25th Annual
Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival

May 17 & 18th, 2008

ONE FOR THE BOOKS!

WOW! 85 degrees and 10,000 cfs!

This year we raised the bar on the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival. The moon, the stars and particularly the sun aligned to produce stellar weather and never before seen water levels (for the festival anyway) for the entire weekend. Everyone had a great time!

In a weekend filled with cool and notable events one really stands out and that is Team River Runners coup d’état in the Shilo Inns Armed Forces race. This event was a down river race between Fish Creek and Carter Bridge. We had 6 teams compete. Of these teams five were comprised of crews of young, healthy, members of the US Navy and National Guard. The Team River Runner paddle team consisted of Troy Crawford and Kevin Pannell, both seriously wounded in Iraq and recovering in part through whitewater sports. The men and their wives were brought to town by the whitewater community to participate in the festival. Filling out the Team River Runner crew were festival veterans John Rush, Charlie Mitchell and paddle captain Val Shaull.

Spray flew and "Who Ha's" echoed across the canyon as the teams charged out of Fish Creek at 2 minute intervals. With quiet determination Team River River paddled hard and under the guiding hand of Val Shaull ran a clean line through Carter Falls to beat the field by 8 seconds! Troy and Kevin were presented with the 1st place trophy for the Armed Forces Race and have returned it to the Team River Runner headquarters in Washington, DC.

A very special thing happened this year. Northwest Rafters Association and River Runners For Wilderness presented the first ever River Patrons Award to John Garren and Mary Alice Thompson. Many of us have ridden down a lot of rivers with John and Mary by our side in the form of the river guide books that they created. What a lot of people don't realize is just how much effort they have put forth championing equal access to our rivers. Here's a great article on John and Mary.

For several years we've watched the whitewater community come together as elements are added to the festival. 25 years since it's inception the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival includes virtually every aspect of the sport from river boarders to class VI rafters. The festival has grown to be the largest and most sucessful whitewater event this side of the Mississippi, perhaps beyond.

We want to thank all of the sponsors and vendors who donated time, products and sponsorship dollars to help in making this event what it is. These fine companies are all listed on the vendor and sponsor links on the festival website. Please take time to visit them and show your appreciation by supporting them with your business.