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

Yellowjacket Creek

                                 all photos by Matt King               

            Matt King and I ran Yellowjacket creek last Wednesday.  The ride to Randle was longer than we had expected from Portland, but eventually we made it there and after one wrong turn we made our way to the learning center to hopefully find a guy named Drew we had heard of on the internet, and maybe secure a shuttle.  Drew wasn't there, but one of his co-workers, Layla, was kind enough to offer help on the shuttle afterwards.  When we drove over the take-out bridge we both took a deep breath, the water was looking a lot lower than we had hoped for as it flowed across a flood plain.  We decided it would hopefully consolidate upstream, and we could float down this last section, so we would at least make it down even if it was low.

          We drove upstream about five miles to the normal put-in and took a look.  It looked like it was deserving of the "class V scramble" reputation it had been given, we had already decided to use the upper put in, pioneered by Dave Hoffman and group in 2008 so continued up the road another 2-3 miles until we started catching glimpses of the creek and a short, dirt road went off to the left. 

          There were a few boulder gardens in the first part of the creek, along with some easier floating.  

Eventually we came to the first real rapid since the put-in rapid.  We saw some wood so we scouted.  It was a 3 foot ledge with a weird hole, then a nasty falls with wood. It almost drew us in as a boat scout-able rapid, which would have been an error.  The right is the natural side to scout and portage on, but the left is better if you find an eddy you like over there.

From a return trip

photo: Priscilla Macy

Matt found a path on the right, so instead of running the marginal lead in drop and catching one of the little eddies on the left, we portaged on the right pretty easily.  Note: On a return trip, Whitney Butler ran the lead in down the left into an eddy then a number of us ran a lubricated seal launch on the left.

Matt and I ran a short drop right below, followed by a couple more fun boulder/ledge drops in the class four range, then before we knew it we were scouting another larger drop, which turned out to be the best rapid on the run.  It had an easy sliding lead in, followed by a moving pool, then it split and the right side was pretty manky, but the left side accelerated down a 15 yard long ramp into an 8 foot boof.

 The exit was a short slide, then I believe the creek went back to being pretty easy down to the next major drop.

 We knew there was a 30 foot falls right above the normal put-in, so we where on the lookout for that.  Eventually we found it as the creek started to consolidate.  It is a weird place for a falls because it goes from gravel bars right into the falls.  We got out on the left and at first thought it was good to go, then we saw the boulder on the left that the majority of the falls pushes towards.  We felt it was probably runnable, just hard, with high consequences.

  

               We did a throw and go, which was fun.

Priscilla does the same on a return trip in 2017

The falls does go.  Adam Edwards takes the center boofing right line, following an inspiring probe by Whitney Butler on a return trip.  June 17, 2017

Cispus abv Yellowjacket Creek was @ 2,000 cfs

photo: Priscilla Macy

Brandon Lake

Then we scouted the next couple slides which were pretty fun. 

                             The second slide                      all photos by Matt King   
                       

                     Then we where on the guidebook section.  The first drop was wood infested required a creative portage along a log to the center of the river (clean in 2017).  Next was a series of ledges before McCoy creek comes in.  Godzilla was benign at this flow, but is rumored to be rather hungry at higher levels.  There are a few more ledges and fun rapids when flows are good, then it peters out a bit before coming to the final rapid against the wall, which is run with the main flow.  Take a peak for logs if you are unsure about the wood situation.   If flows are low the rest of the run can be tedious, if flows are medium or more it's still engaging.  Somewhere in a short class two section I boofed right onto a piton rock which launched me onto my head causing the only roll of the day :/             

Eventually we came to the flood plain after what seemed a long time (it was low water, this section moves along nice and has fun III+ at medium flows) and then dealt with two more logs, one of which would be a portage at higher flows (in 2017 the only portage of the trip was a log just above the take out).  Finally we came to the bridge, satisfied with the adventure.  I hung around the take out while Matt and Layla from the Learning Center ran the shuttle.

Look for 2,000 cfs+ in the Cispus @ Randle for medium flows, fun can still be had at 1,500 when the notable drops are still fun but the in between starts to get scrapey.

DIRECTIONS: From Randle, head South for 1 mile on 139 before veering left onto Cispus River Rd/NF-23.  8 Miles later turn right on Cispus River Rd towards the Learning Center.  You will quickly cross over the Cispus, and 1.3 miles after the turn you will cross Yellowjacket Creek at the take out.

Just passed the take out bridge (and on river left) turn upstream onto NF-28, continue upstream 7.4 miles.  The creek should be close by and a road blown out by a debris flow heads towards the creek and to a bridge at the put in. 
   

         -Jacob