About Dorr’s Rock
John Dorr owned River Adventures West and was an outfitter on the Middle Fork Salmon. Like other rapids on other rivers, getting a feature named after you typically implies that something bad happened. However, in John’s case, he had a fellow guide wrap on this rock while he was on the trip. He then swam out to the rock to assist the boatman and at that moment, another company floated by and spotted him on the rock with the pinned raft. The rest is history.
How to run Dorr’s Rock
Dorr’s Rock is a classic example of how indecision can thwart your run. The move itself is easy, as long as you stick to one direction. The river makes a sharp bend left and as it exits the bend, a large wrap rock is in the channel. At very low flows, the wrap rock is not in play as a small sandbar will build right in front of it as well as the channel to the right will close off. At higher levels, the wrap potential is high if you head into it and indecisiveness is in play as both a left and right option are possible. Make a decision on the direction and stick with it!
