The Best Meal In The Middle of Nowhere

By Pete Szymczak

It’s the end of a wild day rafting down the lower reach of the Rogue River through the remote, spectacularly scenic Siskiyou Mountains. My fellow rafters and I have careened and splashed our way through rapids named "Horseshoe Bend," "Rainie Falls," "Wildcat" and, most ominously, "Jaws." All of us are thoroughly soaked, cold, hungry, and totally out of our element — there is no Wi-Fi, let alone cellphone reception in these parts.

Our hearts are still racing from the thrill of sluicing down the Class 3 and 4 rapids as we dock our watercrafts on the riverbank that will serve as tonight’s campsite. One by one, we maneuver our sodden selves somewhat less than gracefully out of the raft and stumble over the river rocks, feeling equally exhausted, exhilarated, and famished.

Once on the sandy shore, our spirits soar as we gaze, astonished, upon a company of tents — already constructed — and a makeshift kitchen with two chefs prepping a five-course dinner with wine pairings. On the menu: freshly shucked Samish Bay oysters, followed by a salad of locally sourced mixed lettuces with sweet roasted beets, ripe cherries and dollops of chèvre. Next, grilled asparagus topped with sauce gribiche, garnished with boiled and quartered farm-fresh eggs, the yolks a radiant orange. For the entree, Copper River salmon, char-grilled over cedar planks and served with spearmint sauce. For dessert, vanilla panna cotta with Mount Hood strawberries and rhubarb.

Plenty of adventure without roughing it

It’s no mirage, but rather two of the amenities accorded to guests on a four-day gourmet whitewater rafting excursion — a joint adventure presented by Pete Wallstrom of Momentum River Expeditions, Matthew Domingo of Farm to Fork Events, chef David Padberg of Portland’s Park Kitchen restaurant, and Chris Martin of Troon Vineyard.

Earlier in the day, before our rafts set out, Wallstrom, Padberg and Domingo floated down the Rogue River Canyon on their own rafts, laden with all of the camping and food supplies for the trip. The reconnaissance crew made a beeline for what would be tonight’s campsite, arriving hours ahead of the rest of the excursion, giving them just enough time to set up camp and prepare for the feast.

“We’re trying to take advantage of the setting — the natural beauty of the river,” said Padberg. “It’s this whole idea of something that’s very popular in Oregon — eating outdoors — and having these remote settings and embracing this kind of seasonality that we are known for here.”

Leading the expedition was Wallstrom, a veteran river guide who has rafted down many of the world’s most renowned (and treacherous) rapids, from Nepal to South America. For the past eight years he has arranged and led river expeditions for groups of 20 or more in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. “Most guests are nervous," he says. "How to make people comfortable outside, that’s the key to guiding."

Quality cuisine is key

One of the ways Wallstrom does this is by appealing to guests’ stomachs, serving freshly prepared meals — no rations or MREs (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) are served on all Wallstrom’s expeditions, even when guest chefs aren’t on the trip. Wallstrom, who grew up in a restaurant family in Vermont before discovering the joy of rafting while attending college in Colorado, strives to source local, organic ingredients whenever possible, and all his river guides also serve as camp cooks.

Wallstrom realizes the cuisine component was the main draw for most of the guests on this particular trip, but his ulterior motive is bringing people together to experience this spectacularly scenic, federally protected environment.

“Just being outside is amazing, and so is the community that forms, too. It’s the people and the place," he says.

For Domingo, an up-and-coming Ashland-based culinary entrepreneur, this is the second straight year he’s presented a gourmet rafting trip as one of the more adventurous offerings in his Farm to Fork dinner series. Similar to organizations such as Outstanding in the Field, and Plate & Pitchfork, Domingo’s dinners usually take place in a farm field, where multicourse feasts prepared by top regional chefs showcase the produce and animals grown on the very land where the meal is served. Literally bringing the table to the farm, instead of the other way around, these experiences give people a personal sense of where their food comes from, and a chance to get to know the people who grow it.

Domingo sourced from small family farms much of the food featured on the rafting trip, such as arugula from Your Kitchen Garden in Canby, fennel from Groundwork Organics in central Oregon, and baby carrots from Barking Moon Farm in the Applegate Valley.

“I hope people take the passion we exhibit on our plates back to their communities and support farmers and the places they live,” he said.

Domingo and Wallstrom each donate a portion of the proceeds from their events to local nonprofit organizations that support small family farmers and river conservancy funds, respectively.

Taking his dinner series to the river was also an opportunity for Domingo to cook beside his mentor, chef Padberg. Domingo attended Oregon Culinary Institute in 2008 and cooked at Park Kitchen before launching his own business. The chefs put considerable thought into what to serve and when.

“We saved the more stable products for the last day, and the more perishable products for the first day. So, salmon we’ll have tonight, cured anchovies tomorrow,” said Padberg. “The last day is the most starchy and fatty, which I think everyone is going to dig because they’ll be fatigued and want a big, fat, nourishing meal — pork shoulder and drunken beans.”

The food for each day’s meal was transported in its own cooler, Padberg explains. “There’s ice in there, everything was packed cold, so it will stay cold until the day it’s opened. Some things are cooked ahead because we have fuel and time limitations, but we also have the eater in mind. If you’re going to come to the river and sit down for a multicourse meal, how do you want that to hit the palate? Heavy course after heavy course? Probably not, so there’s not a lot of cream or dairy products on the menu, which wouldn’t have good shelf life anyway.”

Another consumable that required special transportation consideration was the wine that was paired with each night’s meal. Chris Martin of Troon Vineyard had special wine pouches made just for the trip, much lighter to transport compared to heavy glass bottles.

“The pouches have an 80% lower carbon footprint, due to their minimal weight and transportation costs. They also have 90% less waste than glass,” said Martin.

Pouches filled with Troon’s River Guide Red, a zippy blend of zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon and syrah, are available at most rafting and guiding outfitters up and down the Rogue River.

Not only did the wines quench our thirst after a hard day of rafting, but the pouches also come in handy once emptied: Blow air into an empty pouch and voilà, you have a pillow for your head.

It all makes for the best adventure, meal and night’s sleep in the middle of nowhere.

This article orginally appeared in the July 24, 2012 edition of The Oregonian daily newspaper.