Upper Upper Cispus

Photo: Matt King

BETA

Stream: This is a classic PNW stream that runs during the summer.  It is mostly IV-IV+ with one mandatory class V section (Behemoth), and one optional class V rapid (island).

Starting at a campground, there is a couple hundred yards of warm up before the river bends right and over the first falls, which is off-vertical and about 10-15' tall.  If you intend on scouting, get to the left shore before the bend to scout.



                                                      Ben Mckenzie - Warm up Falls

Photo: Priscilla Macy

The next mile or so is on the hard end of class IV with the occasional mank pile or wood to watch out for.  It often looks trashy from above and below, but the lines are fun and padded if you are in the right spot.  It can be nice to follow someone who knows the situation down the first time, but can be boat scouted too.  There is one rapid near the end of this first gorge section that should be scouted.  A hard right turn leads into it quickly, with eddies on the left above the rapid. The right and middle of the river is sieved out, and at least one person has had a frightening tangle with one of the sieve's.  Ending left over a nice 4-5' boof is how the rapid is run, getting to that boof changes year to year and person to person, scout left.

John Edwards, hitting the bottom left boof.

Photo: Nate Merrill

Below here is a blind rapid that is boofed far left, where less of the water is going.  It drops about 5', a left stroke with your nose at about 10-11 o' clock works well to avoid pitons.

Close downstream is Not Island, the easier line used to be right the whole way, in 2018 it was easiest just to go far left through what used to be a powerful hole.  It's worth a scout on the left your first lap down.

Not far downstream the river opens up for a moment into a couple gravel bars and an island.  It is an option to bail on the right here if someone is not having a good day.

There is even a neat little tube through the rock to check out.

Around the corner things gorge back up and rapids build to Island.  

Mcbenzie after walking back up for lap two.

Island has a moving pool above it and a horizon line, its worth paying attention here so you eddy out in the correct spot (on the left bank of the island at normal flows).  The right side double drop is tougher even than it looks to get a good boof.  The portage is along a shallow shelf river-left.


Approaches to Island Drop from Eric Foster-Moore on Vimeo.


Downstream are more fun rapids, one that stands out is a ramp with short but vertical walls on either side.  The hydraulic at the bottom folds into the right wall, so people flip here often.  What I find works is moving center to left, nose at 10 o' clock and following through with a strong right stroke. 

The log is gone.

 Photo: Nate Merrill

A few more rapids exist before the entrance to Behemoth, noted by a short pool created by a landslide coming in from the right.  There is a lead in rapid, then an eddy on the right to scout the Rapid of No Return, which leads to a moving hallway above Behemoth.  If it's your first time, scouting from the landslide is not a bad idea.

The Rapid of No Return is a little tricky, but can be thoroughly scouted and even portaged on the right.  Below the entrance, catch an eddy on the left before the big horizon line that is Behemoth to scout.

The scout/portage route at the entrance to Behemoth.

 

 Photo: Nate Merrill

And the crux move in the Rapid of No Return.

There is more than one way to run Behemoth, and more than one hazard.  The biggest hazard is being pulled behind the falls on the left.  To avoid this, make sure you nose is not pointed left when you get airborn.  After landing, there is a ledge with a powerful hole on the right.  A strong delayed stroke about 10-15' off the right wall works.  Or if you finessed Behemoth you can run the ledge left where there is not a hole to speak of.

On line through the meat of the hole below Behemoth.

 Photo: Nate Merrill

Downstream are two long boulder gardens.  Enter the first one center, then stay right or right-ish the rest of the way until the boulder gardens ease to class II-III. 

 

Mathias drops in for his first time on this quintessential 1/4 mile of classic PNW boating.

 It is easy floating from below the last boulder garden to the take out bridge, one of the side canyons is worth walking up to see a neat falls.



  
 A couple videos 


Upper Upper Cispus August 2016 from IKNick on Vimeo.



Upper Upper Cispus from Lucas Rietmann on Vimeo.






Flows:  500-700 is best for a first time trip.  It's still in down to 400, and has been run even lower.  It can be run higher for a more class V experience.


Matt has a write up about what you can expect from the Upper Upper Cispus when the water is up.
And here is a video from Todd Wells at even higher flows.

Access:  From I-5, head East on Hwy 12 towards Morton and Randle.  Almost an hour after leaving I-5, turn right in Randle onto Hwy 131.  In 1 mile, turn left onto Cispus river road (Iv'e lazily missed that turn before). 17.6 miles later stay right, you will reach the take out bridge within half a mile.

To get to the put in, return the half mile back the way you came in and turn right onto NF-21.  Continue upstream about 5 miles to the put in bridge.



Notes:  For those with the skill, this is an exceptional run for class V R2's.  

There is free camping at the take out, and a pay site at the put in.  The free ones are smaller and sometimes filled, so it can be worth the money to get a site at the top with toilets and benches and more vacancy.

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Trip Report from Nate Merrill
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For whatever reason, the Upper Upper Cispus has eluded me for the past two years. I've actually been at the put-in sitting in my boat, and never actually descended the river. I've always felt that the run has a very polarizing effect on those who paddle it. Some folks claim that it's right there at the top of their list, while others associate the run with low water mank. And then there are the select few who have found themselves at the lip of behemoth at higher flows, who won't even make a return trip to the area. It seems that almost everyone has a strong opinion about the UUC in one light or another.

A few weeks ago, I finally got the opportunity to create my own opinion about the most polarizing run around. I shot the following photos over a two week span in mid-late august. In subsequent weekends, we had flows around 680 cfs and 550 cfs. I'd definitely recommend the higher of the two levels. In addition to cutting down on some of the mank in the upper boulder gardens, the higher flow also washed out the troublesome hole in the gorge above Behemoth. making that section far less stressful.

I'll start with the photos from the second weekend that I spent up on the upper upper.

Cruise Control scouting the 'Warm Up' Falls - This drop is a mere 150 yards from the put-in bridge. Be careful when approaching the lip, it would be easy to get swept down the gut if you get lost on the lead-in.

Looking down into the unknown

The warm up above the warm up.

Melting Pot

John finishes off one of the countless boulder gardens in the first gorge. This one required a strong move to the left and allowed for a really sweet fading boof off a big rock in the center of the river. The right side led into a nasty boulder sieve. 

Dan Rubado - The right side of Island is a tricky line. Boof early!

The bottom hole at Island - Brandon's got safety

Jacob - Island Paradise

JD - The top of Island tends to roll people onto their left edge. Be prepared and drive hard onto the boil coming of the right wall at the lip.

Scouting the gorge above Behemoth - This is about the point where everyone starts to get really concentrated and quite. The stress factor amplifies a bit as everyone begins to contemplate the massive horizon line at the bottom of the gorge.

Send out a probe

That's me, clawing my way out of the big hole directly above Behemoth. - It's best to hit this hole on the left with lots of speed!

JD in the Gorge

View from the top

View from below

After firing off Behemoth, I snapped this shot of the lower gorge. This section is one of my favorites in the entire PNW. Go right, then right again, followed by a move on the right before heading to the right... You get the idea.

The bark is worse than the bite. Although this hole looks terrifying, as long as you're in control and paddling hard, you'll make it through just fine. JD demonstrates.

Behemoth is a fun drop, but it is consequential! There is a nasty pocket on river left that several friends of mine have wound up in. Both folks required vertical extractions up the wall.

The following photos were taken on the first weekend spent on the UUC when flows were slightly higher. I apologize for the low photo quality. I was having a bad camera day.

Alex Kilyk on a cold summer day. Temps were in the 60's and water coming down was silty run off.

Dan and Chris Menges scouting Island

Alex fires off the left line at Island

This pinch drop should be approached with caution. As you can see, there is a log in the run out that is pretty nasty on river right.

Shortly before the river drops off the face. Issac, Dan, and Chris.

Contemplating life in the eddy above the big one.

First in flight

Issac gets his river karma back in balance.

And I'll leave you with this beauty! Issac Priestly likes his beer with a little extra sediment. 

White Salmon River: Green Truss

 Photo: Clinton Begley

BETA

Stream: The Green Truss section of the White Salmon is an incredible resource for paddlers in the Pacific Northwest.  When most of the other creek boating options dry up, this section of the river still offers a half dozen miles of quality class IV-V whitewater with easy access.  For paddlers in the area, this is often their first exposure to serious whitewater.  

***I have run the Green Truss between 1.5' and 3.5', and this description will reflect that.  As flows surpass 4' the run becomes more consistently class V.***

The put in is just downstream of the Green Truss bridge, adhere to the signs letting you know where, and where not to park and loiter.  It would be all too easy to loose this access point.  There is a steep trail downstream on river right of the bridge.  Many people use ropes to lower their boats down the side of the hill, yet many have also made it down without ropes.  Make good decisions here, there has been at least one person and probably more who have fallen off this cliff. 

There is a nice flat stretch at the start where first timers collect themselves and people often choose to warm up with some stretching and bracing/rolling in the calm water before the whitewater kicks off in earnest.

After paddling over the first horizon line, the action is sustained down to Big Brother.  If you have not done the run before and are figuring it out for yourself, it's worth taking a shore scout if you can't see the entirety of a rapid in this stretch.  Not all of the lines are intuitive or with the main flow.

This fun stretch of IV-IV+ whitewater ends with the Meatball and then Bob's Falls.  The Meatball is a large round boulder blocking downstream view in the second ledge of a two part rapid.  Left or right both work if free of wood, left is more common.  Scout if you don't know the line.

A pool separates Meatball from the next rapid, Bob's Falls.  This one can be run right or left, I have only seen people mess up the left line.  The right seems to be a "closer to danger, further from harm" option.  For first timers, or for the less confident it's nice to have a rope set up on the right.  Just downstream is a ledge most easily run on the right with a slightly delayed left stroke.

It's best to avoid the center of Bob's Falls.

Photo: Brandon Bloomquist

Below Bob's is a class three rapid (stay away from the left wall) and then you are in the pool above Big Brother.  Scout and portage left.  There are two hazards with running the standard boof flake line on the right.  The first is the obvious cave, the second is a shelf in the landing if paddlers fall off the left of the flake.  

This is a good place to be off the flake, though I personally like to be a half boat-width further left.

Photo: Priscilla Macy                                                             Paddler: David Formulo

At low flows boaters routinely paddle out of the cave, but safety should be set.    This can be done by climbing up to the cave from the bottom on river right and clipping into some webbing that is installed there.  Keep in mind even if its a warm day, that cave is a cold place to be.  If you have ten boaters, all scouting thoroughly and running the falls one at a time, the person setting safety at the cave is going to get cold.  Be a team player and tap them out if they have been there for awhile.  At high water, this cave has taken a life.

If  boaters are not interested in setting up thorough safety, a 75' throw bag does reach the cave from the viewing zone on river left. 

Cultural note:  The paradigm of how to run Big Brother has changed over the years.  When I started paddling the Green Truss in 2007 the right side flake was the line, no question.  Every now and then you'd hear about someone probing the left side, but it was generally considered a stunt, and sometimes done out  at high water to avoid the cave on river-right.  Over the years things changed as more people started running left, after enough people had pulled that stunt boaters started realizing it was a cleaner line than it appeared and because it kept you away from the cave was appealing.  Somewhere around 2018 or so the tables turned and the left side line is now considered the line and the right side flake is starting to be considered the bold line.  Go figure.

Nate Warren, paddling what has become the most commonly used line at Big Brother.

Photo: Priscilla Macy                                                             Paddler: David Formulo

Immediately downstream of Big Brother is Little Brother.  My preferred approach is to run the left side with a left stroke pointed to 1 o' clock.  It is usually possible to portage Big Brother via a permanent rope fixed to the left wall and put back in for Little Brother.  If flows are high, a portage of Big Brother generally means walking around both Brothers along a trail on the left.

A couple short boulder gardens separate the Brothers from Double Drop, a notorious and challenging, yet generally forgiving rapid.  Scouting is possible on the left, but robs your speed.  The most commonly successful line is center left off the top drop with a delayed right stroke, followed by any sort of stroke off the bottom drop.  The bottom hole often flips people, and sometime surfs people.  There is a big pool below at summer flows though, so recovery is generally not a problem.  No matter how good you are, an upright line through Double Drop is not guaranteed.

Photo: Michael Freeman                                                            Paddler: Anna Herring

  The drop draining the pool below Double Drop is called Karen's Box, the left side is sticky but if you can hit your boof isn't a problem.  If flows are high enough to run right and you're concerned about the hole, it's not a bad idea to scrape down the right side your first time down.

 Below Karen's Box are a few more read and run class IV's before things ease up and the springs start gushing in.  The water temperature decreases over the next half mile and the flow increases.  After a bit of tame floating the whitewater slowly picks back up, when you notice the change in style of the rock and a small horizon line you have reached Cheese-grader.  There is an eddy on the right at the lip you can scout from.  There are loads of line options here, Iv'e seen a lot of tail-stands in the middle of the top ledge.  Mind the walls in this rapid. 

A center line off the main ledge in Cheese-grader.

Photo: Rob Cruser                                                            Paddler: Jacob Cruser

Splashy water leads to a pinch at Unavoidable, run center with speed.  There are some funky hydraulics that sometimes flip people, I hear those same hydraulics can make it tough to roll.  At low water there are some tricky eddies people like to challenge themselves with. 

More read and run leads to Zigzag Canyon.  If you are not with someone who knows the run, keep an eye downstream below Unavoidable.  Don't enter any rapids you can't see the bottom of.  A small rapid that splits around a center boulder is just above the lead in to Upper Zigzag, downstream the canyon looks a bit more ominous, get out on the right to scout before entering the class III lead in to Upper Zigzag.

Upper Zigzag is a long flume rapid, I find the first part to be the crux, this first part feeds directly into two ledges.  The first is run left, the second right.  There is a sieve along the left wall in the second ledge that must be avoided, but fortunately not very magnetic if you are in your boat.  Zigzag can be portaged with some effort along the right bank, rope is usually needed.

Blasting through the top part of Upper Zigzag.

Photo: Clinton Begley                                                            Paddler: Robert Delgado/Brendan Currie

A moving pool separates Upper Zigzag from Lower Zigzag, scout and portage left.  The portage requires using a fixed line to lower boats and then a walk along a steep bank to get down to them.  The line will be obvious from the scout (if it's not consider walking the rapid).  

Just downstream from Lower Zigzag a small creek comes in from the right (often dry by the end of the summer) at the put in for the Oreletta Section.  A run often done by those who want more than the Middle White Salmon offers, but less than the Truss does.

The next rapid downstream has a rocky island in the center that is to be avoided either left or right (right has more water).   The rest of the Oreletta down to BZ Falls is read and run, generally following the main current.  As you learn the run you will start figuring out the smoothest ways through the rapids, but they aren't really ever difficult enough to warrant a scout if you are coming down from the Truss.



The rapid to be alert for is called The Flume.  It is signaled by a flume of water coming in out of a man-made structure on the left (sometimes people don't notice if they are not looking closely).  The rapid itself is narrow and full of off-set waves that gets more exciting at the bottom.  It's not uncommon to see flips or airtime from first timers as they accelerate through the steep bottom part into the pool below the rapid.

Exiting this next pool is one of the cruxes of the entire run.  A long class III rapid leads up to BZ Falls, which has a couple small eddies on the right just upstream of the lip.  If you are not with someone who knows the situation here, it is best to walk down from the pool below The Flume to check it out your first time.

BZ Falls is about 10' tall and very powerful.  The hole at it's base is both capable of extreme beatdowns, yet also of being remarkably forgiving.  Watch some video

Here are some people intentionally getting stuck in BZ.


2011 BZ Huckfest from Sheer Madness Productions on Vimeo.



You can portage BZ along the right side, where there are a couple seal launch options, or you can walk back down to river level in about 100 yards.





Read and run leads you to a set of makeshift steps going up the right wall in a moving pool, or you can catch and eddy on the right part way down Maytag, the next rapid (run right or get a good boof on the left side).  Walk up the set of stairs to the parking lot, and your done!

Some people choose to continue down through the Middle White Salmon for 5 more miles of class II-III+ whitewater.



Flows:  There is a foot gauge in Husum, monitored by a local who reports regularly to This Facebook Page. And this online remote camera of the gauge.  Summer flows are between 1.5'-3.5', it starts to get a bit trashy below 2'.  If flows are above 4' the run changes and you want to be a class V boater who is following someone down your first time.  In the summer you can ballpark flows by dividing the White Salmon @ Underwood gauge by 400 to get the level on the stick.

Access:  Get to Hood River, Oregon.  Cross the bridge over the Columbia River (1$ toll in 2016).  Turn left at the stop light, then make a right in 1.5 miles on Hwy 141 (the turn comes up kind of fast, if you cross the White Salmon River you have gone too far).  Continue about 2 miles to a stop sign, then turn left.  In about 4 miles you come to the town of Husum, where you can check the gauge.  If you are paddling down through the Middle White Salmon you can also leave a car here and scout Husum Falls.

To get to the standard take out, continue north along Hwy 141 about 4 miles past Husum to the BZ Corner Launch Site.  Leave as many cars here at the take out as you can, parking is limited at the put in.

The put in is 4.4 miles upstream along Hwy 141.  There is a black mailbox that signals a right turn onto Winegartner Rd, which crosses over the Green Truss Bridge itself.  Adhere to the posted signs.

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Original Write-up

My first two times down the Truss
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Nick and I finally got to run the Green Truss last Sunday for the first time. Theron Jourdan showed us the lines and was a great leader for the day. We all did pretty well with an IK swim at Little Brother and Upper Zig-zag, and plenty of bracing for me. Theron of course did really well and fired up BZ with a stellar line.

Theron on Double-Drop

This first trip was not as eventful as our second trip the following Thursday, so this report will be on that run. On this trip was Nick and myself, along with Jordan Englert (his first time) and my father (Rob Cruser) who was making his first descent in ten years in an IK. The last time he did this section in his IK he nearly died in lower Zig-zag, he finally felt ready to get back and face his demons. The story of his entrapment can be read here, http://www.oregonkayaking.net/tales/robcruser.html.

 We ran the warm up drop right below the Truss Bridge and headed around the corner and boat scouted the first few drops down to S-turn. On the second drop I had my first flip on the Truss, in a slot at the bottom that was kinda funky. We all made it down S-turn fine with the hardshellers finding a fun boof off the bottom ledge.

Things were looking good until we got to Meatball, when we discovered that Nick had broken his paddle in the drop above. Luckily it was a cheap plastic paddle, that had broken in the same way twice before. All that happened was the blade came apart from the shaft.  Nick didn't want to bail out part way down his first Truss lap, so we found a couple sticks and splinted the paddle back together with some duct tape.

Meatball and Bob's went smooth for all.

We all portaged Big Brother and had upright lines over Little Brother. 

 

The paddle held until we got to double-drop, where in the rapid above it broke again. Nick borrowed a paddle to run Double-Drop from Jordan who decided to portage, and had his only swim of the day in the bottom ledge.  My dad and I were both able to stay upright this time around. Below here my dad set to work loading up the paddle with sticks and duct tape until we had convinced ourselves it might just hold the rest of the trip

Rob Cruser (my dad)in Double Drop

Myself dropping into Wicked Hole aka Karen's Box, just below Double Drop.

Below here we made decent time to Zig-Zag canyon, with no flips occurring. Cheesegrater and Unavoidable were fun as usual and we got pictures and video for both of them.

Rob Cruser exits Cheese-grader.

We were all excited about Upper Zig-Zag for many reasons. My dad hadn't kayaked this drop in a long time, and had swam it the last time. Nick had swam it the last time. I had barely kept myself from flipping last time and wanted a clean run this time. Jordan hadn't ever run it and was pretty nervous/excited about it. I wasn't feeling too bad about it so went first and made it down without needing to brace this time. Jordan came next with an ideal line and gave a "Whoop", the first verbal expression of excitement I had heard from him on the river.   My dad followed with an exciting line, he got pushed left in the entrance and almost flipped, but pulled it together, then he got pushed sideways into the wall at the first ledge, he flipped here and kicked hard to get away from the sieve. Nick decided that he didn't want to run the rapid with his duct-taped paddle so portaged along the right wall. The portage took about 25 min. but could be done in about 10. I had read that the portage was brutal, but it really didn't seem that bad, and really might have been easier than the lower Zig-zag portage. We all portaged Lower Zig-zag even though it is starting to get run again now that the wood is shifting. Below here is the Orletta, which we attempted to get down quickly, but IK's don't really move very quickly, so we took out about 8 O'clock. The Orletta was fun as usual and went well, except that my dad hit his elbow pretty hard on a wall. We all cleaned the rest of the drops and arrived at the take-out after a good day.

Myself on Triple drop

Nick with his duct-taped paddle

Below is some helmet cam footage from before the days of GoPro, a couple years after my first trip down, and in the worst boat I have ever paddled. 

   
Truss POV from Jacob Cruser on Vimeo.

    

  -Jacob