Editor’s Note: This is one of a two part series on scouting by me and Jim. Scouting is the act of exploring an area or a situation to gather information and assess conditions. Here, I cover a scouting mission TR Scott Becklund and I undertook in order to get a visual on a section of the Sacramento River we are planning to paddle.
When we scout, we go ahead to observe an area before a main operation. The Tsunami Rangers sometimes go on reconnaissance missions as a group or we’ll send a scout ahead of the group to reconnoiter a potential camping or paddling spot. This can be done by land or sea.
Scouting in sea kayaking is the process of visually inspecting and assessing the water, shoreline, and weather conditions before or during a trip. It involves evaluating surf zones, identifying safe landing and launch spots, and analyzing tides and currents to ensure safe navigation.
Scouting for river kayakers often involves pulling over and getting out of the boats to walk along the bank and observe a rapid. Sometimes you can paddle up to the horizon line and hold position in an eddy with your hand on a rock and see the bottom of the run, but if you can’t see where you’re going, it’s time to do some land-based scouting.
From land you can identify obstacles and options and pick your line down the rapid. You can locate landmarks on the bank to help you navigate. You can visualize the moves necessary for when you’re on the water. You can also discuss what is the plan if you have to get somebody out, who has a rope, who’s going first, etc., and figure out where to put a safety if necessary. These things have been adapted as well to ocean whitewater for rock gardening and cave exploration.
For our scouting mission on the Sacramento River, Scott and I did something completely different. We camped at a local campground that has a public boat ramp and rowed Scott’s dory down two sections of the river on two separate days. In this way we were able to identify potential campsites for a longer kayak camping trip in the future. We were able to assess the speed of the current given its flow rate so we had an idea how long it was going to take us to get from point A to point B in our kayaks. We were also able to choose the best public boat ramps to put in and take out, and familiarize ourselves with the terrain, noting landmarks that could operate like guide posts.
Some words about dories. Dories are lightweight, high-sided boats with sharp bows. The dory has been used for centuries as a traditional rowboat for coastal and deep-sea fishing, and its design is highly regarded for its ability to handle rough surf, carry heavy loads, and to be easily beached on shore.
Today, you can get recreational dory designs called C-Dories that are most notably built out of Washington state. Scott’s boat is one of these. Some dories, often referred to as “pocket yachts”, are used for coastal cruising and feature flat-bottomed hulls with an enclosed pilothouse. They are fuel-efficient, easy to trailer, and highly practical for weekend explorations and shallow-water beaching.
Dories serve in both maritime and adventure applications, each adapted for specific regional needs. In my home state of Oregon, there is a fleet of motorized, flat-bottomed dories in Pacific City. These boats operate off the beach instead of using a boat ramp or marina. Captains back their trailers directly into the surf, launch through the breaking waves, and head out to fish for bottom species like ling cod or rockfish or to harvest Dungeness crab.
Dories are also used on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. These graceful wooden boats are modified to navigate massive rapids, and some commercial rafting outfitters like Grand Canyon Expeditions and OARS offer multi-day dory trips through the Grand Canyon and on the Snake and Salmon Rivers of Idaho. I’ve also seen dories, both motorized and human-powered, on the Rogue River here in Oregon where they’re used for fishing.
Dories were used to scout the Colorado River in 1869 when Civil War vet John Wesley Powell led the first scientific expedition through the Grand Canyon. His crew navigated the roaring whitewater of the the Green and Colorado rivers using four dories specially built of heavy oak and ash. Powell’s boats were not traditional open dories, but modified double-ended craft designed for stability and rough water.
Powell started his trip with four dories. The Emma Dean was a smaller, lighter scout boat and was named after Powell’s wife. The Kitty Clyde’s Sister was named in honor of Powell’s sister-in-law and the Maid of the Canyon was a larger, heavier freight boat. Lastly, there was the No-Name, which foundered on the rapids of Lodore Canyon. All the other boats survived the 900-mile journey. Today, OARS offers a John Wesley Powell Retrace trip of 42 days that follows Powell’s historic expedition. After we rowed through China Rapids, Scott and I named his dory China Girl, a nod to the rapids and to David Bowie’s lyrics in his song of that name.
Whitewater dories were made famous by lifelong environmentalist and wilderness activist Martin Litton in the 1970s. Litton, who died in 2014 at age 97, first floated the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1955 following in explorer John Wesley Powell’s footsteps. Not long after, he founded Grand Canyon Dories, led trips on the Colorado, and in 2004 became the oldest person to row the entire Grand Canyon at the age of 87. Here’s what Litton has to say about his preferred water craft for navigating a river:
They show their utility, they say to you, “I belong on big waves; I’m stable, I’m sturdy, I’m wanting to go, and I respond to the oars beautifully,” that’s bragging, in a way, “and I’ll go where you want me to go, and I’ll carry what you want me to carry.” That’s what the dory does no matter how the water behaves.
Our scouting mission in Scott’s dory was to check out the the Sacramento where it tightens and turns around Table Rock in a series of Class II boils and whirlpools where I flipped in 2024. We also wanted to run China Rapids, a Class II section lower down where people have actually died.
There is a local tendency to hype these rapids, but in 2024 I was told by some old-timers that the upper section by Table Rock is worse. They may be right. A skilled paddler I know flipped 3 times in a surf ski during California River Quest one year when she was paddling through that section, but when the boils caught her in China Rapids she didn’t flip and was only delayed. I wanted to look critically at both sections and compare them. Maybe by observing the water from the dory I could come up with a strategy to smoothly navigate both sections in the future.
The mission was a huge success. We accomplished all our goals. The river was running at about 12,800 cfs, about 1,800 cfs higher than on my trip in 2024. I noticed how the gravel bars had shrunk because of the higher water level, which meant there could be fewer camping options. The dory sped along at about 7 miles per hour and allowed us to scout from a higher vantage point than in a kayak. Though the swirlies around Table Rock looked similar to the last time I’d been there, this time from the bow of the dory it was easier to track the line where the main current runs between the boils that form and reform on both sides of the river. These sections where the river’s huge volume of water compresses in the twists and narrows don’t look like much to a whitewater kayaker, but we could feel the ebb and surge of many conflicting currents pulling in multiple directions on the dory’s hull. At times, the dory would have spun around like a top if Scott hadn’t been rowing steadily.
We stopped at Massacre Flat and hiked along the trail that leads up off the flat through the native white oaks and along the river. We got out at Payne’s Creek and scrambled up the creek to look for swimming holes and camping spots. When we entered the mouth of the creek we saw many big fish, carp, bass, and trout. The creek came down through the old lava bed in pools and small waterfalls, and there were swallows and ravens nesting in the porous cliffs. We found one pool big enough to swim in. The warm water on our skin was a pleasant change from the frigid river.
We also took an exploratory detour up Ink’s Creek. Rowing deep into the oak woods that overhang the water was like entering a whole new world and reminded me of the landscape in The Princess Bride. The air was hushed. A large, pale owl (Barred? Great Horned?) flew suddenly out of a lair on the left bank. We saw a Great Blue Heron perched on a dead tree that had fallen across a small tributary and Scott rowed slowly toward it so I could get a photo but it dropped down off the log and flew away.
By the time we had spent two days on the river, we had a good idea of where to camp with our kayaks and how to navigate the more challenging sections of the river. We had originally thought we would spend two days at Massacre Flat so we could explore the surrounding area, but after trekking along the poorly maintained, tick infested trail we decided one night at the flat would be enough. We determined we could easily paddle from Jelly’s Ferry to Red Bluff in 3 days, camping 2 nights at different spots and still have plenty of time to relax and play on the river.
Scott and I had a wonderful time. Two is a team, as we noted in our recent article on Team Kayaking, and we two make a strong one. Scott brought an angler’s map of the river which was new to me and I had all my maps and info from previous trips; maps are hugely helpful. The weather was in the triple digits but the cold Sacramento freshened us up multiple times a day when we took dips at the campground or stopped to swim on our journeys down the river. The sun shone, the birds sang, we shared good food and conversation, and with the beta we gleaned from this scouting mission we’re set for our next adventure down the biggest river in California.
I am forever indebted to my team mate Scott for sharing China Girl with me on the Sacramento River. It was an honor, a privilege, and a delight. Scott, you’re a gentleman and a rower. I love you man! I’d also like to give a shout out to OARS, from whose fantastically informative website I swiped a couple of photos and went down a total rabbit hole on dories as well as learning about Martin Litton. Check it out!
For more adventure on the Sacramento see our articles Sacramento River Summer Solo and Sacramento River 2.0 – Jungle Cruise. Thanks for reading and happy paddling!
