Canyon Creek, OR
Gauge: None, OK when S Santiam at Cascadia is 1200-2,000 cfs. 300-1,000
instream is doable
Class: V+ T
Gradient: 112 fpm, 300 fpm for 1 mile
Length: 7 miles
I first ran this in 1991, with Jens and David Gilmore.
Ken Kenniston and Mark Wade made a first run on this in inflatables. This
extreme creek run probably has the highest penalty for error. The area has
been extensively clear cut and has more than its share of logs. There is one
massive log jam and several drops where you launch yourself over logs,
under logs and onto logs. Waterfalls cascade down over denuded slopes.
There is actually one area that has not been cut yet. It has spectacular old
growth trees. Just as you are feeling good that the destruction is over, you
round the bend to more openings.
Description: The most difficult section can be scouted from the road.
Landslides took out the road once and deposited a section of guardrail in one
of the chutes. This forces you to run the meat of the drop, the only sneak is
on shore. This rapid called Terminator is serious class V+, The lead-in
Judgement Day is bind twisting V, Check it out from the road. The other
drops are more forgiving and can be easily scouted and portaged. All the
drops have been run.
Wiley Creek
Class: IV-V
Gradient: 102 fpm
Length: 6
Flow: 300-1500
I haven't run this one. But it is a four mile hike in along a logging road.
Besides the obvious clearcuts, the forested sections are beautiful.
ZigZag
Class: III-IV
Gradient: 108 fpm
Length: 3
Flow: 300
I haven't run this one. It is galcier fed, along the Oregon Trail, forest and
cabins line the river.
Deschutes, Upper Benham Falls
Class: V-VI
Gradient: 150? fpm
Length: 1
Flow: 700-2,000
Forested Canyon, extreme to the limit, dangerous- several people have died
by accidently
going over the falls.
Deschutes, Meadow Camp to Batchelor Village
Class: IV-V
Gradient: 110 fpm
Length: 5
Flow: 700-2,200
Forest/canyon
Christy Creek
Jan 1992 Jens Mullen, David Gilmore, me
Flow: 100-400 cfs
Gradient: 320 fpm with 1.5 miles at 400+fpm, of which one half mile section
drops over 300', ie 600fpm
Length: 5 miles
Class: 5TT
Gauge: none we ran this when the flow in the NFMF was 6" on the Christy
Creek Bridge.
Jens and David ran it later at a much higher level and did not have fun.
Put in: Logging road FS1926, 4 miles from its junction with FS 19
Take out: At the bridge on the NFMF of Willamette below where Christy
Creek enters.
Portages: one major log jam that dams up the river, one spectacular double
falls, miscellaneous other short portages.
Description: This is not a run for the timid. It carries boat bashing to the
extreme. Tight and technical are do not even begin to describe this run. The
region has been clear cut but you'll only notice it when you're portaging
around some log choked channel. Limbo logs and boulder sieves abound.
Allow lots of time for scouting, get an early start, and go with with a small
tight cohesive group. Bring headlamps and bivouac gear. Wear face guards
and elbow pads. And remember to have fun. There is a 45 degree, 40' long
slide.
When we ran this, we put on late and by the time it was dark, 5 hours later,
we were only half way thru. We ran some stuff in the darkness by my one
headlamp. We gave up when we fortuitously stopped just above a horizon
line and walked out. We hiked back in the next day and finished the run.
Upper NFMF of the Willamette
Class: IV-V T
Gradient: 150 fpm, 230 fpm for 1 mile
Length: 4 miles
Flow: 500-2,000 cfs
Gauge: Recording 503-937-3852 Flow=[Lookout Point inflow - Hills Ck
Outflow]/2
Put in: About 12 miles upstream from West Fir
Take out: By the bridge 8 miles from West Fir
Description: This wild and scenic river lives up to its title. The river flows out
of Wild and Scenic Lake Waldo, the purest lake in the US. It's runnable when
most of the other rivers in the area are too low. It's only an hour from
Eugene. It starts out slow then steepens to an eddy hopper's ecstacy. The one
class V in the middle can be easily snuck on river right. Below the Christy
Creek bridge is Dragonslayer a very sticky class IV when the gauge on the
Christy Creek bridge is between 4 and 6".
About a mile of calm water precedes the spectacular gorge just above the
take out.
Champion Creek
Class: V+tt
Gradient: 300 fpm
Length: 1 mile or as high as you care to go.
Flow: 100 - 200 cfs
Gauge: None but may be good when Brice Creek is 1' or higher. Brice is one of
three creek flowing into Dorena Reservoir. Call the recording 503-937-3852 .
Flows of 1200 to 2600 cfs into Dorena have correlated with levels of 1' on
the paddler's gauge on the bridge before Cedar Flat Campground
Put in: One mile up from the confluence with Brice Creek
Take out: Run the gorgeous class 4 Brice Creek and get out at Cedar Flats
Campground.
Description: This technical boulder bashing run follows the road the entire
way. Scout the narrow slot canyon, 6' wide, just after Champion Creek
road crosses the creek. Try not to get sideways here.I broke my boat in
here.
Upper Brice Creek
Class: IV-V T
Gradient: 215 fpm
Length: 3 miles
Flow: 300-1,000 cfs
Gauge: 1' on my gauge on the bridge downstream of Cedar Flats CG, 2600 cfs
into Dorena,
Army Corps Recording (503) 937-3852
Description: This Upper portion starts with a tricky leadin to a 20'
falls. Then it gets steep in a very narrow canyon. Even though the road
parallels the river, the run is more constricted and pushier than it
appears.
6/3/93, Jens, David and I ran the upper section to Cedar
Flats 6.85 mi in 3 hr. It took 2 hr to video the upper Falls Section,
One hour to Blitz the lower 4 miles.
Sit upright at the Falls. Steep log section below the falls, had to roll under
one log. Bubble Trouble was fine, Snake OK, Orthodontist Nightmare, I hit
shore at Hop Skip Splat. On the lower section, I got back ender with a spin at
Lower Trestle, small one at Pogo, then again at Gumdrop. I stayed on the
ledge at Laura's and boofed off the end. 45 min fom Cedar flat to LCC back
there by 5pm
Brice Creek
, Champion Ck to Cedar Flats CG
Class: IV-V T
Gradient: 60 fpm
Length: 4 miles
Flow: 500-1,500 cfs
Gauge: 0-2' on my gauge on the bridge downstream of Cedar Flats CG, 900-
3,000 cfs into Dorena, Army Corps Recording (503) 937-3852.
Description: This is a really fun run, near to Eugene and hard to catch with
water in it. Only the last drop is a class V. All are easily scouted from the
road or from the water. Most of the drops are complicated ledge drops. It's in
a spectacular old and second growth area.
Upper McKenzie River
- Clear Lake to Carmen Reservoir
Clear Fork of the Cowlitz
, S Washington
Jens, David, Bill Bowie, Jeff Allen Washington Trip 10/30/92
Elev 1220 at Take out, saw snow at 4,000'
Grad 200? fpm, 6 miles, 2-300 cfs, -1' at take out bridge
Put in at mile 143 on Hwy 12, about 12 miles east of Packwood
Take out at La Wis Wis campground 6 miles east of Packwood
Time: 9 am to 4 pm=7 hrs
Water quality: spectacularly clear, even after lots of rain
Drive time: 2.5 hrs from Portland
Met Jeff at Take out for Clear Fork of the Cowlitz at 6 am Sat, ate at the
shelter, loaded my van and got to the put in trail at 8 am, bushwacked down
in 30 min. Jens sewed up his skirt. I flipped in Entrance Exam, then again at
the second drop of the double falls. Spectacular area - old growth, 500' tall
vertical columnar basalt palisades, huge boulders, major drops, careening
falls, narrow V gorge with sheer rock walls heading straight up. Lots of steep
vertical drops, water (and you) careens off canyon walls, and bounces off
boulders. Lost my roll of film. Bill broke the nose of his yellow Corsica on an
easy 18' drop. We tried to fix it with too little duck tape, Bill hiked out, said
it wasn't too bad. There was one portage that Jens and David ran, Jeff and I
carried on the left across a couple of slippery logs. Then at 1:30 pm we
started the major portage, innocent lead in, class II, river bends back to the
left and drops away, Jeff ran some of this last time. Videoed by Jens.
Ernie's
Canyon or Grove on the NF of the Snoqualamine, WA
Ran Sunday 11/1/1992, no rain til we got off the water
Time 9 am to 3 pm=6 hrs
Grad ave 100' , 180' for 2 miles in the canyon
Flow 1250 cfs, too much- 250 -500 is recommended
Put in 1020' on Weyerhauser land
Take out at a bridge outside of North Bend (great bakery here)
Length 5-6 miles
Scenery: Logged out often, gorge is spectacular, the paddle-out views of Mt Si
are fantastic- like the Tetons
Water quality: brown humic stained, foamy in places.
Drive time 3 hrs to Portland
At the first drop, I flipped on a small log, missed two rolls and swam in a
class II just above the entrance to the gorge. The water was high and pushy.
It had been 220 cfs on Friday and 1250 two days later. We carried a lot ran
some stuff on verbal directions. I flipped once more at the bottom of a
vertical 15' drop was pushed against the wall and was able to brace off the
bottom after looking around under water. Jeff slid off one pourover drop, 8'
into a boulder, carried the next drop, David flipped at the pourover, took two
tries to roll, carried the next one. I ran that one clean so I was up for the
next one. I ran first to the left of the tongue, got eddied out, over a small
rock pillow, along the left wall ( a little too close), into a ledge hole, pitoned
there but washed out, on down the left under the rock overhang, and barely
into the eddy. Upstream ferry across to the right, brace on large bouncy
pillows and eddy on the left. Jens also hit the rock in the hole.
The 30' waterfalls is scary, easy portage around. Seen from above by the
ridge plunging down to the water, and nothing but tree tops seen ahead.
David flipped going into the eddy just above the falls. Below here, I pitoned
twice in one large drop above a tumultous fan rapid. Blew out my foot peg
on the right on the first one. We eddied on the left, slid in a little channel
hopped out, pulled the boats up, got in, seal launched in sideways, eddied
out, ran the lower portion.
David and Jens described another -go close to that big rock and angle to the
right. It was huge and vertical. It flipped Bill, who got the wind knocked out
him while upside down, Jeff was chewed on, but rolled; Jens lost a lot of skin
on his knuckles as he was rolling. They all were a little to the left in the meat
of the hole. David and I cleared the hole, I was backendered but braced out
of it. It ends instantly with cabins lining the shore. The paddle-out-views of
Mt Si are fantastic- like the Tetons.
White Salmon
in S WA
Gradient: 132 fpm
Cascade
N WA
Dec 5,1993, George, Jennie, Steve Scott
Class V
Gauge: on bridge piling 1.8'= 1.5 screens on intake=800 cfs
Gradient: 81 fpm
Length: 8 miles
Put in at the Marble Creek Campground but take out up a steep bank at pull
out up from the bridge.
This was mostly IV with some easy V. I flipped in the first rapid, Starts with
a Bang. We scouted Bridge Drop and Monster. There was snow on the
road.
The views were spectacular. Reminded me of the Landsborough in New
Zealand, with snow capped peaks and glaciers in the background. The river
had the feeling of the NFMF and Canyon
Creek.
Little White Salmon
in S WA
Ran 1/22/94 with Jens, David, Dave Crick, Dave Northrop, Jed, Charlie Kirsch,
Phil Unsworth and Bill Bowie
Gradient: 180 fpm
Length: 4.4 miles
Gauge: Upstream at Put in 2.6' Range 0.7' in summer when nothing else is up
to 3.? Each 0.1' makes a big difference.
Flow 300-500 cfs
Class: V+ T
Difficulties: Portaging around the 34' falls.
Description: This is a spectacular run. The entire gorge is lined with lava
flows in spectacular patterns. The routes are not obvious on this run. Go with
someone who knows it. It is not easy to scout several of the drops. One major
ledge drop comes after a class II onto a slanted shallow ledge with no eddies.
If you survive the hole at the bottom, you may be stuffed into a 2' high cave
as Dave Crick was, or plastered onto an old growth log. Other lines you're
directed to take, you do on faith. When you look back upstream, there is no
way you'd have knowingly chosen that line. Most of the ledge drops are boof
moves into the adjoining eddy. There is a 20' falls that you run because the
portage is too difficult. The 34' Spirit Falls is stupendous. You can stand right
next to it and feel its power. It is drastically undercut, and the portage is
steep and slippery. (Jens ran it 3/94, then David Gilmore a few days
later)The take out is at Fish hatchery. There are 2 low head dams that you
run.
We met on I84 e of Portland, at 8:45 am and were paddling by 11:00 and off
by 3:30. Cross over at Bridge of the Gods, $.75 each way.
Canyon Creek
, S WA near Mt St. Helens
Ran 1/21/94 with Jens and David.
Length : 2.5 mi of creek, 1.5 mile of lake
Gradient: 120'
Class: IV+
Gauge : Paddlers gauge on RR downstream of put in bridge. We ran it at a
low 0.75'
Flow: 200-400 cfs
Description: There is plenty of air time on this run. Lava flows make for
interesting patterns on the walls as well as creating several ledges. There are
regions where the word wedge more aptly describes the canyon because it is
so narrow at the bottom. The first falls is 20' high. We ran rr angling r. The
ski jump flattens out your trajectory so you need to lean forwards so as not
to pancake. There are 3 more tall ledge drops that add more air time to your
run. It is threatened by another diversion dam. It is a spectcular fun run 45
min N of Portland. We put on at 1:15 off by 3:30 or 4:00.
Rogue
, N. F., Mill Creek Falls to Lost Creek Res
Length : 3 mi
Gradient: 94'
Class: IV
Gauge :
Flow: 500-1000 cfs
Rogue
, M. F., Butte Falls Road to Lost Creek Res
Length : 6 mi
Gradient: 88'
Class: V
Gauge :
Flow: 400-800 cfs