South Fork Calapooya Creek

BETA

1.75 miles

Stream: This is a small stream 30 minutes East of I-5 and Sutherlin, and 1-1.5 hours SE of Eugene.  Priscilla acquired a key to the area from Weyerhaeuser for the area so we checked out a few streams.  This one had some potential from her scout so we paddled a section just short of 2 miles, from a bridge near the Middle Fork Calapooya (tiny, full of wood) to the confluence with the North Fork Calapooya (a small, steep stream with lots of wood).



                                                                                    Click on map to enlarge

             



The run was fine, mostly class III with the occasional wood hazard.  We had a good time piecing it together.

                                                        One class IV rapid stood out.
                                                                        Dandruff

The most notable part of the trip were the large snowflakes that came down near the end of the trip and while Priscilla scootered the shuttle.

From there, we headed over the ridge to the Big River drainage for an afternoon run down that stream.
  


Flows:  We paddled the SF Calapooya the morning of March 23, 2018.  This was an ideal first time flow, I don't think the spike seen in the graphic below occurred until after we got off the stream.

 

Access:  Get a key from Weyerhaeuser

Put In:  43.4746, -123

Take Out:   43.4812, -123.0315

Thomas Creek: Pumpkin Patch

Each October hunting season rolls around and access to Thomas Creek is allowed.  Like a pumpkin patch you can go in just a short way and get a worthwhile reward, but if you want the biggest and the best you gotta go just a little further.

BETA

Stream: Walk down the short nose of land and put on to a Thomas Creek that has noticeably less water than where you left the take out vehicle.  A short warm up ends at an island, while most of the water goes right I suggest taking the left channel.  Immediately after the channels merge back together the whitewater gets rolling in the form of manky (if you are not on line) class IV whitewater that can and should be scouted.  There is an eddy on the left before the creek turns right and pinches down to half its size between a couple boulders.   It is important you catch an eddy right or left just below this pinch to scout the rest of the rapid, which makes a bend to the left and over "Pumpkin Spice".

Pumpkin Spice has a narrow hallway leading to a ten foot ramp that must be run right (without hitting the right wall) to avoid an atomic piton middle and left.  The line is straight forward, but don't mess it up.  Scout/portage the lead in and Pumpkin Spice on the left, safety can be thoroughly set below.

                                                   Ross George enjoying this seasonal treat.

A nice boof and a short bit of easy water lead to another island that is best run in the right channel (ducking a couple logs at the top in 2016).  Shortly below this island is a bridge, then some easy floating through some island and boulder bar style rapids before the whitewater builds again as the creek approaches and then passes under another bridge.  This second bridge signals that you are VERY close to Thomas Creek Falls, separated by only two short class III-IV rapids.  There are small eddies just above the plunge, that should be caught one boater at a time.   If you are feeling cautious or the water is high you can chose to walk down to the falls from this bridge along the road and then down a short trail.

The line on the 30-40' Thomas Creek falls is obvious along the right side and away from the log in the center.  The lead in is straight forward, the landing soft and the pool friendly.  The log is intimidating and would likely be disastrous to collide with.  Boaters around here typically assume if there is a runnable drop in the area it was likely run back in the day by Eric Brown or Dan Coyle.  Yet not knowing for sure, this drop did not see a descent for many years (the log was cited as the concern).  In 2010 Matt King demonstrated to our generation of boaters that the line is manageable for skilled paddlers.  Since his run, numerous others have followed.

                                                    Kory Kellum staring down the barrel. 

Thomas Creek Falls can be portaged via a thrown and go from the lip on river-right, or a sloppy up and around route on the same side.

Patrick Beville sans boat

Below the falls are a couple more III-IV rapids in a gorge before the stream flattens out for awhile.  Somewhere amongst these boulder bars you enter the Standard Stretch, and about 4 miles of beautiful and classic class III-IV whitewater later the take out.

Vaclav out front

  
Flows: We had ~1,000 cfs and dropping slow.  I'd guess 900-1500 cfs is a reasonable range on the USGS Guage @ Scio (and it's probably ok if the gauge is reading a bit higher so long as the flow is dropping).    If levels are lower you can still put in at and run the falls (down to 400 or so cfs).

Access: The take out is located less than 15 miles East of Scio, OR.  Take Hwy 226 to Thomas Creek Dr, following until it turns to gravel which is where the gate is.  If it is Cascade Deer or Elk hunting season, the gate has historically been open (call this number to be sure 888-741-5403).  If not, it will be closed and your only option is to find access through the Santiam State Forest via the Rock Creek drainage out of Mill City or hike a long way.

Assuming the gate is open, continue along Thomas Creek Drive 2.2 miles (past the Sheriff's posse) and make a right turn down to the take out bridge.

To get to the put in return to Thomas Creek drive and continue the way you were going 3.8 miles (stay right at 2 and 2.9 miles) where you will meet up with a more heavily travelled road, merge right.  2.9 miles past this merge (stay straight at 1 mile, drive through a yellow gate shortly after, then pass the road leading down to Thomas Creek Falls at 1.8 miles) you will cross over Thomas Creek, there will be notably less water than at the take out. Stay left on the road along the creek, 3/4 of a mile past this bridge you will reach another bridge over a tributary with an obvious parking area.  Walk down the nose of land to the creek to put in.

A mileage map starting at the take out.
It is worth cache-ing this area on your phone before leaving reception and using the GPS if you have that function.

click to enlarge

Notes:   My friend Jarred voiced concern about the right wall below the falls appearing undercut on a trip he took to Thomas, and thus chose to portage the falls.  I have been there at low flows and it was not an issue.  At the flow the pictures for this page were taken we had about 1,000 cfs and the wall proved to still be a benign obstacle.  Anything that flowed towards it was stopped short of the wall by the water rebounding off the wall short of collision, and subsequently pushed quickly downstream into the pool.  We were even comfortable jumping off the falls and swimming past the wall.  The clips below were put together to showcase how the wall can be...

A) avoided
B) a non-issue if you are pushed toward it

That said, analyze the situation for yourself when you are there.  Especially if the flows are up.

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Trip Report
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The day before Emile and I had checked out Thomas Creek from the top, exploring 7.5 miles of stream I knew nothing about aside from what I had seen on maps and a tantalizing picture Pete Giordano had sent me.

It was a fun day of adventure, though we had portaged the rapid Pete sent the photo of.

The next day a group of boaters wanted to go to Thomas so we planned on giving the rapid a better look before continuing through the falls and Standard Stretch.

A couple boaters in the group were uncomfortable putting on this high so planned to meet us at a bridge above Thomas Creek Falls.  We walked down to Thomas Creek near a confluence and quickly worked our way down to where the whitewater picked up.  The scouting and safety setting took some time, but eventually Priscilla decided to go first.  We felt that because she was in an IK on this trip it gave her more margin for error with the padding those craft provide.  She ended up getting spun at the lip and dropping over backwards but came out upright and unscathed.

Ross went next with a perfect line, with Kory and I following not long after.

  It took us a little while to get down to the bridge to meet the rest of the team who were pretty worried it had taken us 1.5 hours to run that section.  They decided that since it was now 2pm and it would be dark by 7pm they were not comfortable continuing on for fear of running out of light, we wished them well and continued on downstream.

There was a section of easy floating before the whitewater picked back up as we reached another bridge.  This signaled we were near the falls so we proceeded cautiously down the next couple of short rapids.   We caught the eddy on the right above the falls one at a time and set about scouting or portaging Thomas Creek Falls.

Kory went first, followed by Nick, Ross and myself.  The others chose to save this one for another day.

Nick hopped in the IK for this one.

We continued on through the classic Standard Stretch, having a blast and arriving back in Albany before the sun faded.   Aside from Ross getting lost on the shuttle the day went very smoothly.

  -jacob

Wiley Creek

BETA

Stream: 

Wiley Creek is a class III-IV run near Sweet Home with some wood, lots of read and run, and a couple of low end class Vs.  

Above Richochet the creek is nondescript, but can be entertaining if there is not much wood.  If you are driving just continue up until the creek no longer looks like something you want to paddle and put in there.  If you are hiking, put in below Richochet (44.323889, -122.537968).

Whether you are hiking or driving will depend on whether the gate is open.

Portaging Ricochet in 2020.

The creek is fun below Richochet, the next notable spot has a creek coming in from the left over a cascade, and a nice ledge in Wiley Creek.  This ledge can offer a good boof, and can be lapped.  It's worth a scout, as the hole can be sticky.

Not too far downstream is Taint Natural, we were glad we scouted from the road on the way in circa 2020 because there was tricky wood in the lead in, and eddies are less prevalent here than other parts of the creek.  We had a quick portage on the left in the lead in, from which point we could scout Taint Natural itself.

Taint Natural has a couple ledges, the first has a notable hole.  At 450 it was no problem punching over/through.

Downstream the fun continues for a bit, then some wood was present in 2020 as things transitioned to boulder bars.  This boulder bar section lasts for awhile, and islands present decisions to make.  Pick the right route and you may not have to get out of your boat the whole time, pick the wrong route and you are likely to find a strainer.

Below the boulder bars things consolidate for the final mile, my favorite part of the creek.  The first rapid is Cascade Falls, a powerful, unique and fun rapid with minimal consequences.

If you have enough daylight, it's worth doing a couple laps here.

Cascade is below the gate, so this last mile can be run more often than the full run.

*Sean brought this tail stand down cleanly.

Downstream, fun ledges dot the creek all the way until the last 1/4 mile where easy floating leads to the take out bridge at the rock quarry.

If you have seen everything else and want to see check out something new, head to Wiley creek, it'll leave you with a smile.

 
Wiley Creek with the CCC from Jacob Cruser on Vimeo.



  
Flows:  500-1,000 is going to be the most friendly and clean, people run it from 300-1,500 according to the guidebooks.

Access:  Just East of Sweet Home, Highway 20 crosses over Wiley Creek.  The first road on the East side of the creek is Wiley Creek Rd, follow this upstream 4 miles and turn right at the confluence with Little Wiley Creek.  In less than 1 mile you will reach the rock quarry at the take out (44.36354421526515, -122.61037721129792)

To put in continue upstream on the same road.  In about 1.3 miles there is a pull out at Cascade (44.34968938492463, -122.5928280449569).

If you are hiking past the gate to the put in, or flows are high, you'll probably want to put in here (44.326233531316895, -122.54251620796829), just below Ricochet.

If you are driving, continue upstream until the creek doesn't look fun anymore and put in there.

  

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Story/Notes
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Whenever I hear someone say Wiley Creek an image pops into my head of Nate with his fist raised, crying out "Wiiileeeey!!!" similar to the way Simpsons character Mcbain cries out "Mendoza!!!"



I talked to Nate after doing this TR and he informed me the original comes from star trek.  Clip shown below.

)

That image came about after we had been thwarted yet again by this reputed mediocre creek in the Mid-Willamette Valley on a day other good stuff was in.  Nate had been jonesing for Canyon Creek but Anna had cast a charm by posting on the Facebook and convincing us that Wiley would put a smile on our faces. 

We ended up giving up that day when confronted with low water and a gate.  It was one of those days everything went wrong and after hiking off a different run, cracking a boat, and various other mayhem we all had a sour feeling towards Wiley (except Anna).  This culminated in Nate raising his fist to the sky and and proclaiming to the world he would never have another day of kayaking impeded by Wiley Creek.

    -jacob