Upper Klamath River Oregon/California Whitewater Kayaking | Hells Corner Section | Pre- Dam Removal

Demolition has already begun on the largest dam removal project in history. By this time next year Klamath River in Oregon and California should be nearly free from the constraints of four large dams along its length. Last weekend the final guaranteed recreational releases from JC Boyle dam (one of the four slated for removal) were conducted, marking the end of guaranteed summer high flows on this section of the Upper Klamath. This marks a significant step toward a restored Klamath River system and a new beginning for a more healthy, and natural Klamath River. The Hells Corner section of the Upper Klamath had been on my list since moving to Oregon in 2015 but I’d never made the effort to get roughly four hours south to this remote part of the state on the California border make it happen.
This final weekend’s historic milestone was the last chance for these guaranteed summer flows. So I hatched a plan with Aaron Zettler-Mann and Zach Levine to get a lap in and celebrate the occasion together in an affectionately named “hashtag Klambake 2023.” Mostly because Zach loves hashtags.
After some rain moved through, we had excellent cool but sunny weather and a stellar crew as many flocked to the river for one last hurrah over Labor Day weekend. The ruggedness of Topsy Grade, the shuttle road, and the fast, steep, shallow, nature of the run lived up to the hype. The amazing scenery exceeded it.
We had a little extra excitement between upper and lower hells corner but everyone kept their cool, came out relatively unscathed, and finished the run strong.
The party and company at Stateline campground, the takeout, was stellar Friday and Saturday night and it was excellent to see old friends, and meet a few new ones.
I’m looking forward to coming back to run this section on natural flows once the dams are out, to check out the sections currently dewatered in bypass reaches, and explore sections that will re-emerge from beneath reservoirs after inundation over seventy years ago.
I may not have gotten all the rapid names quite right. So feel free to correct them if you see an error.

[@klkayaker]

This run was "discovered" around 1978 and within a couple of years, it was a popular commercial raft run. I started running it as a commercial guide in '79 and, one time, brought along my C-1 for a first descent of Caldera.

[@griffskayaking]

Sad I missed you! I am a local Eugene boater and ran this in my Spud on Monday. Love your videos of local runs maybe I will see you out sometime!