Gladiator Creek

AFTER ALL THE TRIPS I DID ON THIS CREEK THE ACCESS HAS CHANGED.  BOATERS MUST NOW PURCHASE THE BLACK ROCK ACCESS PERMIT FROM WEYERHAEUSER TO RUN THE CREEK.  LAST I CHECKED A VEHICLE PERMIT WAS ABOUT $350, AND A WALK IN PERMIT WAS $75.  ANY REFERENCES TO FREE ACCESS ON THIS PAGE ARE NO LONGER CORRECT.

WEYERHAEUSER PERMIT PAGE

 Photo: Adam Edwards

Gladiator Creek is my favorite run in Oregon's Coast Range.  It's been on ongoing project for me since my first year at Western Oregon University in 2008.  This was one of a group of three creeks in the Valsetz area of the Coast Range that laid the foundation for what boating means to me, through the challenges they presented both on and off the water.  Iv'e written about the different sections of Gladiator Creek a few times on this site, but this is the page that puts them all together.  Access is both straight forward and tricky, linked below is a story from the superstars of Oregon exploratory kayaking detailing the challenges they faced paddling the lower section for the first time in the early 2000's

Oregon Kayaking: Commando Creekin        

**ownership has since changed and there is no longer a legal barrier to running this creek.**

Photo: Priscilla Macy

It's not a typical PNW creek.  The creekbed is sandstone, and seems like something you would find on the East Coast.  Also like the East Coast, flows can rise and fall quickly.  This means the best laid plans can be laid to waste if a storm you are counting on the night before drops too little or too much precipitation overnight.  For me, the rewards have been worth the consternation.  While the 7 waterfalls stand out as highlights, it's the numerous class fun rapids between them and unique setting that keep me coming back.

After many scouting trips, failures, and a few successes on the lower few miles of Gladiator creek, the biggest piece of the puzzle was placed when Ben Mckenzie, Emile Elliott and I paddled the middle section in 2015.  We got lucky with flows and had a great time, with the highlight being perfect levels for the first descents of the ultra clean Vesuvius Falls.  Then in October 2019, a decade after first seeing this creek on a map, Ben Mckenzie, Adam Edwards, Joseph Hatcher and I ran all three sections top to bottom over a two day period with Priscilla running shuttle for us.   After years of work, and many weekends agonizing over levels and access it had finally been put together top to bottom in one push.   With the information gained on these trips, I now feel comfortable going to Gladiator any given weekend the conditions line up, with the logistics as locked in as I could ask for.
And while it's not a run for anybody, now that access is sorted out and no legal barriers are present, despite the effort required everybody who has done it has been glad they did and have been up for returning.

 Photo: Dax Kirkwood

Looking back on the influence this creek has had on my thoughts and decisions over the years, I don't think any other stream has defined kayaking for me more than Gladiator has.  Each time I paddle the creek, I leave thinking there is not another stream in Oregon I feel more entwined with than this one.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

Below are links to descriptions for what you can find on each of the three sections of this creek.

UPPER  (3 miles)
IV-V+

This is the most adventurous section, and if you want to give the big drops a real look, plan on doing this section over two days.

MIDDLE  (3 miles)
IV-V

This section is a contender for the best day of creek-boating you can get in Oregon.

LOWER  (4 miles)
III(IV,V)

While there are only 3 notable rapids, they are 3 of the more unique and enjoyable rapids in the state.

Lastly, the part I paddle most often, with the most bang for your buck.

ROCK QUARRY ACCESS (1.5 miles)

IV-IV+

This run begins part way through the Middle section (below Vesuvius Falls) and gives a good option for those not interested in Vesuvius Falls.  This is the section I'll do any given day, there is plenty of class fun whitewater without the commitment of what is found upstream.  It starts 1.5 miles above the Lower put in bridge.

FLOWS:  The gauge is located at the only place the creek runs along the highway, the creek is visible here through the vegetation if you are looking for it.  This proximity occurs just as you are entering a small town if coming from the east.   There is a guard-rail there, and if you park on the west side of the guard rail (across from the liquor store) you can walk back to the east 75 feet to where some yellow paint is splashed on one of the posts supporting the guard-rail, marking the point along the guard-rail closest to the gauge.  The gauge is just a few wooden shims with numbers on them, glued onto a rock.  It's behind a couple trees adjacent to that yellow paint and about 20 yards upstream of the small riverwide ledge/hole/wave (depending on flow) visible in the photo below.

The visual gauge on Gladiator Creek, and what you might be able to expect based on an approximate correlation to the flow in the Salmon River below Slick Rock Creek Gauge.

Data points

There is more information on each of the section pages about how flows pertain specifically to that section.  There is also more detail and the opportunity to nerd out on this other page where I keep notes on historic flows and jot further notes on levels.

ACCESS:   As of 2020 the private logging company who owns all the land the creek runs through allows walk in access.  Access is detailed on each individual page.

 I have stuck with the moniker given to the creek by Oregonkayaking.net, who were paddling the creek under the radar on the first descent of the lower section.  While the access situation is improving, and currently there is no red-tape or legal barriers to hiking in and paddling the creek, leaving the name off the internet seems like a good way to keep that status quo.  Along that same vein Iv'e always tried to keep a low profile when hiking into and paddling the creek, but smiling at anyone working back there and think that mentality will go a long way towards keeping access from being barred to future paddlers.  I have left enough information about how to access the different sections on their individual pages (linked above) and this one that someone who has the wherewithal necessary to paddle a creek like this will be able to sort it out just fine.  If after all that you think you have the logistics sorted, but end up failing at your attempt and leave this Rock un-turned, you could always give your luck another try at the nearby casino.

 Photo Emile Elliott

While there was a time that driving to the put in was allowed on weekends during hunting season, public vehicle access has since been barred.  This has come at the gain of the public being allowed to hike into the creek on nice gravel roads any day when the fire danger is not high, though I try to stick to the weekends to keep from getting in the way of daily operations or getting skunked if they are blocking the road.   I personally prefer the new situation to the old, given how uncommon it was for this creek to run at a good flow on a weekend during hunting season.  While the hiking is straight forward, the distance is not short (3-6 miles depending on the access point and section).  I typically use these, but a variety of carrying systems have been deployed, even the old shoulder.

Does smiling with a kayak strapped to your back count as a lie?

Photo: Dax Kirkwood

RULES

 

There are some rules to be followed if you plan to kayak this creek.

Follow this link to zoom in on the map and bullet points(zoomed to in second graphic).  The areas inside the green on the map are open to walk in access.  As of 2020 the Gladiator Creek watershed is entirely within the green area. You can double check the kiosk near the bottom gate before starting your hike for updates.

Sometimes they leave the gate open for logging traffic and contractors, even on the weekends. 

Be like Alicia, earn your turns and you too can smile knowing your toiling will go towards keeping access un-compromised for future paddlers.

NOMENCLATURE

Jason Rackley started the naming scheme on Gladiator Creek, I tried to stick to the theme he started.


Romulus and Remus: The first couple slides that start the upper run.  Romulus and Remus started Rome, which ended up being the naming theme for this upper section since gladiating occurred most famously in Rome and I ran out of applicable Gladiator terms.

Stout set of 4 drops:   Whoever runs them first can name them. 

Castrum Road:  A castrum was a building, or plot of land, used by the Roman military as a fortified camp.

Triumfallades: A Roman Triumph was a huge parade sometimes given after a successful campaign that passed into the Pomerium (sacred part of Rome behind the walls).  The Triumfallades on Gladiator are a parade of big falls and cascades, passing through two pillars into a place that is as sacred a place as any to me. 

Pomerium: Meaning “behind the wall” in ancient Rome, it was a sacred open space located just past the Triumphal or Pomerium gates.  On Gladiator it is the space past the large bedrock pillars that the Triumfallades pass through, surrounded by massive rock walls and only accessible through the gate. 

The Skirmishes: A long section of continuous boulder gardens starting below the Pomerium and lasting to the middle bridge. The water was low for us during this section and while we only had one wood portage, there were plenty of other struggles navigating our loaded boats as we dodged wood, dealt with route finding, re-routing, rock-dodging, trying to stay studious about communication while keeping our eyes out for each other and downstream, along with pins, flips, traffic jamming, and deflections.

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Vesuvius Falls: Mt Vesuvius was where the first battle of the third servile war (led by 3 Gladiators) happened, it is also the first notable obstacle on Middle Gladiator.  To get down the mountain the slave army had to use ingenuity to create ropes and ladders out of vines, it also takes creativity and involves ropes or a leap of faith to portage this falls.

Ludi: Games in general, and festivals involving games and parades.   These games could be private, public, or extraordinary, all things that are true of this parade of playful rapids that begin at the Rock Quarry access.

Venator:  Venatores were skilled spearmen, usually pitted against carnivorous beasts.  The hole at this drop is of the carnivorous variety, then the whole paddle/spear metaphor seems to work.

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Arena: Named by Jason Rackley and Pete Giordano, presumably because you can watch the show from the bridge.

Punisher:  Named by Jason Rackley and Pete Giordano, presumably because of the punishment this drop is capable of handing out, especially at high flows like they had.

Coliseum:  Named by Jason Rackley and Pete Giordano, presumably for the high cliffs overlooking the drop on river right.











This stream has been an ongoing project for me, and required many scouting missions and saw a number of failed attempts, these people each helped with a piece of the puzzle:  Rebecca Vogt, Sage Cruser, Tim Brink, Bruce (Ox) Reed, Pete Giordano, Jason Rackley, Rob Cruser, Dan Mccain, Ben Sigler (and his dogs), Bryan Carrington, Rick Cooley, Nate Merrill, Melissa Fowler, Rylie Coiteux, Jake Banta, Victor Repeto, Michael Freeman, Lucas Reitman, Willy Dinsdale, Ross George, Ben Mckenzie, Emile Elliot, Adam Edwards, and Joseph Hatcher.
 
 


  -jacob

Box Canyon Creek

I had seen better access to the Chetco than the Babyfoot Lake trail while perusing the maps before our trip a few years ago. I got outvoted on that trip and we took the 10 mile hike in. This time Ben was down for the three mile hike plus some new whitewater, here we near the parking area close to Vulcan Peak.

Box Canyon Creek, a tributary of the Chetco, had looked good on the maps and we gave it a go for Ben's  birthday.

 A welcome pit stop on the 15 mile shuttle on the way in, I'd consider camping at this location next time.

The Heesacker family, who I had learned the way of the river with when I was young, had done some access recon so we had a good idea what we were in for.  

Dragging through a couple inches of snow was an easy way to start off the 2 mile road portion of the hike in.

2 miles in we left the road and began the 1 mile cross country portion of the hike.  This was not easy going, but also all downhill and not that bad.

A pronounced mineral vein.

A lake on the way in. This meant we were nearing the end of our 1 mile off-trail portion of the hike.

Paddling across this lake was mostly just an excuse to take boats off the shoulders for a bit.  There was camping potential here if a group were to get a late start on the hike in.

A few streams converged near the put in to create a floatable stream, some mank led to the first bedrock and first boxed canyon

The gorge lasted a short ways, was class IVish, and soon we were back into boulder gardens.  A creek comes in on the left and the stream gets flat and an island with a log jam has the potential for a rocky camp.  Things pick back up a short way below this first island, with a peak in difficulty at a steep boulder alley that appeared would be easiest to circumvent on the left, but we ended up ferrying back to the right to finish our portage which is where we wish we would have started from.  Things went back to manageable below here, though more water was wished for.

Ben running a unique one at an island.

Typical day 1 action.

 Night one at a bouldery island, I believe it was the third island below the short flat part above the log jam island (first island). We brought hammocks knowing it wasn't likely we would be sleeping on sandy beaches.

 Water level day 1.

 Water level day 2 from the same spot, clearly it had dropped overnight.

Astrals have great grip, but those stitches are just too exposed. The cost of the hike in.

We knew the drop in flows would make for a rough day two, but were hoping the box canyons in this lower section would channelize the water. 

Ben cruising through a pinch point in one of the first stand out rapids of day 2.

The going gets good on day 2, but we were feeling the drop in flow.  The previous days flow would have been the perfect exploratory level for the part we ran this second day.

Scouting a rapid with a big undercut just under where Ben is standing.

There were plenty of fun rapids with a large dose of walled in sections.  At healthy flows shore scouting options would be limited, but all the gorged in rapids above Nut Dust went when we were there.  Mostly class IV, with a couple IV-V rapids.


 Some straight forward fun.

 Classic Kalmiopsis scene.

 Into the nitty gritty.

We were reading and running with the occasional scout through one of the box canyons and paddled through a backed up hole with a pillow on the right.  Not long below here the gorge veered right and we got out on the left to scout the biggest drop of the run.

Ben scouting "Nut Dust" part 1, I guess it makes sense that we found some boxed in rapids on a creek called Box Canyon Creek.

After lots of talk about options including various throw and go options, seal launching into the rapid, or just running the thing we opted for what turned out to be a not so bad portage high on the left.  At higher flows the entrance may clean up and turn this into a fun rapid.  Or make it more hazardous, only further exploration will tell.

A calm pool below the first part of Nut Dust.  If I return with higher water I would see if it was possible to start the next part of the portage above this ledge on the right.  At this level we were able to scramble into a couple small eddies on the left in the lead in to Nut Dust part 2 which begins just around the corner from the pool pictured below.

A nasty cave on river right had us walking the second part of Nut Dust, which otherwise would have been a nice boof.

 Ben had a bag of trail mix on the trip, the best treat in the bag were large chocolate pieces. He was excited to find the last one left in the bag, but felt the taste was thrown off by the dust caking it from the crushed nuts in the bag. We felt this section of river was similar, its a good run, but the two part rapid we named "Nut Dust" gave it an odd flavor.

Having spent hours running gorged in class fun and negotiating a couple hazardous areas, we were satisfied when the creek started to open up below Nut Dust and we began to shift our attention to the landscape.

We hadn't reached the Chetco yet though, more whitewater and a log in the runout of a walled in class III brought our attention back to the water.

Box Canyon Creek still had a few surprises left.

We kept thinking the Chetco was the next ridge, but it actually kind of came out of nowhere after a mile or less of relaxing floating. 

Eating lunch at the confluence with the Chetco River. 

The flows were noticeably higher than the last time I had run the Chetco, moving us along quicker through the flat sections and the rapids were splashier.

15 miles of read and run class III-IV below the confluence and one bear encounter later we made camp at a calm spot on river left.

These shrubs had grown like this presumably due to the flooding of over 25,000 cfs (vs our 5,000 dropping to 2,500 cfs flows) the Chetco deals with each year.

Kalmiopsis blue.

More read and run whitewater the next day included some flat water, but it passed by at good clip.  There is one rapid below the Tollman Ranch with a large hole in the center left part of the river that is easily missed on the left if you are paying attention.  If not it has been punched through on the right side of the hole.

Rudimentary sketch of this rapid.

  

Eventually we came to the flattest stretch yet and turned a corner to see this bridge, which marks the standard wilderness Chetco trip take out.  To make our shuttle easier we had chosen to continue another few miles through the section in Soggy Sneakers with Candycane and Conehead.

Some locals camping along the river warned us of the big rapids down there,  We were impressed to find out later that one of them had inner-tubed Candycane before hiking to the road above Conehead. 

Ben in the crux of Conehead on the section described in Soggy Sneakers

Some lazy floating below Conehead brought us to the take out at the confluence with the SF Chetco.  We walked up the road to retrieve our scooter, hidden safely behind a poison oak bush.  After Ben had retrieved that we fired it up and Ben set off on the 15 mile ride back to the car.

I began moving our gear from near the river to a shady pot on the SF Chetco and on my final trip heard my name being called, not good.  The scooter had died about 1.5 miles into the shuttle and Ben had to push it back to the take out.  He then set about offering locals the $40 I was pretty sure I had in my wallet at the top for a ride up there.  Eventually he got a ride with one of the guys who had warned us about the big  rapids on the lower section.  He hunts in the area and was fine with the 2 hour round trip, but I imagine his patience was wearing a little thin when Ben's car wouldn't start once they had reached Vulcan Peak!  After a few minutes of trying to jump start Ben's vehicle, they were about to turn back when the Pathfinder finally roared back to life.

Meanwhile I had taken a bath in the SF Chetco and settled down with a newspaper and every kayakers most commonly consumed beverage.

We had thought Ben would get all the fun riding the scooter, but he ended up getting the short end of the stick on this one, and on his birthday too.

We then drove the 5+ hours back to the Willamette Valley, careful not to turn the vehicle off when we stopped for provisions or fuel in fear of Ben's car not turning back on.  

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Logistics

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First you gotta know if its running.  The Chetco itself seems to be misunderstood as of now.  Most hardshell kayakers have been putting on with under 2,000 cfs on the gauge, while small inflatable craft generally shoot for under 1,000 cfs.  My first trip we drove down with the gauge about 3,000 cfs and felt flows were on the lower end of enjoyable for hardshell kayaks (after a day of hiking, levels were again below 2,000 by the time we put on).  This time around we felt flows were at a friendly medium, maybe even low side of medium by the time we hit the Chetco.  I'd certainly paddle the Chetco lower, especially in an inflatable, but would shoot for a minimum of 2,000 cfs if I returned in a hardshell. 

Like I mentioned in the report, our day 1 flow was the minimum I would want for day 2 on Box Canyon Creek.  And the Chetco was at a quality flow.

Below are the flows we had on our trip and which stream we were on at the time.

 For a return trip to Box Canyon Creek I would look for the Chetco to peak near 10,000 cfs with no further precipitation in the forecast and head down as soon as possible after that, or higher and wait a couple days but of course this is one of the puzzle pieces still to be sussed out.  The Chetco drops from these high levels quickly so without rain it should be at a medium flow by the time a paddler got to the main stem coming off Box Canyon Creek.  And to further help ease high water concerns, both Ben and I noted the Chetco itself could handle plenty more water than we had without getting scary.  We didn't share that sentiment about Box Canyon Creek though, that would be a bad one to be on with rising flows.

An example of the conditions I would be looking for are shown in the following hydrograph.  In this scenario the Chetco hits 10,000 cfs with no rain for the next week.  If I were to have run Box Canyon that week, the ideal scenario would have been to wake up on the 28th, see the Chetco had hit 10,000 cfs and drive down that night and car camp near the creek.  Do shuttle and hike in the 29th, paddling for a few miles and camping part way down Box Canyon Creek.  Then finish up Box Canyon Creek on the 30th, and a bit of the Chetco as flows continued to lower and pick a nice camp, then paddle the rest of the way to the take out on the 31st. 

^This scenario isn't set in stone and is rare, so if you want to do the run, extrapolate conditions the best that you can and make good decisions.  The Chetco gauge is the best way to guesstimate the kind of water you will have in there, but it is far from an exact correlation.

 Map of the Box Canyon Creek trip, with the campsites Ben and I used marked.

Directions:  Travel to Brookings and drive up North Bank Chetco River road for almost 16 miles to a bridge over the South Fork Chetco.  Just before this bridge a dirt road heads down to the confluence with the Chetco and SF Chetco, the take out.  Those in the know are leery of leaving vehicles here, so consider hiring Bearfoot Brad (1-707-457-3365) or hiding a dirt bike in the woods.

To get to the put in cross the bridge over the South Fork Chetco and turn right, follow this road a little over 15 miles to where it ends.  There are only two junctions (staying on the main road each time), both of these right turns are marked by signs to Vulcan Peak.  The last mile or so is narrow, exposed and a bit rough, but plenty passable for a Subaru driven by a prudent driver.  You will know you are close to the end when you pass a patch of roadside Pitcher Plants.

From the end of the road hike 1.7 miles along the old road bed where you will reach a nose of land, at which point you leave the road and follow that ridge of land down to Box Canyon Creek.

Here are a couple maps of the hike in, note that on the hike there are a couple spurs that lead in the wrong direction.

* These maps may be a supplement to your own mapping research, but I would not recommend relying solely on these.*

Forest Service link with Directions to Vulcan Peak, including an alternate route than the one described on this blog, the Forest Service page sometimes has current conditions as well.


Some thoughts:

- You will top out over 3,700' on the shuttle so research the conditions before heading down there and be ready for snow zone conditions.

 - I'd probably bring a chainsaw if I had one in case there was a downed tree the locals hadn't taken care of yet on the drive in.

- We drove down Thursday after work and camped in Gold Beach, hiked in and paddled to the third island camp Friday, paddled the rest of Box Canyon Creek and 15 Chetco miles Saturday.  Finished the Chetco, ran shuttle and drove home Sunday.

- Low water is rough on the boat, but be cautious with healthy flows until the portage around Nut Dust part II is dialed in.

- It's tough to catch this one with the ideal combination of a good flow, on a weekend in the Spring with long days, and nice weather.

-While the majority of the rapids on this trip were not class V at the level Ben and I were there, you absolutely need to have a class V skillset/mindset to enjoy the run, especially if flows are up (when the run becomes true class V).  Boxed in gorges, a wilderness setting and few data points lead to a dynamic situation where good judgement and self-reliance are a must.  This is not a guidebook run, and should not be treated as such.


   -jacob