By Mike Grijalva
Owyhee River end of April, 2016, Rome to Birch Creek. I have tried for years to get on this river section, and always it fell thru, usually because the water level was wrong. The past two years it barely ran in the hundreds for the Spring season. This year saw snow pack in the mountains that provide the water, and we had a week of levels above 1200cfs. Lots of people saw this pattern and there was a small crowd at the put-in on a Monday, but they dispersed on the river and we got most of the camps we needed. A crew of 5 rafts and 7 kayakers, half from the WKC stock were there to enjoy the trip. We had wind and some dark clouds and a little rain, but the gear and experience we had dealt with that. The 6 days we spent, including a layover day were much appreciated. The canyons were lovely, the whitewater was good, but not too much, and the overall trip was wonderful. I will be back.