FLOATING THE KLAMATH RIVER

One of the greatest joys in the summers of 1971-72 was floating down the Klamath River from Somes Bar to Orleans.   After a hot day of beating the brush, while doing timber sale preparation work on the Orleans Ranger District, a bunch of us looked forward to floating on inner tubes down the river.   There may have been 6 to 10 of us at different times, including seasonal employees on the brush disposal crew, fire crew, silviculture and timber crew.   We would load up our personally owned pickups with inner tubes that fit large trucks and head up the highway about 8 miles to the Somes Bar store where we proceeded to buy a sufficient amount of beer for the trip.   The pickups where left in the parking lot and somebody would drive us back after floating the river to pick them up.   One inner tube was used to transport the beer.  

I don't remember the number of times we floated the river, but do remember one time that could have been my last.   There are two falls on this stretch of river, Big Ike and Little Ike Falls.   At Big Ike we had to walk around it, Little Ike could be negotiated.   Looking back on how negligent we were I don't remember anybody wearing a life vest or even any talk about having one nor did anybody own one.   In my old age I think back on many stupid things we did in our younger days, and this was one of them.   On this particular trip I went over one of these falls, it could have been Big Ike, I don't recall.    The inner tube and I were sucked under water as I struggled to keep my right arm wrapped around the tube.   These were big tubes and a man's arm could only encircle about half of it as the current threatened to separate me from the tube.   I don't know or remember how long I was under water, but my last gasp of air was about to be exhaled.   Finally the tube and I shot back up to the surface.    Some of the other people were shocked at what I did and really don't remember what was said afterwards.    The only thing I lost were my glasses, lucky me.