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15 teens. 300 miles. One mighty ancestral river, running free.
This is one of those huge Washington Post video essays. Right now, I can see the whole article. That probably won’t last.
15 teens. 300 miles. One mighty ancestral river, running free.
By Reis Thebault, Alice Li and Melina Mara
August 8, 2025 at 6:00 a.m. EDT Today at 6:00 a.m. EDT
ALONG THE KLAMATH RIVER — The journey was no longer impossible, but that didn’t make it any less audacious. One great waterway, newly freed from the stranglehold of four hulking dams. More than 300 miles, through some of the most intense rapids in the West. And 15 young kayakers, nearly all of them new to the sport.
Their goal: the first full descent of the Klamath River, from its headwaters near the Cascade Mountains in Oregon to its mouth on the Pacific coast of California. … If they could pull it off, it would be monumental, marking the success of the largest dam removal project in American history.
Yet for the teens, all descendants of the region’s Indigenous tribes, it would also be profoundly symbolic. Parents and grandparents had fought for decades to undam the Klamath, a sacred lifeblood. Now this generation would be the first to travel the river’s entirety.
The challenge was daunting — and exhilarating. They would spend 30 days on the river, with The Washington Post following the odyssey.
{snip}
About this story
Washington Post journalists Reis Thebault, Alice Li and Melina Mara made repeated trips to the remote Klamath River basin this spring and summer, checking in with the Paddle Tribal Waters students at key moments, including their training graduation, the first days of the descent to the journey’s midpoint and that joyous finish line.
Video by Alice Li. Photos by Melina Mara. Graphics by Tim Meko. Photo editing by Max Becherer. Video editing by Whitney Leaming. Design and development by Carson TerBush. Editing by Susan Levine and Madison Walls. Additional editing and support by Frances Moody, Courtney Kan, Christine T. Nguyen, Erica Pereles, Candace Mitchell, Kyley Schultz and Sarah Murray. First video by River Roots Productions.
Reis Thebault
Reis Thebault reports on the American West Coast from Los Angeles for The Washington Post. He joined The Post in 2018 and has covered national breaking news, European politics and D.C. city hall. He previously worked on the local desks of the Boston Globe and the Columbus Dispatch.@reisthebault
Alice Li
Alice Li is a Pulitzer Prize-winning senior video journalist for The Washington Post, focusing on climate and environment. @byaliceli
Melina Mara
Melina Mara is a staff photographer at The Washington Post.@melinamara
By Reis Thebault, Alice Li and Melina Mara
August 8, 2025 at 6:00 a.m. EDT Today at 6:00 a.m. EDT
ALONG THE KLAMATH RIVER — The journey was no longer impossible, but that didn’t make it any less audacious. One great waterway, newly freed from the stranglehold of four hulking dams. More than 300 miles, through some of the most intense rapids in the West. And 15 young kayakers, nearly all of them new to the sport.
Their goal: the first full descent of the Klamath River, from its headwaters near the Cascade Mountains in Oregon to its mouth on the Pacific coast of California. … If they could pull it off, it would be monumental, marking the success of the largest dam removal project in American history.
Yet for the teens, all descendants of the region’s Indigenous tribes, it would also be profoundly symbolic. Parents and grandparents had fought for decades to undam the Klamath, a sacred lifeblood. Now this generation would be the first to travel the river’s entirety.
The challenge was daunting — and exhilarating. They would spend 30 days on the river, with The Washington Post following the odyssey.
{snip}
About this story
Washington Post journalists Reis Thebault, Alice Li and Melina Mara made repeated trips to the remote Klamath River basin this spring and summer, checking in with the Paddle Tribal Waters students at key moments, including their training graduation, the first days of the descent to the journey’s midpoint and that joyous finish line.
Video by Alice Li. Photos by Melina Mara. Graphics by Tim Meko. Photo editing by Max Becherer. Video editing by Whitney Leaming. Design and development by Carson TerBush. Editing by Susan Levine and Madison Walls. Additional editing and support by Frances Moody, Courtney Kan, Christine T. Nguyen, Erica Pereles, Candace Mitchell, Kyley Schultz and Sarah Murray. First video by River Roots Productions.
Reis Thebault
Reis Thebault reports on the American West Coast from Los Angeles for The Washington Post. He joined The Post in 2018 and has covered national breaking news, European politics and D.C. city hall. He previously worked on the local desks of the Boston Globe and the Columbus Dispatch.@reisthebault
Alice Li
Alice Li is a Pulitzer Prize-winning senior video journalist for The Washington Post, focusing on climate and environment. @byaliceli
Melina Mara
Melina Mara is a staff photographer at The Washington Post.@melinamara