It took just a split second after setting our eyes on the Minam River to know our hopes for a wonderful weekend of fishing were dashed.
Heading down the grade east of Elgin, we could see the river was high.
And if the Minam was high, so would be the Wallowa, which the Minam joined at the turnoff to the Minam State Receation Area, where we planned to stay for a weekend of fishing on June 4-6.
We’d gotten an inkling of what was in store when we crossed the Grande Ronde River in Elgin. It, too, was brown with the mountain snow melt runoff.
The week before brought high temperatures into the area, causing the snow melt and high water.
But that wasn’t going to stop my friend, Alfred Diaz, and me from the weekend outdoors.
It was also a shakedown excursion in Alfred’s travel trailer, which we’re planning on taking to Yellowstone National Park for a canoeing trip in July.
So, undaunted, we turned left off the Wallowa Lake Highway and headed the two miles to the campground.
Trucks and trailers lined the boat launches on the west side of the Wallowa River, with rafts at the ready to head down the swollen river. Rafts were also tied at the ready at the Minam Store on the other side of the river.
After setting up the trailer at the beautiful camping area, we took a closer look at the Wallowa River, which flowed high on the banks as it headed to join the Grande Ronde miles downriver.
It didn’t look good for fishing, but we figured we’d try it in the morning anyway. So, we bought some firewood at the park kiosk, had some dinner and sorted through our gear for what we hoped would be the first real fishing trip of the season.
The next morning, we headed across the campground to wet some lines in the still-high river; the milky water left us with little expectation of having any luck.
But there were a few other anglers trying out the water, so maybe we’d have more of a shot than we thought.
And it was good to cast off the fly fishing rust in the morning sun.
A bit windy, but not enough to threaten to send a fly into anyone’s neck!
After a couple hours, we conceded to the river and went back to camp for breakfast.
We were just about ready to head out to explore other waters to fish — maybe upstream wouldn’t be so high, we thought — when a fellow camper hurried by with bad news. A raft had just flipped, reportedly on the rapids near where we’d been fishing that morning, and a rafter was missing.
Fishing immediately left our minds, and we headed across the campground to try to help out.
We saw two women wrapped in blankets being cared for, and were told by some people helping the women to head down the trail toward the river.
A group was gathered near the river, where the overturned raft had been tied to a tree, still upside down.
One of the rafters, still soaking wet and obviously in distress, led the effort to get his raft turned upright.
It was his friend who was missing, the two women in blankets their wives, it seemed.
A pair of rescue rafts then quickly floated past, searching for the missing man.
We all then headed downriver on a trail to see if we could help the search, but the rafts rounded the bend downriver without stopping.
A couple of jet boats then sped downriver, and we headed back to the campground. Police and medics arrived, and were caring for the rafters and taking statements.
A short time later, word came in that the missing rafter had been found downriver; he hadn’t survived the ice-cold water of the Wallowa.
When it became apparent there was nothing more to be done, Alfred and I decided to proceed with our day, albeit with heavy hearts. We explored some of the creeks flowing into the Wallowa River, but didn’t find any good spots to fish, and ended up in the town of Wallowa, where we stopped for a cold beer before heading back to camp.
There, we opted for hiking around the campground rather than heading back to the fishing area.
We came across a little memorial near the river, but it had no doubt been there awhile. A tribute for an earlier tragedy, we speculated.
The next day, we broke camp and decided to head up Highway 82 to Summit Road, between Elgin and Tollgate, to explore that area. There was still snow in the area, and a definite chill in the air, at 5,000-plus feet at the Umatilla Rim Trail head.
Fishing at the small pond there didn’t look promising, so we headed home.
A weekend unlike what we’d expected, but one highlighting the need to be very careful around high water.
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