Springtime in the desert is amazing. There is a little known Owyhee river system in Idaho/Oregon/Nevada that is a little Grand Canyon desert right in my state. Before I started chasing waves for surfing I spent a lot of time on these desert rivers running multi-day trips and working as a river guide.

Today, I work a few trips in the desert with my brother’s company, Barker River Expeditions. You can see all the different trips on the different forks of the river at www.barkerriver.com as I only have a small camera that really doesn’t do these canyon lands much justice.

We went on a little scouting trip this Saturday. This gave me a chance to run the North Fork of the Owyhee. This river has been on my bucket list for over eight years. The run begins at the North Fork Campground and ends 18 miles downstream at Three Forks, or the put in for the Middle Owyhee. The NF has continuous gradient with the two largest rapids occurring just before and after Cherry Creek tributary (on the right) at about mile ten. The scenery is outstanding and the vertical walls tuck you into their folds until you completely feel the wilderness all around you.

My computer cannot edit my GoPro footage from the trips but I am hoping to borrow a computer for some editing soon and will post that as well. In the meantime you can check out http://vimeo.com/22682382, which is a video from the Three Forks to Rome section from two seasons ago. If you like what you see, give me a call and we can go paddling. If you would like to enjoy this trip with friends and family, contact us as we specialize in supported kayaking/raft trips!

Jackson Kayak in Idaho

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Paddle in Peace,

Jackson Kayak hero

Devon Barker-Hicks
www.barkerriver.com/contact.php

Jackson Kayak Hero