On a multi-day float of the recently undammed Klamath River, in northern California, I wore my long-sleeved, hooded sunshirt all damn day.
I’m standing on rocks in a pool at the base of a waterfall watching my kids scramble around the cascading water. It’s one of those strikingly beautiful moments where the world feels wild and anything seems possible. I’m on a side hike during a multi-day river trip on the Klamath River, a designated Wild and Scenic River that flows through southern Oregon and northern California. This river in particular has had a big year. Named the 2024 River of the Year by American Rivers, the Klamath recently underwent one of the biggest dam removal and river restoration projects in American history. Like I said, it’s the kind of place where the world feels wild and anything is possible.
The Klamath, once the third-largest salmon producing river on the West Coast, has suffered major decreases in salmon populations since four hydroelectric dams were built on the river between 1911 and 1962. In 2002, the Klamath made headlines when roughly 70 thousand salmon were killed by toxic cyanobacteria growing in the reservoirs created by the dams. Since then, local indigenous tribes and environmental and fishing groups have fought hard for the removal of the dams, campaigning for years to get state governments to call for the removal of the dams. Last fall, their plight ended with the successful removal of four dams on the Klamath River.
Before we put on the Klamath for a three-day float, we visited the Karuk Tribe’s People’s Center Museum in the town of Happy Camp. There, Kenneth Brink, vice chairman of the Karuk Tribal Council, told us: “When the dams came down, they said it could be 10 years before the salmon returned. But the salmon were back swimming in the river just 10 days later.”
Meeting with Kenneth Brink of the Karuk Tribal Council in Happy Camp, California.
It was a powerful message and the river itself felt restored, with cold, clear water and an abundance of wildlife. I spent the entire river trip in the same shirt: My Moonlight Shirt, the long-sleeved, lightweight, hooded sunshirt that has saved me from countless sunburns and cold breezes over the years. I wear my Moonlight on long trail runs and bike rides, when I don’t want to deal with reapplying sunscreen on my arms. Thanks to full-coverage sleeves and a durable feel, the shirt protects me from sun and wind when I’m running on high ridges, but the fabric is also so lightweight and breathable, I never overheat in it.
But where the Moonlight really shines (sorry, pun intended) is on the water: The fabric is so quick drying, that when I’m sitting on a raft and get drenched by rapids, I’m dry again by the next stretch of flatwater. It keeps me cool when the sun drills down and protects me when the winds pick up. The thumb loops on the shirt also mean I can wear the shirt over my hands to protect sunburn on the back of my hands, a surprisingly clutch thing.
The Flylow Bandit Shirt is a river trip staple.
The Bandit Shirt, for men, is the same design. And this year, Flylow added new two sunshirts: The Nash Sun Hoody for men and the Jessi Sun Hoody for women. These two serve a similar function—they’re lightweight, good for sun and wind protection—but they have a bit more of a lifestyle vibe to them.
I’m packing for my next river trip right now—a five-day float down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho—and this time, I’m bringing not one Moonlight, but two.