Rafting trip leads to tragedy

By JESSICA WAMBACH
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

The state's white-water rafting community mourned the loss of one of
its most notoriously safe guides Sunday after learning he was one of
two men who drowned in an accident on the Klickitat River the day
before.

Jeff Driver, 50, of BZ Corner operated All Rivers Adventures with his
wife, Karen, and had never had a death on any trip he guided in his
25-year career.

On Saturday, he was leading a four-raft excursion on the Klickitat,
which was running at its peak height and speed for the year because of
spring runoff.

The group was near the Yakama Nation fish hatchery by Glenwood when it
came upon a log jam, and at least two rafts capsized, according to the
Klickitat County Sheriff's Office.

Nineteen people were on the trip, and 18 of them, including Driver's
body, were on shore by the time authorities arrived just before 5 p.m.

Rollin Schimmel, 61, of Pendleton, Ore., was still missing Saturday
night. The U.S. Coast Guard and search and rescue crews from four
counties found Schimmel's body Sunday afternoon.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the accident and
details about the raft trip have not been released.

Driver's death came as a shock to white-water guides in the region who
knew him as a safe and experienced guide.

"He's a good man, and I'm sure he was operating properly," said Jerry
Michalec, who owns North Cascades River Expeditions in Arlington,
Wash., and was one of Driver's competitors. "But rafting can be very
dangerous, especially when you have high runoff the way we have this
year."

The Klickitat was running at about 4,100 cubic feet per second on
Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey water data, meaning
that about 4,100 cubic feet of water flowed past a hypothetical point
in the river every second. The river's average speed for that day in
history is about 2,500 cubic feet per second.

When a river is running fast and high after several years of low water
levels, a lot of debris washes into the river from the banks, making
unpredictable log jams possible.

Driver's family declined to discuss the incident, but one of his
children described him as a loving father and husband with a passion
for rafting.

Bruce Carlson, a river guide in Central Washington for 32 years who
hired Driver and his wife to work for him for about six years, sold
part of his business to the Drivers in 2001 and they opened All Rivers
Adventures.

"Jeff was a mountain climber. He loved outdoor adventure sports and was
extremely responsible," Carlson said, adding that Driver was very
strong and likely died trying to save his clients' lives.

"It's like a captain going down with the ship," he said. "We're missing
a great brother if Jeff is gone."

Unfortunate accident or negligence?

According to his pals in Portland on their pnwwhitewater website,
another rafting group passed the same spot without any problems. Also,
what was originally reported as a log jam was later reported as a
single submerged log.

Time will tell...