The Clackamas River’s headwaters are on Olallie Butte, between Mount Hood and Mount Jefferson. Forty-seven miles of its 83-mile run have been federally protected as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system. The protected portion, from Big Springs to Big Cliff, features five resources considered to be outstandingly remarkable: whitewater rafting near the Portland metropolitan area; anadromous fish habitat that supports late winter Coho, spring Chinook and winter Steelhead; Bald Eagle and Northern Spotted Owl habitat; forests of old-growth Douglas fir and historic importance due to its use by Native peoples. The Clackamas also supplies drinking water to more than 200,000 Clackamas County residents.

Early one morning, I was pleasantly reminded of the others that commute on the Intertwine. I was heading to work via an undisclosed location along the Clackamas River, one of the Intertwine's greatest gifts and assets for this region. The “Clack” flows off the rugged western slope of the Cascades for 80-plus miles before its confluence with the Willamette.

The reminder occurred during one of those rare mornings when my commute began at 4:45 a.m. My hand-tied fly -- tied to a leader, then a line threaded through an 8-weight fly rod, and onto a reel -- intercepted another Intertwine commuter: a beautiful summer steelhead.

This hen steelhead was commuting from the depths of the Pacific, up the Columbia, Willamette, and Clackamas Rivers, to the spawning beds further upriver, when she jumped my fly. Following a brief encounter to disconnect and catch our breaths, we continued on our separate ways, along the Intertwine and toward the obligations of the emerging day.

I often commute in the wee hours along the Intertwine, hoping to meet others. On this rare morning, I connected!