Eugene weekly., June 02, 2011, Page 13, Image 13

Inner tubes, cold water and hot days
BY CAMILLA MORTENSEN
here’s a big reward in Lane County for a dreary winter’s worth of rain — a summer’s
worth of gloriously cool clear water for long fl oats on hot days. Maybe by July those
days will come…
When the dog days of summer do arrive, it doesn’t take much time or money to
get an inner tube and toss it into the Willamette or McKenzie river and while away
a couple hours watching the riverbanks pass by. If you’ve only watched tubers with
envy and haven’t taken the river dive yourself, here’s a primer.
First things fi rst: Get an inner tube. The Les Schwab Tires in Springfi eld says that it sells
inner tubes for about $22 each. Used ones are $10, but everyone wants a used one and the
tire store says it runs out as soon as it gets them in, so don’t count on being able to get your
tube pre-owned. If you’re a UO student or a member of the UO Outdoor Program co-op
you can rent a tube for $12 from the Outdoor Program.
The UO tube rental comes with a PFD (personal fl otation device) and though Oregon
law doesn’t require inner tubers to wear a PFD, it’s a good idea, as is wearing bright colors
so boaters can see you. Interestingly enough, if you lash a couple of single inner tubes
together, the tubal creation is considered a boat, and boats need to have at least one life
jacket for each river-rider. Float with a group, but as an unattached group.
When you’re choosing your tube, the regular old car-sized inner tubes are the way to
go. The hole in the middle is just the right size for letting your butt dunk in the cold water
while the rest of you sunbathes (properly slathered in sunblock of course). Sad experience
also says that eye or sunglasses should be held on with Croakies or even just twine. It helps
to strap your hat down too. If you fl ip into the river (which is half the fun) then everything
you wear fl ips in with you — and sinks.
Stay hydrated with your beverage of choice. A mesh lingerie bag goes for under $10
most anywhere that sells laundry-type things. Put your cans or water bottle in the bag (no
glass in the river, kids), tie the bag to your tube and it fl oats along with you, keeping things
cold. The bag holds your crushed empties when you’re done. Some folks bring food in a
Ziploc-type bag, but chances are about 50-50 your food will stay dry.
The most complicated part of all this is the need for two cars. You leave one car at your
take out, and drive the other one to the put in. At the end of your fl oat, you shuttle back
to your fi rst car. Thanks to our twisty Oregon rivers, a two-to-three hour fl oat really only
means parking cars 10 minutes apart.
One popular fl oat is on the Willamette River from Clearwater Park in Springfi eld to
Island Park just down Main Street, also in Springfi eld. You get the benefi t of being close
to town, but simultaneously the fl oat winds through farms and parks, giving you views
of Pisgah and a slightly away-from-civilization feeling. The river’s pretty shallow below
Clearwater, and there are a lot of channels, but no major hazards.
Along the way, keep an eye out for wildlife like osprey, herons, sandpipers, red-tailed
hawks or, with luck, an eagle. And yes, there are fi sh in the river. You may not see a
Chinook or a summer steelhead, but you might see someone catch one. Fishing from an
inner tube is not recommended. Sharp hooks puncture rubber.
About halfway along your trip, the Middle Fork Willamette (the one fl owing by
Clearwater) and the Coast Fork Willamette come together, right around Glassbar Island,
which is historically a nude beach — you may view that as a hazard or a benefi t; that’s up
to you. Pulling out at Island Park keeps you from experiencing too much city on your fl oat
and has the added benefi t of saving you from getting swamped by rapids and the diversion
dam just up river from the I-5 bridge.
When you’re done and you stagger out of the water, don’t forget to have left a few
towels in your car. Finally, give yourself lots of time for your fl oat — as Winnie the Pooh
once said, “Rivers know this: There is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
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EUGENE WEEKLY JUNE 2, 2011 13