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Seven Washington Steep Creeks Print E-mail
Written by Jeff Robinson   
Friday, 27 June 2008 10:36
Big Northwest winters mean paddling runoff in August

The winter of '99 left the largest snowpack ever recorded throughout most of Washington State. Combined with a cool spring, rivers and creeks were running high all summer. Paddlers in the Evergreen State were loving it—rivers that normally only run for a couple weeks during the peak of snowmelt had seasons of a month or longer. Creeks were hit in the heat of August that are usually only boatable during the cool days of spring.
Several steep creeks have become Washington classics over the past few years. All of these runs are described in detail in Jeff Bennett's second edition of A Guide to the Whitewater Rivers of Washington (Swiftwater Publishing). But be careful, these creeks are all rated Class IV and V, and Northwest creeks are notorious for surprising paddlers with logjams that change yearly, if not monthly. Always check with local boaters to determine current conditions and, if at all possible, paddle with someone who knows the run.

Ohanapecosh
Class V
Length: 4.7 miles
Average gradient: 128 feet per mile
The Ohanapecosh River (pronounced Oh-hanna-pa-kosh) drains the huge snowfields of Ohanapecosh Park on the East slopes of Mt. Rainier, before turning South between the Tatoosh Range and Goat Rocks Wilderness. Although the run is never more than half a mile from Highway 123, all signs of civilization disappear as soon as you leave the put-in at Ohanapecosh campground. For the next four and a half miles, huge boulders form tight slots and vertical drops, separated by emerald green pools at low flows or quickly moving water at higher levels. The rapids are often long and require several key moves so plan on a lot of scouting your first time down. Most of the scouting and portaging can be done at river level with one notable exception– Elbow Room. Once Summit Creek enters on river left (near the end of the run), you'll run Summit Creek Ledge. This forms a bad hole at most levels and is usually run far right. Not far below this, eddy left to scout (and probably portage) Elbow Room. At medium to high flows, the only line is into a powerful hole at the bottom that kicks into a horrible undercut in the center. At lower levels, a tight slot opens up on river left. Less than a quarter mile below Elbow Room is the Big Falls, a 15-foot drop with several lines, depending on water level. It has a tricky lead in, so be careful—several paddlers have found themselves cartwheeling in the hole about 30 feet before the main drop.
The Ohanapecosh is easy to find. The take-out is at La Wis Wis campground on Highway 12 about seven miles east of Packwood. To get to the put-in, continue east on Highway 12 for about a half-mile, then turn north onto Highway 123. The put-in is a few miles up this road at Ohanapecosh campground (about a mile after you enter Mt. Rainier National Park).

Top Tye
Class IV-V
Length: 2.5 miles Average gradient: 223 feet per mile
The Top Tye is in the headwaters of the popular Skykomish River. It flows right off the west side of Stevens Pass, never far from Highway 2. Its close proximity to Seattle and its long season make it an increasingly popular run. There are few quiet moments on the Top Tye—you're either running a big drop or quickly approaching one. The top half of the run is in a small gorge that contains several tough drops. The biggest of these is The Spout. Here most of the water gets stuffed into an ugly hole backed up by the gorge wall in the bottom right corner. Paddlers must charge hard left as they come down the slope to avoid doing time there. The gorge ends as Deception Creek enters from river left. Immediately below are two drops that can be scouted from the Deception Falls parking area while you're running shuttle (although you'll probably want to look at them again from the river). The first is a sloping 15-foot drop called Monkey Cage. The second is Crack in the Earth, where the river makes a fascinating 90-degree right turn as it drops about 20 feet. The usual line is through the far right slot, although the main drop has also been run. Watch out for the hole at the bottom of the final ledge—it's undercut and forms a double hydraulic. The ledge just downstream of Crack in the Earth requires a good boof or you'll be doing hydraulic time there as well. Keep your eyes open below here for a big horizon line. Log-Choked Falls is about a 30-foot drop that was run for the first time in 1999 after some (but not nearly all) of the logs were moved by high water. There's an easy portage on the right that allows you to run the next 10-foot ledge or put in below it. The last mile contains more boulder rapids and fewer ledges, but watch out for Paranoia—at some water levels the final eight-foot ledge has one of the worst holes on the river.
The take-out for the Top Tye is at the Highway 2 bridge, just upstream of Alpine Falls. However, Alpine Falls is not marked on the road, so the bridge is roughly seven miles east of Skykomish. An easy put-in is at the next bridge upstream (just less than three miles), but you can also drive downriver from this bridge on a side road and put-in a little ways downstream. During the shuttle, you can stop at Deception Falls (it's well marked) and scout Monkey Cage and Crack in the Earth.

Little White Salmon
Class V-V+
Length: 3.5 miles Average gradient: 238 feet per mile
The Little White gets its water from a huge aquifer that lies under the Monte Cristo Range. As a result, it runs late into summer as the water slowly drains out of the aquifer. Over the past few years, this run has really gained popularity and for good reason. This is the toughest creek in the Columbia River Gorge, but for the paddlers who have the skills and experience to handle it, it's one of the best Class V runs in the state. Sparkling turquoise water in a deep gorge lined with ferns, mosses, and a hundred other kinds of lush rainforest vegetation create a truly enchanting setting. The first rapid, Gettin' Busy, gives you a feel for the complexity of the boulder gardens and the push of the river. Below here, the rapids are abrupt ledges and steep boulder gardens that build in size and intensity to the spectacular 33-foot Spirit Falls. This drop has been run by many good paddlers, but it does have serious consequences so there's a portage route with a permanent rope fixed on river left. Below Spirit Falls are a few more tough rapids and a couple of runnable weirs at the fish hatchery before you reach the flat water of the Columbia River. Unless you make this run regularly, plan on a lot of scouting and the better part of a day to complete it. Although there are no mandatory portages, there are definitely a lot of places to watch out for.
The take-out is at the fish hatchery on Drano Lake along Highway 14 (the hatchery and the lake are both marked on the road). To get to the put-in, drive west on Highway 14 for about half a mile, then turn right onto the Cook-Underwood road. Stay on this road until it crosses the river at the Willard Fish Hatchery. Also, please don't park in the lots of either hatchery—there's other parking available.

Elkhorn Canyon
Class V-V+
Length: 3 miles Average gradient: 208 feet per mile
Located on the east side of Olympic National Park, Elkhorn Canyon is a 300-foot-deep basalt chasm, carved by the Dosewallips River as it makes its way from the glaciers of the Olympic Mountains to the sea. The boating is set in a rainforest fairyland, where the rocks are covered in a layer of thick, soft moss, ferns stand waist tall, big trees are all around (sometimes in the river), and still more moss dangles from the tree branches. Because Elkhorn canyon is so narrow, paddlers wait until the Dosewallips is extremely low before attempting it. In a normal snow year that would be August, but this year Elkhorn ran into October. Less than a half-mile below the put-in, paddlers must portage Lower Dosewallips Falls. (The put-in is actually at the base of Upper Dosewallips Falls, and it's obvious why you don't put in higher.) This is an involved portage that would be impossible at higher flows. Below the falls, the canyon contains countless complex boulder gardens full of tight slots, one-boat eddies, and lots of drops in the five- to 10-foot range. Some powerful holes are formed when the entire flow is squeezed through slots no more than eight feet wide. The gorge walls close in several times below the falls so, for some of the drops, the only scouting is from a rock in the middle of the river. Although the entire run below the falls has been done with no portages, this is the Olympics, so trees are a constant problem. The take-out for the Elkhorn Canyon run is at Elkhorn Campground in Olympic National Park. The put-in is about three miles up the only road, just below Upper Dosewallips Falls.

Upper Cispus
Class V
Length: 5.9 miles Average gradient: 130 feet per mile
There are several sections of great whitewater on the Cispus River. The main run begins at the Adams Fork campground. Because it drains the north face of Mt. Adams, this section is usually too high until late in the season (August or September). It's more pool/drop than most Washington rivers, which makes the average gradient rather deceiving. Most of the rapids are steep boulder gardens with technical lines and powerful holes. However, there are several memorable falls on the run, culminating with The Big Falls. It's best to scout this drop before putting on because when you come to it on the river you'll be at an inescapable gorge. There's an eddy at the end of the gorge, at the top of the Big Falls. You can jump out on a rock on the left here to get another look at your line, but portaging is not really an option at this point unless you're a very accomplished rock climber. The falls itself is about 30 feet from the top, but it slopes downward before going vertical. As tough as the falls is, it's not the major obstacle. Paddlers must land the falls in complete control so they can charge left to avoid the monstrous hole about 40 feet downstream. If you're not too exhausted at the end of the run, be sure to stop at the confluence of East Canyon Creek for a short canyoneering adventure. A short swim up this spectacularly narrow side canyon leads paddlers to a beautiful ribbon falls in a huge rock amphitheater.
The Upper Cispus is roughly southeast of Randle (located on Highway 12) toward Mt. Adams. From Randle, drive about 19 miles along Forest Road 23 to the bridge over the Cispus. This is the take-out. To get to the put-in, drive back toward Randle for about a mile. Turn right on the first road, Forest Road 21. Follow this for about four and a half miles, then turn right onto Forest Road 56. You'll come to Adams Fork Campground almost immedi-ately. You can either put in here or follow the road a short ways downstream to the bridge.

Robe Canyon
Class V-V+
Length: 5.5 miles Average gradient: 140 feet per mile
Robe Canyon on the South Fork of the Stillaguamish is not usually a summertime run. The winter rains keep it running for most of the cooler months but because its drainage is fairly low, it usually runs out of water in early spring. The snowpack was so extensive in '99, however, that it continued to run into late July. The put-in for Robe Canyon requires about a mile hike down the Old Robe Historical Trail or a 6.5-mile, Class II paddle in. Robe Canyon is classic Washington Class V—long rapids, pushy water, and big holes. On top of that, it has very sharp rocks and water that is so silt-laden you can't see more than a couple of inches into it. This is no place to be upside down! The rapids are often complex, requiring several key moves. The action starts abruptly at the entrance to the first railroad tunnel. Here the river narrows and immediately steepens as huge boulders fill the streambed. There's a short pool below here before entering Last Sunshine. This rapid is really three rapids crammed together, complete with powerful holes, undercut rocks, and surging eddylines. For the next three miles, the rapids are pretty much back-to-back Class IV and V. Most of the rapids are boulder gardens or small bedrock ledges that form powerful holes. The canyon is fairly open, though, and scouting can always be done at river level. A couple of miles into the trip keep your eyes open for a large landslide coming in from river right. This rapid and the one below it (Garbage) are the most congested on the river and they change yearly—sometimes there's good lines through, sometimes they're sketchy. You can scout and portage Landslide on the right and Garbage on the left.
Robe Canyon is located just upstream of the town of Granite Falls. Take the Mountain Loop Highway north out of town. In a little over a mile you'll come to a bridge. This is the take-out, just upstream of Granite Falls (unrun as of yet). To get to the put-in, continue about five miles up the Mountain Loop Highway to the Old Robe Historical Trail. From there it's about a mile carry down to the river.

Upper South Fork of the Snoqualmie
Class V
Length: 1.5 miles Average gradient: 200 feet per mile
The Upper South Fork of the Snoqualmie flows off the west side of Snoqualmie Pass, less than an hour from downtown Seattle. It's nestled in a small gorge between the lanes of Interstate 90 (westbound is on river right, eastbound is on river left) but you'll rarely notice the freeway once you're on the water. This run gets your attention immediately with a dramatic 23-foot drop called Fall Into the Wall. About 10 feet out from the base of the falls, a bedrock wall forces the river to make a 90-degree turn to the left. Paddlers must aim left as they go off the falls or slam into the wall. Not far below Fall Into the Wall, the river drops about 15 feet through an eight-foot-wide slot into a short, double-undercut gorge. This is usually portaged. Below this drop, the river changes character and for the next mile paddlers are treated to many bedrock slide drops of varying difficulty. The largest of these is the Fearsome Foursome, which loses close to 40 feet overall. At most levels there are eddies between each of these slides, but at high water the Fearsome Foursome becomes a nonstop, high-speed descent with several big holes. If you're doing this run for the first time, it's a good idea to scout the takeout ahead of time: the last slide has a small eddy immediately below it on the left. Just beyond this eddy is a nearly vertical slide that drops almost 40 feet. This has been run several times, but the outflow from this final slide leads quickly over Franklin Falls. This final drop is very scenic, but it's also really big and unrunnable.
To get to the Upper South Fork of the Snoqualmie, drive to the top of Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 90. Take the Alpental exit, go north under the Interstate, and then stay left. You'll go under the westbound freeway (it splits right here), then stop at the pull-off on the right. You can look down at Fall Into the Wall here. Put in a little ways upstream. To get to the take-out, continue down this road about a mile and a half to a small pull-off on the right (if you come to switchbacks, you've gone too far). The top of Franklin Falls is just a short ways through the woods.

Originally Published, Paddler January-February 2000
 

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