2018 Summer Steelhead Dive
We are excited to host this year’s dives again at the beautiful A.W.Way county park. We will have camp sites reserved for tent space available for Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. We will be asking divers who camp for a $5-10 donation to help us offset the costs of camping and day-use fees. There are flush toilets, hot showers and an awesome swimming hole!
Friday, July 13: We will meet at A.W.Way county park (directions below) at 8:00 a.m. Please do not to be late. We will have coffee and pastries, and gear for those who have reserved it. We will assign teams and carpools, give background information, safety procedures, and dive tips. We will depart A.W. Way at 9:00 a.m.
Saturday, July 14: We will meet at A.W.Way county park at 9:00 a.m. When you are done diving, bring all gear and data sheets back to the park where we will host a BBQ for all of our volunteers!
You do not need to dive both days, let us know which days in our RSVP questionnaire listed below.
What to bring and important information:
Gear:
Please bring your own gear! All gear needs to be decontaminated before entering the Mattole river, if you are unsure of how to decontaminate your gear please email me and I can share some options.
- Mask and Snorkel
- Dive/Wading Boots
- Hood and gloves for colder, upriver reaches or if you run cold.
- Wetsuit (4 or 5mm is best)
- Dry Bag/Waterproof Container for your lunch (IMPORTANT).
- Small Daypack
Our gear will be available on a first come first serve basis depending on when you RSVP and sign up. We will let you know prior to the dives if we cannot accommodate your gear needs. If you have extra gear you would be willing to loan to other divers, PLEASE bring it. Try borrowing gear from a friend or renting in Arcata/Eureka at Pacific Outfitters!
If you do need gear, you need to let us know ahead of time by filling out the RSVP questionnaire below. Please do not show up and assume we will have gear for you.
Vehicles:
Thank you in advance for volunteering your vehicles for the dives! It’s a lot to ask and we really appreciate your help in our dive efforts. The shuttling works so that you and the rest of your dive team only needs to drive to the put-in of your reach. When you are done with your reach you will drive the vehicle that the crew downstream of you drove in and the crew upstream of you will drive your put in vehicle back to A.W. Way. This has worked really well for us in the past and cuts a lot of time off from having to shuttle back to your put in. With this being said there are logistical issues with agency vehicles so please let me know if you are driving an agency vehicle and which agency. Also, if it’s a private vehicle and you prefer to have a specific person drive your car, please specify. We want to accommodate you however we can.
Food and camping logistics:
If you are camping please bring your own camping gear and cooking supplies.
Bring your own Lunches for Friday and Saturday in a waterproof container, dinner for Friday night, high energy snacks and any additional food you may need . A light breakfast is provided each day, but please bring additional food if you need it.
To reduce waste, please bring your own eating utensils and plates for the Saturday BBQ. BYOB and ice.
First-come first-serve camping is also available at the BLM campground at Mattole Beach.
Fill up your vehicle up with gas prior to the dives in either Garberville, Fortuna, or Eureka. There are general stores with gas and some groceries in Petrolia and Honeydew, but hours and selection are limited – come prepared with food and gas.
Directions to A.W. Way County park:
Coming from the South: on Hwy 101, take the South Fork/Honeydew exit (22 miles north of Garberville) turn left onto the Mattole road, entering Humboldt Redwoods State Park, after 22 miles you will cross a green spanning bridge over the Mattole, take a right after the bridge and follow the Mattole road for another 8 miles, the park is on your left hand side.
Coming from the North: From Ferndale, turn right onto Bluff street/Ocean Ave and your first left onto Wildcat Ave/Mattole road. Take this for 36 miles, pass the town of Petrolia and stay on the main road, after passing the Mattole Grange the park will be immediately to your right.
RSVP
PLEASE RSVP by July 6th. The RSVP date helps us to make everything run smoother for scheduling, so we appreciate your help in responding as soon as possible.
Let us know you are coming by filling out the RSVP form:
RSVP for 2018 Mattole Summer Steelhead Dives
Please give me at least 24 hour notice if you cancel your plans to dive or things change with your vehicle situation. There is a very detailed schedule planned for each day so we need to know if you can’t make it ahead of time.
There is no pre-dive training this year, but please thoroughly read over our training packet below before you arrive to the dives.
Please don’t hesitate to email me if you have questions, looking forward to seeing you in the water!
Michelle Dow