Will Volpert was rafting through a Class IV rapid on the Klamath River, in a canyon few have floated in a century, when something leaped out of the water near his oar blade.
A chinook salmon was thrashing upstream, traveling into habitat that until recently had been blocked since the early 1900s by a series of dams near the Oregon and California state line.
“He totally surprised me,” Volpert said with a laugh. “We’re in the middle of this very technical boulder garden, and I was so distracted looking for him, that we smashed into a rock.”
Despite the smash, the moment captured what’s made exploring the “new Klamath” so fun, said Volpert, a longtime outfitter and guide on the river. After four dams were recently removed, in the largest dam removal project in United States history, an entirely new stream has sprung up in its place.
Volpert has explored segments of river that were kept dry for a century or buried under reservoirs for decades. He’s run new rapids and canyons — with new Indigenous names — all while watching the river reestablish its natural condition.
Volpert made a map of access points, major rapids and other points of interest across about 45 miles of the “New Klamath” for anyone interested in floating the river. He’s hoping people will want to see the river, as his business, Indigo Creek Outfitters, is booking trips and putting people on a wait lists for commercial rafting adventures this coming spring and summer.
Zach Urness: You’ve dubbed the 45 river miles where dam removal occurred — on both sides of the Oregon and California state line — the “New Klamath.” What makes it new?
Will Volpert: The “New Klamath” was a phrase that I came up with to describe the section of river that was most impacted by dam removal. Even though the river was there before, it looks totally different and behaves differently today compared to when the dams were in operation. It looks and feels like a new river.
