to the ECHO menu and they have so far received rave reviews, welcomed by guests and guides alike with open mouths. After a full day on the river, just about anything tastes fantastic, but ECHO goes the extra mile to serve healthy, delicious food that would easily make the cut in a fancy restaurant. The overall favorites were the tomato, basil, and mozzarella appetizer (known in Italy as Caprese Salad), the rosemary & garlic Dutch oven chicken, and the pear, gorgonzola, & candied walnut salad. Don’t fret though, we are still serving up the old-time classics like Dutch Oven lasagna, chicken curry salad, the famous ECHO fajitas, and scrumptious desserts. One kid on the Middle Fork of the Salmon saw our fruit & chocolate fondue and proclaimed, “Yes, chocolate covered things!!!”

While band-aids are still the most commonly used first aid supply on river trips, having a complete first aid kit, stocked with other neccessary equipment and supplies, is an absolute requirement. And ECHO wants to be prepared not only for the inevitable minor bumps and blisters but the larger medical emergencies that could arise too.

One of the big projects at ECHO World Headquarters in Oakland this past spring has been to redo, revamp, and repack our trip first aid boxes. We consulted experts from Wilderness Medical Institute of NOLS, other rafting outfitters, and local doctors to make sure our first aid kits are organized, complete and go beyond the industry standard.

Zach ordered new first aid boxes and organized all of the supplies in labeled watertight Tupperware containers. Now the guides don’t have to go digging through plastic baggies looking for the Ibuprofen (its in the container conveniently labeled “Meds”). This organized system saves time when one of our guests is looking for immediate relief and comfort.

In addition to our comprehensive first aid boxes that are kept in our “sweep boat” (the last boat in trip floatilla), each boat will have its own small first aid kit, chock full of those regularly used supplies, including the ever-popular band-aids.

The ECHO training trip on the Tuolumne was a huge success! Some hailed from as far as Salt Lake City and New York to come on “The T” and both Dick Linford and Joe Daly freed up their weekends for what was supposed to be relaxing river trip. As we gathered around for the safety talk at Meral’s Pool, Dick Linford said with a grin, “If I’d known the T would be running at 8,000 cfs, this trip would’ve been cancelled last week!” But, the boats were loaded and in the water and all 21 of us guides were ready to go and very excited about the adventure ahead.

The waves and holes were huge and the water was moving very quickly, but we all managed to stay in our boats through the first ten big rapids and in no time we arrived at the daunting Clavey Falls. After a tough ferry across the Clavey River which was adding another 1,500 cfs or more to the Tuolumne, we scouted and had no choice except to run the Linford Slot down the right. When Jeff’s raft came through a few people, including Dick, were catapulted out of the raft and had to swim part of Clavey! It was very exciting for those of us watching and they all were pulled back into the boat with smiles on their faces.

At Big Creek camp we had time to enjoy the green lushness of the river canyon, the wildflowers, and the waterfalls pumping out of the hillsides. We tried a new Dutch Oven recipe - Garlic Rosemary Lamb - which was well-received and might be a new dinner on the Middle Fork this summer. We also had excellent seminars on sanitation, first aid, Z-rigs and wraps.

Day 2 only had one big rapid, Hells Kitchen, but it was chock full of excitement. When Dick took over ECHO’s new cataraft from Zach, we knew it would be an eventful afternoon. And, sure enough, as we rounded the bend after a fun ride through Hells Kitchen, we noticed the cat surfing in a hole at the Playground, Dick flailing around trying to regain control of the oars, yelling for hi-sides, and looking absolutely determined to keep the boat from flipping. Meanwhile Zach was hanging on for dear life, frighteningly close to the full groover, looking entirely pleased with the situation. After a minute or two the boat came out of the hole and a smile finally broke out on Dick’s face. We could hear them hooting and hollering, thrilled that they had come so close to flipping, but had managed to stay upright. It was an entertaining end to a great trip.

The eleven brave boaters that signed up for our April 8th Tuolumne River trip had an epic one day journey. Most of the roads in Tuolumne county were closed that weekend and the river was raging so we put together a special trip for them after nobody wanted us to cancel it.

We started our trip by hiking two miles downhill along the South Fork of the Tuolumne. At put-in, we found that the river was 5,000 cfs instead of the 3,800 cfs that was reported. Our guides were up to the challenge so we put on and ran the Tuolumne at one it’s most difficult levels. Some guides say that 5,000 cfs is the most difficult level on the Tuolumne because we have to run the big rapids right down the middle. At higher flows, it’s easier to sneak around the big holes that lurk in the middle of the river and can flip boats.

We’d normally take out at Ward’s Ferry bridge, but both roads in were closed so we had to paddle an additional mile across the reservoir to a 150 foot long log jam. Here we slowly pushed logs out of the way and paddled through it. After the log jam we had a motorboat tow us across Don Pedro Reservoir we arrived at Moccasin Point Marina. It was an adventurous day!

We’re happy to announce the new ECHO Store. We’ve worked with our friends at Cascade Outfitters to create an online store for our river guests. The items are chosen specifically for extended river trips with variable weather.

The store features sandals from Keen and Chaco, clothes from Patagonia and Kokatat, as well as fun acessories and books for your river trip. To visit the store, simply click the “river gear” link at the top of our website.

Our 2006 Guide School is sleeping under the stars on the Rogue River and we’re starting to plan our first Tuolumne trip(with our seasoned guides) which will be a one day trip on Saturday, April 8th.

Spring trips on the Tuolumne are a special experience. We’ll see the Tuolumne at it’s most fun and forgiving levels(usually between 2,000 and 4,000 cfs) and the Sierra wildflowers will be coming out. The moderate flows that we typically see in April also make for great raft surfing which is usually a highlight.

The cost of this trip is $215/person and includes westuits(required for spring trips) and a fantastic riverside lunch. We’ll also be taking digital pictures along the way which will be posted free of charge on our new photo site at my.echotrips.com.

Our contest to name the river and camp drew much more attention than we expected!! We received hundreds of responses. Many people identified the right river, which was the Rogue. Only two people who had never guided for ECHO named the camp, Dan Valens and David Sones. Dan Valens was first. When he heard how close he came David demanded a recount, which we felt obligated to do. Dan still came in first.

The following were the first ten to name the river, in the order in which they named it: Lisa Foster, Teresa Fleishman, Lynn Guziec, Ed McCollum, Stephanie Diamond, Jerry Cadagan, Steve Gauvain, Brandon Humrick, Brett Kawahama and Scott Leeper. Congratulations all!! We sent each of them one of our new long sleeved ECHO t-shirts.

I think we’ll do this again! You had better get on some trips this season, so you will be better prepared!!

We just received the Department of Water Resources “Water Conditions in California” report which forecasts that runoff for the Tuolumne River will be 111% of the 50 year average.

This is great news because we can now expect runnable flows from the end of March through August. Seasons that have snowpack like this usually mean flows around 2,500 cfs (perfect!) in April and much of May. At some point in late May or early June when the temperatures start to rise, we can expect flows in the 6,000 to 10,000 cfs range which make the Tuolumne VERY exciting.

Last year we cancelled all of our trips from early-May to mid-June due to flows above 10,000 cfs which was the result of a snowpack that was 236% of average. We don’t expect to cancel any trips due to high water this year.

This morning (Monday 2/13) we’re offering a “Guess the River Conest.” Just guess the river shown in the picture on the previouse blog post. The first ten correct answers will win a long sleeved organic cotton ECHO t-shirt.

The contest was concluded on 2/14/2006.

In a few weeks, ECHO begins its 35th year of running rivers. Like a river, ECHO is ever the same and ever changing. The same owners walk through the office front door every day, the same way the Middle Fork of the Salmon, the Rogue, and the Tuolumne keep on flowing.

Yet, we know both man and river are ever changing, and there in lies the excitement and magic. We are excited by the young-bloods who surround ECHO these days, and they, in turn, are excited by rivers that offer up different water levels, new rapids, and new challenges.

We have seen a lot in 35 years–forest fires, floods, droughts, and even a volcano erupting. Our trips have been influenced by human events too–the gas embargo of the ’70’s, inflation and deflation in the ’70’s and ’80’s, the Falkland war, the Gulf war, 9/11, the Afghan war, and the Iraqi war. But somehow we keep rolling along.

We are beginning a special season, and we look forward to spending some river time with you. It has been a great ride, and it is going to be a great ride.