Canyon Creek (Kerby, Oregon)

While the road name would lead one to believe the access to this run is Free and Easy, only the free part is true.

We parked just shy of the ford of Josephine Creek, where the hiking began.

Contemplating distance travelled and distance yet to be travelled.

The hike is all along a road, which makes for easy going.

Being Priscilla's birthday, Ben put together this centerpiece once we reached the put in.

The put in rapid provided a promising start.

After the put in rapid the river cruised along with fun and straight forward rapids.  The most consistent obstacle were the willows growing out of the riverbed.  None required portaging and most added positively to the enjoyment of the rapids.

We took a break at the first steep-ish boulder garden while Aaron tended to a full body cramp.

The stream rolled along with short, but nice rapids in a mini canyon.  At some point we ducked a log and the whitewater quality picked up, getting a little steeper with more engaging class III-IV rapids.

The river continued to gorge up until reaching its apex where the gorge walls, though low, were steep.  We got out on the left after the entrance to scout "Birthday Bootie", so named after the birthday girl swam due to a suspect seal launch decision.

Aaron in the middle of "Birthday Bootie", just around the corner we stayed left through some neat hydraulics and a ledge or two.  Below here was some more fun cruising with short, fun rapids that continued down to the confluence with Josephine Creek.

At this point the group split ways, Ben, Kate and Priscilla paddled down to the confluence of the Illinois, while I jogged the short distance back to the vehicle and returned to where Aaron waited with the boats.  Aaron and I made the drive back out and met the team where they were waiting with a fire at the bridge just downstream of Josephine Campground on the Illinois.  We loaded up and headed back to Priscilla's parents house for a birthday barbecue.

The Illinois peaked at 2,000 cfs while we were on Canyon, when I return I will look for double or triple that flow for a class IV day on the water.

We ran Canyon Creek on Feb 27, 2016

I like this gauge better since its on a similarly sized stream.

You may wonder, where is Canyon Creek?

          -jacob

Siouxon

This is one of those runs a lot of people talk about doing, yet few actually do.  The logistics are more challenging than your average boating trip with snow conditions, hiking, daylight and flows all weighing in to the equation.

I kept putting it off but after hearing from Jeff Compton, Scott Michael, Nick Hymel and others that this was a special run I decided that I would give it a go when the next opportunity presented itself.

A couple of the videos that got me excited about Siouxon Creek.

From Nick Hymel

Siouxon Creek Washington Kayaking from IKNick on Vimeo.

And another from Scott Michael.

Upper Siouxon creek from Scott Michael on Vimeo.

A couple weekends ago I got that chance, others also wanted to see it for the first time (Priscilla Macy, Ben Mckenzie, Jake Brown) and two were happy to go back (Scott Michael and Matt King).  We met in Jantzen Beach at 6:30 and decided to do the shuttle this time around.  Utilizing a spur road we reduced the hike to 1.5 miles of easy downhill or flat hiking.

The shuttle is not for everyone, it requires modest navigation skills and adds a big chunk of time at the end of the day.  Those I have talked to who have hiked from the bottom say its pretty darn easy as far as 6 mile hikes go, plus when you finish the run you are done and can head home instead of having to retrieve your car.  That said, I might still do the shuttle next time.

Oregon kayaking has accurate shuttle directions and a good description of the run.

Hiking in

  Below is the hike that we did, including an easy 5 minute bushwhack to meet up with the trail.

The run starts off right away with fun bedrock features, these are all pretty straight forward but keep an eye out for wood.

The first twenty footer (Upper Siouxon Falls) is really fun and clean.  Matt sent us all off blind which was a fun way to do it, a couple of us even went back up for seconds.

More high quality intermediate bedrock rapids with an occasional wood hazard continues until a big and obvious horizon line presents itself, scout/portage Middle Siouxon Falls on the left.  We thought we were in trouble for daylight at this point as we had been moving very slowly so we all portaged what looked like a good drop without giving it a good look.

Downstream more excellent intermediate bedrock whitewater continued, broken up by stretches of class II-III.

Eventually after an extended class II stretch an obvious horizon presented itself at the double drop.  We scouted right, Ben went middle off verbal beta because he was chilly and didn't want to get out of his boat, but also didn't want to miss out on the big boof in the middle.  The rest of us scouted right and three of us ran left while a couple others walked on the right.  The left side was fun and more friendly than it had looked from the right bank.

We paddled a ways more to the horizon line at Lower Siouxon Falls, again the scout/portage is on the left.  We looked at it for a short bit and I decided it was too doable to leave it unrun so gave it a go.  I was where I wanted to be from top to bottom, but was tossed nearly 180 degrees by the big feature at the transition resulting in a descent that ended up being more spectatorially amusing than technically proficient.

More class II broken up by some III+ continued a little less than 1.5 miles to the West Creek campground where we took out.  This take out is not obvious and we only knew it was there because Jake Brown had hiked there before and recognized the spot.  West Creek is the second creek to enter from the left below Lower Siouxon Falls, if you pass that creek you are in for a long day.  The preferred take out is about 100 yards above that confluence on the left at a clay bank.  I would suggest following Oregonkayaking's advice and scope out your take out before putting on.

We did the short hike back to our vehicles and set about running the long shuttle with half hour or so of light left, finally meeting at Nick's Diner in Amboy for dinner around 8pm.

The downside of the car shuttle; once you finish the run you still have over 2 hours of driving before you finally exit the Siouxon drainage.

We were there November 15 and thought flows were good.  Could have gone higher or lower.

   -jacob

Canyon Creek, Oregon

Darren Dangerdeeds likes Canyon Creek, OR.

BETA

Stream: This is a benchmark run in the Willamette Valley.  Once considered a classic run, a landslide into Day of Judgement (the largest rapid of the run and one of the best in Oregon) rendered that drop a mess and changed the dynamic of the run.  

The run is still good, but feels like more of an adventure run than a classic nowadays.  The first two miles after the boulder-bar beginning are steep and can easily take twice as long as the lower 5 miles.  Reading and running is not a good technique on the Upper section.  If it's your first time, my recommendation would be to catch all the eddies and scout all the rapids until you are past Black Creek. 

Below the bridge at the put in, boulder bar floating eases you into the day.  There is some wood to dodge, and the last few times Iv'e done the run Iv'e done one easy portage up here.  As the river consolidates (you can use a scrambling put in here to avoid the boulder floating at the beginning), the first rapid is quickly reached.  A bouldery lead in turns into bedrock at Chocolate Chips, scout right before entering the small boulder garden.

Josh Roach, Chocolate Chips.

 Photo: Thomas Imes

Downstream is another boulder garden leading into Chicken Little, which has some small scouting eddies on the left.  This rapid can collect wood.  It is easiest to scout left, but a partial portage on the right into a sneak line is what I have done when wood blocks the main line.  Eddies are not always generous on this run, so take a good look for them before committing to any moves.

After Chicken Little, getright against a wall to scout the next straight-away that ends in an eddy on the left that should be caught before the river disappears into some boulders.  Scout from this eddy, and most likely make a strong ferry back to the right to the line you picked out.

More good rapids continue downstream, even though they can be read and run, I recommend scouting everything on this run your first time down.

1-2 rapids later there has been a logjam extending from the left bank, with one log reaching all the way to the right bank.  There is a last chance eddy above it on the right, with a bugger rock to mind.  Sometimes we have been able to sneak by or over the log, sometimes we have to portage.  

Good rapids continue below the portage, including this great boof.

The boof is an important marker, because just downstream is Demon Seed, a rapid that looks like it may be read-and-run, but is actually a portage for most people.  Demon Seed looks like a mini-BZ Falls, but flows under the right wall.  Of the people I have seen run this drop, most go under the right wall, but have always flushed quickly.  I don't fancy the thought of being under the wall so have always made the quick portage on the right.

The whitewater opens up downstream, becoming read and run for awhile.  This changes when the stream bends right at a small gravel bar with the road visible downstream, high on the right.  Scout Terminator from this gravel bar.  Terminator deserves respect and safety is a good idea.  There is a sieve on river left that is mostly, but not entirely out of play.  The pocket on the right is more in play, though good safety can be set here.  An ideal line threads between the rock in the center that divides the flow and that right pocket.

Just downstream is a big ledge, before the river drops around a room-sized rock and enters Day of Judgement.  Day of Judgement was once considered one of the best rapids in Oregon, but a landslide that occurred before I ever ran the creek changed the rapid forever.  My first time down, the Dinsdales and I ran a sneak channel to the left of the big rock.  Iv'e chosen to take the sloppy portage on the right each time since.  The middle line has been run, with poor results.  Day of Judgement does change every year, and we keep hoping some day it will return to a worthwhile rapid.  Portaging on the right is better than the left, but still requires concentration as it's on a steep scree-field.  

The boulder garden downstream ends in a rapid that looks heinous from above, with logs sticking up vertically but actually is pretty easy compared to most of the rapids encountered so far.  Every time I have run the creek, driving left of the logs has been hunky-dory, though I do like to boat scout from a tricky eddy on the right just before the horizon to make sure things haven't changed.

On a low water trip, the right channel looked better.

A rapid or two are between here and Black Creek, which enters down a tumbling cascade on the right, which must be forded to scout the next ledge.  The line on this ledge changes with water levels, so it's worth a look.

Just around the corner it looks like there is a big wood hazard, but as of 2019 it is safe to read and run through the right channel to an eddy on the right, from which you can see there is a clean line.

Fun class IV continues as you enter the Lower section.  There are two rapids to look out for on this lower stretch, and paddlers need to keep an eye out for both to prevent accidentally running them.  

After the initial set of fun rapids on the lower section, there is a lull.  Keep an eye out near the end of this lull for brushy banks and large boulders visible downstream.  If you see those boulders, quickly make your way to the right bank, into a small channel to the right of a brush bar to scout Osprey, one of the biggest rapids on Canyon Creek.  It is important to make it into that tiny right channel to scout, or you will be forced to run this common portage blind.

The next notable ledge downstream looks like it can be run anywhere from above, but in reality needs to be run left at most levels.  Branches sometimes complicates this.  Things maintain a quality class IV nature downstream of here, interspersed with sections of easy and often scenic floating.

The next notable rapid comes at the end of a class II straight away, ending in what looks like a small pinch/ledge.  Eddy out right here to scout the Constrictor, another common portage.  While the drop is small, many people make the easy portage on the right.

More fun rapids continue, along with some more easy floating.  There is a beautiful gorge down in this lower section, and some more good rapids.  This gorge tends to collect wood, but usually nothing requiring a portage, stay vigilant.

One of the cruxes of the run is actually catching the take out eddy under the bridge.  It is pretty small, so if too many people try to catch it at once, it would be possible for someone to get blown downstream.  If that happens, getting out becomes more difficult as vertical walls make it difficult to exit the creek.  This eddy can be scouted from the take out bridge while setting shuttle.

If there is time, a lower take out can be used at Cascadia State Park.  This allows paddlers to pass the normal take out and float into the South Santiam, where it passes through one of the more scenic gorges in the state.  There are not any notable rapids, so it provides an opportunity to soak it in.

If you are doing the full run, keep in mind this is a 7 mile run and the upper two miles are not conducive to boat scouting.  Moving with urgency will keep you from dealing with a setting sun.

Flows:  300-700 on Pat Welches estimate is good for a first time go if flows are not rising.

Here is a photo from the Hwy 20 bridge at minimally fun levels for the lower section, I wouldn't think the upper would be worthwhile at this level.

Access:  Take I-5 to Highway 20 and head east.  After passing through the town of Sweet Home it's about 16 miles to the bridge over Canyon Creek at the take out.  44.396770, -122.447861

A gravel road takes off to the right just after the bridge and heads up to the put in.  There are 3 put in options, located at these mileages past the turn off from Highway 20:

4.9 miles (44.361064, -122.382634):  A steep trail leads down to the creek here at the bridge over Black Gate.  This is considered the lower put in and skips the two miles of challenging creek boating above.  It is a great intermediate run by itself, and is a nice intro to creeking sort of run.  It is also possible to hike in at the base of Day of Judgement, to add a couple IV-IV+ rapids to the lower run.

6.6 miles (44.341517, -122.365220):  If you want to get right into it, you can schwack down to the creek from one of the pull-outs either 100 yards upstream or downstream of this point.

7.1 miles (44.333839, -122.361907):  Turn right and the road quickly leads to a bridge.  This is the put in I like best.  It gives you about 15-20 minutes of open floating through boulder bars before the first rapid.  I have always had exactly one easy wood portage when I have put in up at this bridge.

 

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Original Write-up
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Our first time down,


    As told by Andrew Bradley



Nate, Jacob and I had been talking about what we should do for this up coming weekend. Flows in the Portland area were not looking super promising so Nate and I packed up shop and headed to Corvallis for the weekend. Saturday morning flows were looking great on Canyon Creek.  There is a general consensus that the creek gets pushy over 500 cfs so we were anxious about what it would feel like.  The gauge showed ~600, but Rick had run the creek at 650 on the gauge and said this felt higher.  We surmised the estimated gauge is different based on a rising vs. falling stream (we had a falling level).

       Our main concerns with the creek at this level was new wood from the ice storm that had come through the North West Region the previous week and the rumors of abundant undercuts due to the unstable geology. Rick and Dan lead us to a put in just above Chocolate Chips that avoids the mile of wood and flat water above, its exciting starting the day off with a class five!  The rapid starts off with a small boulder garden that progresses into a series of small ledges where the water is eventually funneled into 7ft wide crack.  The first 3 boaters flipped, and the last 3 stayed dry.  Moving into the next series of rapids is a pushy technical boulder garden that is leading into Chicken Little. This rapid looks ugly but go's pretty smooth; there is one massive old growth that looks like it has been stuck in the rapid for a while but is easily avoidable.  It can be portaged.

 Brian Butcher, feeling it.

 Photo: Lucas Rietmann

 After finishing the crux part of the drop the river is split into two channels for about 200yards.  Both channels are currently clear of wood.  As the channels regroup the creek rips into a technical boulder garden that is quite long and fun.  The last horizon needs to be run on the right (easier said than done).  At this level a couple of us were able to cut right from the left channel which worked, but is not the preferred line. The left half of the river pours into a nasty sieve with a root wad stuck in the middle.

       Next up was a ledge drop that was reminicent of sacriledge on the the little white. Big hole and all. A few more boulder gardens and a flume found us scouting Stuff Sack, more commonly known as Demon Seed. Three people ran stuff sack on this day.  This drop has a very clear line and a very clear undercut pocket on the right. Terminator is the next significant rapid followed by Day of Judgement, both of which you can scout from the road as you drive up to do the upper section. Terminator, which is known for the nasty sieve on river left, is cleaner than I had imagined, but still possesses significant consequences for a blown line. Both the aforementioned seive and pocket on the right side complicate things. There is a sneak on the left for Day of Judgment at the flows we had that starts off very manky and ends in a clean 8ft ledge.  

  Photo: Lucas Rietmann

          The section imediately below Day of Judgment should be approached with caution. It is the only section on Canyon Creek that cannot be scouted and is un-portageable. It is  important that after committing to the lead-in, you catch the large eddy on river right just after to gorge walls close in. From this eddie, you can boat scout the crux section (Jacob was able to hop out and get a visual, but that option may not exist at lower flows). The entire right side of the river charges beneath an old growth log and then flows into an undercut. The left side of the river is very manky and contains several rocks that could pin a boat. The line is the cut just above and to the left of the old growth root wad in the center of the river.  If you run this thing correctly, the spray from the water hitting the root wad will actually envelope you as you drop through the narrow channel. Although this drop isn't too difficult, it is one of the more consequential rapids on Canyon Creek.    Below this gorge, the run then alternates between large ledges and flatwater. Before you reach the put-in for the lower section, there is one giant ledge hole to be aware of. On this day, two of our group went for a ride, but were able to escape.  

It is common for boaters to just run this lower section (class IV), however the first ledge of the lower section held a swimmer for about a minute on this day, so be sure you have a solid boof before attempting the run, especially at this level.  Watch out for Osprey after the first mile or so of flat water, it would be easy to mistakenly enter this rapid. Dry out in the brush on the right to scout, if you see large boulders downstream it might already be too late, get into the right channel and paddle hard. The run over all is generally clean and definitely worth doing.  

Keep an eye out for Constrictor as well, a small/narrow 3' drop at the end of a class II straight away with a vicious hole that is typically portaged on the right.

A special thanks to Dan Rubado and Rick Cooley for showing us the lines, we would have been in the dark without you guys (literally). 


Canyon Creek, OR from Andrew Bradley on Vimeo.

-Andrew

North Siouxon

BETA

5.2 miles

Stream: This runs requires carrying your boat in some fashion for a couple hours.  You can mix and match some bushwhacking with trail hiking, or just trail hike the whole 4-5 miles.  Fortunately, the hiking is superb and the trail does not have long, steep uphill grades. 

The put in most people will use is at the base of Black Hole Falls, a large falls that has been looked at with the intention of running a few times, but always passed on.  It's got a tricky lead in, and it's a big drop.  It reminded Adam Edwards a bit of Tomata II on the Alseseca. 

Additional Scouting Photos

Photo: Emile Elliott


There used to be a sign for the falls on the trail, but last time we were up there it was just the posts, fortunately the trails makes an obvious split here so it would be hard to miss if you're looking for it.  There is more quality whitewater above the falls, mostly of the sliding and ledge variety so if you want to carry your boat some more and portage around Black Hole that's an option too.





                      John Edwards above Black Hole Falls, at 650 cfs (below what are recommended flows).

Photo: Emile Elliott


The run is consistently fun class IV whitewater.  The forest is stunning and paddling the stream is a way to see what the PNW landscape looked like before people modified it.  There is wonderful variety in the whitewater, and while most of it is read and run, don't paddle into anything you can't see the bottom of.  

In particular, watch out for a blind rapid with an old growth log duck, and then Solar Flare, a ledge with a narrow hole on the right that flushes better at high water than low.  It was named Solar Flare due to a member of our party on my third run down having his first swim in 11 years when he was unable to surf out at low water because of how narrow the hole was (Solar Flares occur every eleven years as well). 

Below Solar Flare the run transitions to class IV gorges separated by easier floating.  Wood is present, but not overbearing.  

  There is one big gorge (Event Horizon) part way down that has been portaged to date on the right. An eddy on river-right just below a sloping 5' ledge needs to be caught to portage Event Horizon.  The eddy below the aforementioned ledge is in the foreground in the following photo.  


                                               The first of two V+ drops making up Event Horizon.

After scouting Event Horizon, most people will choose to portage.  To do this walk uphill perpendicular to the stream until you hit the trail (this takes some time/effort).  Once on the trail walk downstream a hundred or two hundred yards.  Passing a stand of Devil's Club, there is a nose of land with old growth trees and ferns lining the way back down to the river just below this notable tributary falls.

Downstream are more intermittent gorges with a couple fun ledges mixed in.

Eventually the stream eases off and becomes gravelly, it is time to start paying close attention.  You will eventually see an unstable, and messy right wall consisting of dirt, debris and a small creek entering with a large wall rising up on the left as the river makes a hard turn to the left.  You need to eddy out on the right above this small creek to scout Smokin' Aces, a 1/4 mile series of class IV-V boulder gardens that serve as a finale.  

The messy right wall and creek, by the time you get to where the paddlers in this photo are, you are committed to the rapid.
                                                                 Photo: Nate Merrill


Two large holes along the big left wall start things off.
Photo: Nate Merrill


Any of the boulder gardens in Smokin' Aces can be portaged on the right, but it's not easy.  Walking off to the road and down to the take out starting above the tributary creek is possible, but not enjoyable.  The first segment of Smoking Aces' is the most challenging, below they drop down to V- until the take out at the bridge.

                                              The crux of Smokin' Aces on our first time down.  
                                                               photo: Matt King

 Wood is present throughout the run, but hasn't ever really been a problem other than maybe a quick portage or two.

                                             Matt King finishes up the NF of Siouxon Creek.

  
Flows:  Best I can tell from a few trips, you want to shoot for between about 1,000 and 2,000 cfs on the Canyon Creek gauge for medium flows.  It can be run a bit lower, and probably higher too.

1,500 cfs on April 17, 2011 was choice.  To run Black Hole you likely want 2,000 cfs or more.

Access:  Some of the roads are gated.  They have never been shut when we were up there though.

Take out access
(click to enlarge)

Put in access, includes a 2.5 mile hike after a short bushwhack.

(click to enlarge)

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Here is a trip when we used a different access point in order to drop in a mile above Black Hole Falls.

More photos

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Story:  Checking out North Siouxon Creek.

It was the weekend of the NWCC and the flows were high enough that the Canyon Creek portion of the race was cancelled.  It seemed like a good opportunity to check out a promising, but obscure stream in the area.

North Siouxon had plenty of potential given its geology and proximity to other high quality runs.  I had spent time researching the access situation, and despite being void of information I had high hopes for it.  We camped at the take out anticipating the day to come.  We started early to deal with any unforeseen access issues, but found access to be reasonable and where we thought it would be, via some logging roads leading to a short, but semi-taxing 1/2 mile bush whack down to the creek.

We reached the creek and liked what we saw.  Bedrock and plenty of water.  We said good bye to the ground support team and paddled off into the unknown.  Early on a nice gorge with quality class four rapids set the tone.  We scouted a couple times for wood before getting into the swing of things.  The creek would exit a gorge and go through a short gravel section, before returning to another gorge.  Wood was present, but not intrusive.

We were floating though an easier gravel section when we encountered the tallest drop yet as the creek appeared to enter another gorge section downstream via a hard right blind turn.  The drop below us was a nice 7 foot ramp into a diagonal hole.  Matt went first, and caught a low eddy, but signaled me that it was important to catch the upper eddy on the right.  I did so and we scouted the next gorge.  Immediately after the right hand turn the creek roared over an impressive section of whitewater containing two V+ rapids that had wood in them (the wood is gone in 2018, but the rapid gorge is still yet to be run).  The first of two drops in the gorge was the only one we spent time scouting and decided it would likely go once the wood flushes.   We set out on an extended portage of the entire gorge on the right where a trail helped our cause, the return to the river was the only tricky part.  We didn't need any ropes, but a "non-experienced portager" might have trouble picking the path of least resistance.   There is a waterfall coming in on the left that makes for a good mark for where to return to river-level.

Runout on the rapid at the tributary waterfall.

More gorges and classy class four rapids followed.  The next drop I remember was a five foot pour-over into a hole.  We both came through upright and stoked on the fun drop.  The next major landmark is the most important to remember for a repeat run.  There is a large rock wall on the left that comes straight to the river.  The right side of the river is a small, active erosional zone with mud and debris taking up the 30 foot high river right bank.  There was a log parallel to the current that was in a tricky spot and eddies are small and soft here.  If you have made it this far you probably won't have any problems, but it's worth paying attention.   Not knowing the situation beforehand Matt had some trouble as the probe and needed to scramble into an eddy on river-left next to the wall after running out of eddies on the right.

From there he hiked back upstream and ferried across where I helped him into shore just above the start of the next rapid.  The next time we did the run we got out earlier next to the log and didn't have any troubles, though attention was still required. Aggressive boaters can still catch the eddy on river right just before the stream drops through some large boulders.  From shore you can see the beginning of Smoking' Aces, which is a series of class V boulder gardens ending at the take out bridge.  The first two are the hardest, then they ease a bit with a finale just above the bridge.

Matt cleans up on the crux of "Smokin' Aces".

Matt on the right side of the final rapid, a center to left move also works. 

    -Jacob