Stream: This small stream flows into the Hot Springs Fork of the Collawash a short ways below Pegleg Falls. There is a beautiful looking 30 footer on it that has had some unfortunate wood in it.
2016 UPDATE: The logs blocking a descent of the falls disappeared around the time of the Clackamas River Festival in Spring of 2016, so Bobby Brown, Priscilla and I all took runs down the falls in various craft that weekend.
Bobby more than earned the first crack at the falls.
Photo: Priscilla Macy
Priscilla
Smooth enough for tubes.
Photo: Priscilla Macy
It's that clean.
Photo: Priscilla Macy
Downstream of the falls and bridge is a ten foot slide and some wood before the confluence with the Hot Springs Fork of the Collawash. I lost the footage of when I scraped down that part back in high school.
Doing Nohorn Creek through Pegleg Falls, followed by a park and huck of Blister Creek Falls would be a full and enjoyable day of paddling. Blister Creek Falls is a half mile drive back towards town from Pegleg Falls.
From another day; 3,000ish cfs at Three Lynx.
Kory Kellum
Photo: Priscilla Macy
Flows: The falls can be run at a wide range of flows, most of the photos above were taken with the Clackamas Gauge reading around 1,300 cfs. 3,000 cfs is a nice flow up there, 5,000 is even better. 15,000 cfs Video: Catherine Loke
Access: From Estacada take Hwy 224 up the Clackamas River about 29 miles (about 14.5 miles past Carter Bridge, and 4 miles past the Ripplebrook Ranger station). At this point take a right towards Bagby Hot Springs (paralleling the Collawash River for much of this portion of the drive). 3.5 miles later take another right towards Bagby Hot Springs. 5.3 miles after this turn you will cross Blister Creek and can see the falls upstream from the bridge. There are a couple pull outs on river right along with a short trail leading to the falls.
44.9589, -122.1589
The trail leads right to the lip, making for easy access for entry and to scout/pick markers.
Jesse Shapiro, Priscilla Macy and I ran the "Big Dog" section of the Collawash after the Clack fest and found that the run has changed a fair bit and is a good run. Possibly one of the better sections of whitewater in Oregon.
A young Newt at the put in.
The core beta for this run is captured well in both Soggy Sneakers and a trip report from Oregonkayaking. The report here is a 2014 perspective of the run complimentary to those descriptions, the biggest difference being the improved wood situation and the change to the Churn. The second large logjam is no longer a portage and there were only 2 mandatory portages on the whole run.
We paddled the 4 miles of class two broken up by a log portage and one small but tricky rapid before arriving at one of Oregon's largest log jams. The class II moves along well enough, and the classic Oregon greenery helps. On the second trip I paddled the last 1/2 mile of the EF Collowash at the start of the day, so got some nice class IV rapids in before the class II began. The maps show an alternate approach that would drop a boater in just below the large logjam noted in the guidebooks. This approach would be faster, but require more effort.
* A map showing this approach is included at the end of this report.
Andrew in the exception to the rule in the class II paddle in.
Speaking of the mega logjam, the portage is a simple affair as the logs are large and sturdy enough that a nimble boater can do the whole portage without taking their boat off their shoulder until the final 15 yards in under 10 minutes. We started center and worked right, it was neat to see so many logs piled together in one place. We did feel the logjam might be smaller than it used to be when the original guidebook description was written.
It is still a large logjam,.
We put back in and paddled another hundred yards, then drug our boats across a grass covered island to the river left channel to avoid another short log portage. Other routes across the jam are available.
The grass was tall and my irrational side kept checking for theCompsognathus from Jurassic Park.
On our second trip, we recognized the jam coming up and portaged early on the left, this took about half the time and effort. I'd go left every time in the future.
Shortly below here Dickey Creek came in on the left. The alternate access would be at about this point. Oregonkayaking.net describes this next section well as "eerie". The large, dead trees rising out of the water and slow current create this effect.
The sentinels
Shortly below the "sentinels" the river eases to the right and there is an obvious horizon line. This first class IV ends in a moving pool making for a fun and straight forward rapid.
The next horizon line is "Big Dog", a large class V rapid that is the first of the rapids in this stretch to have changed for the better. The log in the bottom left chute is no longer there, turning this into a good rapid. Running far left the whole way worked well, be sure to take a peak around the corner as another smaller rapid waits just below. As the guides mention; scout left, portage right.
Photo: Andrew Bradley
The Churn seems to have changed since the original descriptions. It starts off with a lead in and the ledge with a pin spot, below which we eddied out to scout the second part which was a challenging boulder rapid dropping 15 feet or so over 40 yards. I do not recognize the Oregonkayaking picture of the second part of the Churn, we believe a landslide has occurred; the resulting rapid is still good. Take care to mind the holes, the first one provided a solid rodeo for a member of our group. This section reminded me of Upper Canyon Creek, OR.
Kory Kellum take his turn in the first part of The Churn.
Below here the gorge offered one more class IV rapid and the seriousness of the rapids eased slightly but everything is still really fun. However, don't let your guard down. The rapid pictured on Oregonkayaking described as being just above "The Cave" surfed another member of our group and caused a swim. This drop through the cave has a class V-ish feel. The large log jam described on the Oregonkayaking site in this section has been altered and we were able to paddle under it on the far left. "The Cave" itself was clear of wood and good to go, being mindful of the undercut left wall. A few more class IV rapids keep you entertained to the take out bridge, though I recommend heading the advice on OregonKayaking and continuing down through Boulder Dash and taking out at the first tributary entering on the left.
Kory dashes through the boulders.
By the time we reached the take out bridge we had forgotten the class two paddle at the top and were all smiles. Truly an enjoyable run for the adventurous boater.
Some more good news is the scouting and portaging is no longer as difficult as it used to be, the landslides must have settled as we felt moving around on the bank was not an issue.
After wrapping up, its easy to tack on Pegleg Falls and Blister Creek Falls before heading home.
Kory Kellum: Blister Creek Falls
Footage: Andrew Bradley
FLOWS: We had 2200 cfs on the Clackamas at Three Lynx in 2014 and thought that was a nice level, but I think levels were a bit funky. The Oregonkayaking trip report was done at 2500 cfs at Three Lynx though there was more water in the Collawash on our trip. We noted the Hot Springs Fork was contributing very little water. Low flows would be trashy due to the landslide nature of the rapids. We returned at 3,000 cfs or so and dropping in 2018 and the run filled in and was more of a strong medium. More hydraulics and less rock.
ACCESS: Take Out (There is a right turn onto Collawash river rd/NF-63, 4 miles past Ripplebrook on the Clackamas River hwy, it's another 5.5 miles or so to the Farm Creek take out below Boulderdash, then another 1/2 mi further to the guidebook take out): 44.9659104709281, -122.05527024831231
Put In (near Elk Lake Creek trailhead): 44.89766813327258, -122.00639656112921
There are three put in options up near the Elk Lake trailhead access: The first is the regular put-in at the bridge. This is hassle-free and gets right into 4 miles of class II floating.
The second option is on the East Fork Collawash, and involves 1/4 mile of class III-IV boulder gardens to start the day. This requires a short bushwhack in off the 120 rd.
If you have the time, and the wood situation isn't too bad, hiking up a bit over 1/2 mi to run the final gorge on Elk Lake Creek is definitely the most exciting start to the trip. That gorge has 2 large ledges, a clean 20'er and a couple boulder gardens. It's worth scouting whether the ledge located here (44.88913539295887, -122.0126375620346) is runnable first though, as to portage that drop is rather involved.
The final access option probably isn't going to get used often, if at all. And then probably only if a group is short on time, or really opposed to a class II warm up. It's a steep and challenging way down to the river through the woods, but does get paddlers to the water below the large log-jam, and right at the start of the whitewater. Whether a steep bushwhack down to the river is better than 4 1/2 miles of class 2 and a logjam portage is a personal choice, the option is there.
After a weekend of guiding I set off on my way back to Monmouth. It had been raining and I had my boat so i decided to check out a creek that I always crossed over on my way to and from Estacada. I stopped at the take out bridge and took a look at levels, low, but definitely enough to float. The one log I saw upstream didn't discourage me much, I was sure there would be a couple more just like it to negotiate before the day was out. I dropped my gear off at the start of the hike and drove back down near the take out to start the shuttle.
The gate where I was to start my hike.
I changed and started the 3 mile hike/jog to the logging road where my gear was. I figured I would arrive by six. It was a nice day for the most part and the rain had shut off for my shuttle aside from one brief hail flurry.
Arriving at the logging road I set up my carry system to test it out and started the 1+ mile hike into a place I believed was going to deliver me just below the confluence of two forks. After the logging road section, I took my pack off and started the schwack through the woods. It started out steep and I used the rope once. At one point my boat took off without my consent and yanked me straight down the side of the hill! A stick jammed into my thigh, bringing me to an abrupt halt and my boat stalled on a tree. Below it wasn't too long until the angle of the slope cooled off, allowing for a pleasant hike through the woods. I used rope again for the last 50 feet to the creek. I saw some logs but was pleased with my good fortune to have put in just below a log jam I would have needed to portage. Little did I know at the time, I could have put in anywhere along this 1.5 mile section and I would have been just below a logjam I needed to portage.
The last pitch I used a rope for.
I took 3 strokes, dodged a log, turned the corner and came to another logjam without eddies. I grabbed some grass on the side of the creek and walked the creekbed till it was easy to get out, then off into the woods.
My first 3 strokes.
Three more consecutive jams and I began to worry about light. From here out I put my "dealing" skills to use and was making reasonable time for what I was doing. The creek required perpetual decision making about which channel to take, or whether or not a log could be boofed or needed to be walked around.
Typical scene on upper Clear Creek.
There was one rapid that could be considered almost fun, a bedrock conveyer-belt class two that was 20 yards long with a class two slide lead in. Aside from that it was just dealing with logs. For those driving by who take a peak or are running the lower section, the small class two above the bridge was the most challenging rapid of the day not produced by a logjam :(
I made it to the end before dark, then jogged the mile to retrieve my car. Rest assured, I will never be back, but at least I know what is there!
Not too dark when I got out of there...
But this was the scene when I returned after getting my car.
An aside: I suspect the logjams were 75% anthropogenic, the logs were often cut and most of them had pink tape next to them, leading me to believe they were placed there.
Stream: The run starts off with a nice 10'er at the put in. From this point until Cookie Monster there is loads of quality class III-IV whitewater in a small and intimate streambed. Hugh Creek adds some water when it enters from the right and the creek seems to get even better for awhile.
About 2 miles downstream of Hugh Creek is Cookie Monster, just after a gradual 180 degree turn in the river to the right. The horizon line is obvious, and while there is a good eddy on the left, it can be partially blocked by wood so stay frosty. Cookie Monster is easier at low water, at high water a large hole forms.
Cookie Monster.
In the next mile below Cookie Monster are a couple ledges that are taller than what has been typical for the creek. The first is easiest far right. The second should be scouted from the bridge on the drive up to locate the best landing zone, center-ish. Downstream it's boogie to the Hot Springs Fork of the Collowash confluence, and then in a 1/4 mile of easy floating you will be able to see the horizon line for the finale at Pegleg Falls. Pegleg is an off-vertical 15' drop into a forgiving pool with many line choices, a good way to finish a good run.
This is a high mountain Oregon stream, so keep an eye out for wood. There are usually some portages, and some wood dodging, but historically the wood has not kept the run from being worth doing. Since you are so close, instead of gearing down, consider driving downstream less than 1/4 mile to the bridge over Blister Creek. There is a beautiful 30' park and huck visible just upstream of the bridge.
Flows: Clackamas at Three Lynx at 5,000 cfs is considered medium. 3,000 is a low, but still worth doing flow. I haven't heard of anyone taking a trip up there and having too much water yet. Access: Take out at Pegleg Falls (44.9572, -122.1619), or continue through the Hot Springs Fork of the Collowash as far as you have time for. From Estacada, take Hwy 224 SE up the Clackamas River for 29 miles (passing the Ripplebrook Ranger Station at 24.5 miles). At the 29 mile mark turn right onto NF-63 where you will quickly cross the Clackamas and less than a mile later the Collowash. Following the Collowash upstream for 3.5 miles past the turn off Hwy 224, and turn right onto NF-70/Bagby Rd. In 5.5 miles is Pegleg Falls, which is no longer operational. However, you can still park at the gate and walk down into what used to be the campground to confirm you are at the right spot by looking upstream (you will see Pegleg). To get to the put in, continue upstream on the same road 3.9 miles (stay right at 1.8 and 3.5 mi). Looking down into the creek you should be able to see a log jam, put in below it, which is just above the first ten foot drop (44.9352, -122.2117). Notes: You can read about pioneering this creek over at Oregonkayaking.net.
We headed up to Nohorn creek yesterday (May 8, 2011). It was low but still a good time at 3,000 cfs on the Clackamas @ Three Lynx gauge.
We used the upper put in that Pete Giordano found last year. The snow situation meant the last mile of the road was not drivable, but also that we could drag our boats. This upper put in added a small slide and a nice ten foot boof. Followed by a short log jam portage and some other splashy rapids. I would choose this upper put in for any trip to Nohorn.
Once Hugh creek come in on the right the creek enters a fun mini gorge section with good quality III-IV rapids. There are some in-between sections that were a bit dull at this level, but at normal levels these would move right along and the classic Oregon scenery helps pass the time as usual.
We kept thinking every horizon was Cookie Monster. But it was pretty obvious when we got there. We snuck into an eddy at the lip on the left. Though catching an eddy higher up might be a good idea if there is more water in the stream.
Nate and Luke point out the issues with the rapid.
The low water meant the big hole that usually dominates the left side of Cookie Monster wasn't in play. A couple of us ran it, but it had enough going on that most took the portage route on the left.
The six foot ledge has a log in it now. Luke went for the rail slide which was pretty sweet, with more water I would suggest running middle or right.
Be sure to take a look at the ledge visible from the bridge on the drive up. It should be run center, but the shallow lead in makes it difficult to fall into the deep part in the center. We wanted to take out at Pegleg, so continued on the short distance to this beautiful and forgiving 15' falls. Lap one we all went for the plug on the left, trying to maximize downtime. The falls is easy to lap and there are many line choices so there was no reason to pack up in a hurry.
Luke, round 2.
Luke picks out another route.
Our trip in fast forward.
To get to the upper put in. Go towards these coordinate points (can copy paste these into google maps). 44.931235489969055,-122.2170639038086
If you are looking at the creek (should be the first good view you get since crossing Hugh Creek) and see a short bedrock slide with a tree spanning the creek right over the slide.
Put in there, just above the slide to save yourself some mank upstream.
On my way back and forth from school to my parents house, I often take the route through Molalla. There is a creek I had crossed over before in the town of Colton that had been catching my eye. There are a couple small ledges next to the road and it seemed like a small, but paddle-able creek. On one particular trip I stopped to check it out since it appeared to be running. I poked around, then gave Shane Conrad a call and we decided to check it out the next day. I didn't expect much, but it was something new to us so off we went.
When we showed up there were a couple local kids there on bikes who showed us a path to scout some of the "waterfalls" they knew about. They turned out to be a couple of three to four foot ledges, but they seemed interesting enough, so we put onto Canyon creek, which shortly confluenced with Milk creek. Right at the confluence was a fun class three drop consisting of a few bedrock ledge/slides. Below here was some class two and a log or two that were easily dodged. Soon, the bedrock reappeared on the side of the stream and we were scouting the biggest drop of the run the kids had referred to as the "Hult Road drop". It was straight forward anywhere you wanted to go off, but the left looked the most fun. Shane went first, and discovered it was pretty hard to get as far left as we wanted over the shallow bedrock since we had scouted on the right and we both ended up missing out on the boof.
There was also the option for a log grind in the middle I hoped to do on our second lap, but logistical issues had us heading home after one. Below here was a fun section of class 2-3 bedrock drops with one long low angle slide. Eventually this section tapered away into gravel bars with some wood. There was one log around a blind corner I was able to get over and Shane able to walk, but for the most part it was a clean creek-bed. It wasn't much further to our takeout at Dooghe Rd. It turned out to be a fun little adventure that I may come back to if I happen to be passing through and short on time though I would certainly not set aside an entire day for it.
It is conducive to a trip on your own since the shuttle is easy and the whitewater friendly. Flows for us were 1500 on the Molalla gauge, but 2000 would be a good thing to shoot for, and the run may actually be pretty enjoyable if flows were much over 3,000 cfs.
We took out where Dooghe road crosses Milk Creek, and put in where Hwy 211 crosses Canyon creek. My dad and his friend Rodd returned a year or two later and put in further up 211 a ways (near S Grays road) and took out lower. This added a couple more ledges up top and some class I-II down lower.
The next day my dad and I ran the Zigzag River. People ask me what my favorite river is sometimes, and I usually just say "any river I haven't done yet". Though every time they ask, the Zigzag pops into my head for a moment. Its not a challenging run, in fact, none of the drops are even class four on their own. I just always seem to enjoy myself on this one though. The run is continuous, so your attention is required from beginning to take-out, yet it's easy enough that there is no concern and I often get into a meditative type state.
We call the rapid "26 moves" that starts just below the put in, and goes around a few corners before ending near Camp Creek. We call it this because there are about 26 small moves, and it is highway 26 that moves you to the put in and take out. We don't have any names for the rapids below, and I don't run it often enough anymore to have it memorized so mostly we just keep asking "is this the island with the wood?"
The rapids below the road 21 bridge are a half class harder than those above, and have some hydraulics in them. My dad and I had an enjoyable run, and were surprised when there were no mandatory wood portages! Not common for the Zigzag.
Found some clips I haven't used on the blog before. Some a couple years old, some taken last week. Nothing too special, just not much to do in Monmouth on a Tuesday night.
This is my 101st post, so I thought it would be good to look a bit into the past.
Guide to the video.
-Box smashing with the car was in my 2006 PDXkayaker film fest entry. My neighbor got stuck with a whole bunch of boxes, so we had to make good use of this unique opportunity.
-Second was our trip to Flugtag in Portland. We got there a bit late, so all the good seats were taken. We made due by heading to the top of a building about a quarter mile away, hence the shotty camera work. Fun all the same though, entertaining for sure :)
-Next, back to the boxes. We had always wanted to snowboard off the roof, we had just imagined there would be snow... Nick had a scary fall, luckily clipping the front of the boxes, luckily not getting injured. It was interesting to look back at when I used to snowboard, but kayaking is just so much funner to me and it stopped being worth the cost to head up to the mountain.
-Next clip is my dad on the Sandy river during a scouting trip of one of the tiny tributaries near oxbow park. The creek was runnable, but not worth it as I had imagined. It did however have a cool 40 footer that unfortunately landed in a very small pool. Cool to look at however. We ended the trip with a long wait in the dark as the keys were left in the put in car. Quit the debacle for a class one trip :)
-Dan, Shane and I on a top secret scouting mission :) Though anyone who has been to this spot will undoubtedly recognize it.
-Rick Cooley and Dan lowering the raft into Sick and Wrong on Sweet Creek.
-I have been wanting to backflip off the ground for 5 years, this was the first day I ever did itwithout using the blue mat! (It took me 4 separate days to get it down, but 5 years to get over the mental block). Then Zach did some gymnast stuff, including a backflip of his own.
-Kyle Robinson, Jeff Ivie and Emerald Ressler on our Eagle Creek K-mart raft mission the summer before my senior year of high school.
-Then Eric Fostermore on Eagle Creek from this year.
-Eric Arlington running "Muddyboof falls" on the headwaters of the Yaquina river.
-Myself running Punchbowl for my first time senior year of high school.
-John Jansky with a corkscrew at the Clack fest '09
-Kyle and Jeff hitting the nine footer upstream of Punchbowl.
Stream: About 4-5 miles of the highest quality class II-III paddling Oregon has to offer, with a forgiving 15' waterfall near the beginning, and a class IV boulder garden near the end. Watch for a nice green surf wave where a boulder bar pushes the river against a bedrock right wall after things have eased up. Flows: 2,000-7,000 cfs on the Three Lynx gauge (3k-4k seems like the goldilocks zone). It could likely be run with plenty more water, but I just don't know how it looks up there with lots of water.
Access: Take out at Kingfisher campground (44.977569925922566, -122.0903011923093), or where the road is near the creek around a mile upstream to skip the last class IV.
Put in where NF-70/Bagby Rd crosses over Nohorn Creek (44.953138734910425, -122.17237318319891).
Iv'e also walked up the trail towards Bagby Hot Springs to where the footbridge crosses the Hot Springs fork and put in there. That adds a couple nice ledges, but also a couple log jams.
Notes: The gauge is far downstream, and the Hot Springs Fork is a tributary of a tributary of the river the gauge is on. Iv'e been up there when 2,000 cfs was a healthy flow, and also when 2,000 was too low. A good backup option is the lower Collowash, from the Hot Springs fork confluence to the confluence with the Clackamas (June Creek section).
Story
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My first time doing this creek was back in High School, we were in the area camping with my family near Bagby Hot Springs. I had my kayak and an IK in the event we might paddle the Clackamas on the way home, or maybe paddle Pegleg Falls if there was enough water. Driving up to our campsite I noticed we were paralleling a beautiful mountain stream. I had been to the area before to run Pegleg in an IK, but wasn't aware of what was below other than my dad had told me before that he had heard of someone running a large class V rapid just before the confluence with the Collowash.
We set up at a nice campsite along the stream, and went up to Bagby Hot Springs for the afternoon. I noticed that the road didn't seem all that steep, so maybe the gradient was manageable? I hadn't done much off the beaten path kayaking at this point, but I was really called to the stream. That night we did camp stuff and the next morning my family agreed to head up to Pegleg Falls, I was going to kayak it and my step dad thought he might be interested in trying out kayaking too.
After watching me go over the falls a couple times, my step-dad decided he was interested in giving it a try in the inflatable kayak. I explained best I could what to do, and off he went. Nailed it.
I was impressed with how well he had done at the falls and how receptive to learning he was, so we decided we would float back down to camp. We scrapped our original plan of having my step-brother ride in the back of the IK, which was probably for the best.
Downstream was mostly class II-III, with some cool areas and a couple III+ rapids that we scouted, including a long sliding section that was good fun.. It was a magical trip for me, heading downstream with no idea whatsoever what was around the corner, and it turning out to be gorgeous at every turn. Other than one quick pin, it was smooth sailing start to finish. It was quite a feeling paddling into camp that night, and I reflect on this run as one of the trips that sold me on exploratory boating.
Here is a video from a trip on Clack fest weekend. We went up and ran the Hot Springs fork after the events. This was a trip where a couple of us hiked up to the Bagby footbridge. Hot Springs fork of the Collowash from Jacob Cruser on Vimeo.
Jordan Englert, Rob Cruser (my dad), and myself ran Rock Creek near Happy Valley after a recent high water event. Rock Creek flows into the Clackamas near the turn-off to Barton heading east on highway 212. The take out is actually right under the highway where Hwy 212 and 224 branch off. We set up a rope before hand to help with getting out of the gorge at the end. Driving up to Sunnyside road, we put-in behind a neighborhood that was being constructed. As of 2017 a park is being created further down that might be a better option for a put in. We carried our gear down through the woods and put in on the brown creek. From the get go we were dodging wood, but nothing sketchy. We had a couple easy portages and one encounter with a barb wire fence! We got to our first rapid(class 2-3), and it had wood in it so we portaged and I climbed up the wall to scout downstream . I could see a horizon line and knew we had arrived at the falls (where the park is being built) I had seen while scouting in the summer. We took turns running the class 3 lead in to the falls and scouted on the left.
When I had scouted the creek in the summer there had been people working there no trespassing signs were up so I hadn't taken a thorough look at the falls. We took a longer look this time and all had success on the left side, though its not especially deep over there. The right side looks like the way to go but there is a rock just under the surface that can only be seen at summer flows. I went first (far river left) and hit bottom slightly, but upright and it didn't hurt. My dad went next and stayed off the bottom in his IK. Jordan then went and while he hit his tail on something, it was all smiles. More water would allow for a cleaner boof off the left and the landing would be less of an issue. We continued downstream from here into the unknown part of the run for us.
My dad running the waterfall
There were a couple fun class III-IV bedrock rapids in here. In the best drop below the falls ( a small ledge drop), was a log/stick/hole combo in the landing, Jordan and I drove right to miss the wood and were successful, while my dad crashed into the stick and broke it off, cleaning up the drop significantly.
We continued on from here moving along quickly and portaging the occasional log jam. The walls were vertical and remarkably committing in places considering we were between neighborhoods, but everything was portageble at river level. There was at least one time where we portaged straight over a log jam, but most of the portages were pretty quick. There were a couple times when it was nice to have my dad in an IK since he can just hop out of his boat onto obstacles, no eddies needed!
There was one more ledge at the take out and a difficult eddy to grab, then we roped ourselves up the hill to our cars. If I went back I'd continue into the Clackamas and down to Riverside County Park where there is an easier take out.
Despite the challenges (or likely because of them) I enjoyed the trip, it was a novel adventure and a fun gorge to check out. It is only 1.5 miles long, so can be done quickly if the portages are not abundant.
The closest gauge is the Beaver Creek @ Troutdale Gauge. It needs to be above 7 ft. to have enough water to check out, 8-9' is better. Not sure how high you could go, wood and eddies would be more of a concern than the whitewater at high flows.
The first mile can be scouted from the right bank, the last 1/2 mile from the left before hand or from the creek most of the time. Down at river level it depends on where the wall is weakest.
After this adventure Jordan and I ran from Revenue to Dodge at 15 ft on the Bull Run gauge or so. Big water, the usually flat first quarter mile was class IV, and the rock with wood on it visible downstream of the put-in was of concern with water pushing hard into it. The entire run only took about 20-30 minutes with wood floating down the river the whole way and rocks heard crashing along the riverbed below us.
