Northwest Fork Washougal: Headwaters

Northwest Fork Washougal: Headwaters

BETA
2.5 miles

Stream: I had my eye on this section above the uppermost bridge for a year or two, and got the opportunity by chance when another mission fell through on December 30, 2018.  We ran Lacamas in the morning, then decided to head over to Hagen.  I wasn't about to put down lap 15 or whatever on Hagen when there was the opportunity to see something new, so decided i'd check out this new section while everybody else ran Hagen.  I was surprised when nearly the entire group wanted to join despite my assurances it was almost certainly going to suck.

Adam Edwards, Ben Mckenzie, Andrew Bradley and I dropped Priscilla off at the Hagen put in with a large group including a raft or two and kept going up to the landing from which we would schwack our way into the headwaters of the Northwest fork Washougal.  The hike was not easy, but also not hard.  Using the GPS function on my phone and pre-cached maps kept us on track.  The final descent to the stream was on an unstable rock field that took extra attention to protect ankles.  From here we were able to get a good view of the creek, and we liked what we saw providing the motivation to make good time down the boulder field.  A small fence of Devil's Club was the final obstacle.

The creek looked promising from the put in, about 2/3 the size of Hagen and dropping along at a good clip. There was bedrock and a decent sized ledge above where we were.  The first couple hundred yards were nrrow and clean, but with branches blocking the eddies.  We shore scouted a couple short ledge/slots, both of which we ran as far right as we could with a left stroke.  Downstream the creekbed changed to open and sliding.  The creekbed was mostly just one long, low angle slide for a few minutes interrupted occasionally by steeper drops or small pools and we were able to read and run this portion with some faith.

There was a log that prompted a scout as the creek seemed to enter a more wood area and I prepared mentally for the portaging to start.  Adam hopped out of his boat for a look and informed us it was all good though, so we ducked the log and the low angle sliding with occasional small ledge drops continued.  We continued reading and running, branches were often present bu tthe never ending class IV bedrock whitewater made it worth dealing with.  After 1.5 miles we reached the confluence with Skamania Mines Creek.

It would be possible for a motivated boater to stop before the confluence, make the easy hike over the small ridge and pick off Mike's Slide, the largest cascade on Skamania Mines.  Downstream the continuous read and run III-IV continues to the bridge.  The ledge you can see just upstream from the uppermost/1200 Rd bridge has a hole that is definitely bigger than it looks from the road.  it is easiest to clear center-right.

We pulled into the eddy below the bridge and sat there for a second, we were all pretty surprised to have paddled a quality section of class IV whitewater when the expectation had been for a suffer-fest. Ben said "I can't believe that just happened".

We even hike up to the Hagen put in to grab vehicles after finishing the run, drove shuttle, loaded gear and rove down to the Hagen take out before the group Priscilla was paddling with finished their Hagen lap.  Not what we expected setting out for an afternoon exploratory trip.    

 

  
Flows:  We had 15" on the NWF Washougal gauge when we ran the creek, this was a good first time level.  I wouldn't have minded more water (remember the branches though), but would have minded if it had been notably lower.

Here are some nearby online gauges from that day.

 


Access:  Take out:  45.6909, -122.239

Take Hwy 14 to the town of Washougal, turn onto Washougal River Road and travel 10.2 miles to the Washougal River Mercantile.  From the Mercantile, head upstream less than half a mile before turning left onto the steep Skye Road.  Continue 3.9 miles on Skye Rd before turning right onto Skamania Mines/412th Rd (keep and eye out, people miss this turn occasionally).  The road quickly turns to gravel, as it winds it's way down to the middle bridge in about 1 mile.  This bridge is where the NWF Washougal Gauge is, on the downstream left side of the bridge. 
From the middle/Skamania Mines bridge head upstream on river left for 1.5 miles, and take the road going left.  This road crosses the NWF Washougal in less than 1 mile and is the take out if only running this section. 


Put In: 45.721, -122.2241

**If you are doing this section, you really should have maps cached on your phone for the hike, use the coordinates above**

From the uppermost/1200 bridge, continue (passing by the Hagen put in) for 1.6 miles and turn right.  There is a gate here, it was open when we ran this section on Dec 30, 2018.  If it's closed and you don't see an alternate route (4WD/clearance), just go back and do Hagen, it wouldn't be worth the hike from here.  If you get past the gate, take the left fork. 0.7 miles later take the right fork until it ends at a clear cut (45.7167, -122.2355).  Cross the clear cut and start bushwhacking.  Stay generally at the same elevation until you cross a micro creek (it took us about half an hour to get to this point).  Climb up the short ridge on the other side of this creek, then follow this ridge downhill, erring to the left until you reach a boulder field.  Scamper down to the upstream edge of this boulder field to put in where we did, watch your footing. 

WF Cow Creek

       

Photo: Priscilla Macy / along the lower run

BETA

Stream: A brushy class II-IV stream only half an hour off I-5 near Glendale.  There are some quality rapids, unique scenery, and the shuttle is straight forward.  It's no classic, but its worth doing.  If you use the put in we did, you will get a bonus canyon that includes Dothan Falls.  



                                Priscilla Macy running Dothan Falls



From Dothan falls to the lower put in (at a bridge), the stream is brushy class II-III.  The stretch below the bridge is a more mature stream-bed with higher quality class III/IV, less brush and more to look at.  Everything was easily scout-able and portage-able at the low flows we had.


  
Flows:  From our scout in 2016, I think 1,000 cfs or just under is perfect.  Our flow was low, it was plenty of water to float but because the character is more river-esque than creek-like, the rapids were not quality at low water.  By the end of the day when we ran shuttle, flows looked ideal.  We had missed the bubble by a few hours.

 West Fork Cow Creek Gauge

Access:  From Riddle or Glendale, get on Cow Creek Rd and follow it 15-20 miles to the confluence with the WF Cow Creek.  Follow the WF Rd as it parallels WF Cow 3.8 miles and turn left on a road that leads to the take out bridge.  To get to the put in we used return to NF-25 and continue upstream 6.3 miles (crossing another put in option at a bridge at 4.5 miles) and veer right. 1.1 miles later stay left. 2.8 miles later you will reach a rock quarry which marks the put in.

If you would like to add more class II-III you can put in higher, or take out lower.


Notes:  If the flows are good, the water quality will be bad.


 

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Trip Report
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The WF of Cow Creek has been on our list for a couple years.  It stands out on maps despite the low gradient, due to narrow sections and satellite imagery showing plenty of bouldery rapids between longer stretches of little action.  We had driven along it a couple times heading in and out of the SF Coquille drainage.  Last year we drove along the headwaters on our way to Woodenrock Creek and because the road follows much of it we were able to scout enough to put it on the "lets do it someday" list.

We were heading from Albany down to Grants Pass for Thanksgiving, and this creek happens to be a pretty convenient option along that route.  Oddly enough, the week before the trip we got one last piece of inspiration from Sam Box, who sent us a couple intriguing photos his friends had taken at Dothan Falls during the summer.

Mmmmm, bedrock.

As the time grew closer to head South, the lack of rain in the Rogue Valley had us losing motivation for WF Cow.  It looked like it would be too low, so we made plans to head to The Gem on the SF Coquille instead.  On the drive down, we saw levels had started to rise.  We had a cutoff of 2k for The Gem, so when we stopped for gas in Roseburg and checked to see that the SF Coquille had hit that mark with no signs of slowing we decided to divert back to WF Cow, since they share a headwaters ridge we hoped WF Cow would continue to rise as well (it had been too low that morning).

We left I5 near Glendale and started paralleling Cow Creek, which was very low. However as we turned off onto the WF road, the further up the drainage we drove, the more water there seemed to be.  We had high hopes we would be able to float the creek, reaching our take out we decided it was going to be low but we could get down it and still have an enjoyable day.

Our planned take out, and a scene we ended up seeing plenty more of on the WF of Cow Creek.

 Photo: Priscilla Macy

We dropped off our motorized bike to do the 9 mile shuttle at the end of the day along with some snacks and headed to the put in.  We had not remembered where the gate was from our scouting trip (it had been open that day), but were pleased to find the spot we wanted to put in was below the gate anyway.

We find odd-ball runs usually have at least some sort of logistical challenge to reach the put-in, this was a stark exception to the rule.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

There was a brush island that required using the correct channel, and some class II-III before the walls rose briefly and the creek veered right.  Priscilla hopped out to scout and grab a photo of this fun one.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

Just around the corner was Dothan Falls, the most anticipated rapid of the trip.  We were not sure it would be runnable as from the road it appeared to drop into the left wall, and the photos Sam's friend had taken only showed the lip.

A quick scout revealed a nice flake that allowed us to avoid the left wall.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

The creek eased off considerably below Dothan Falls, and there was much brush to deal with.  It was all passable, and  kept us engaged through the 2 miles of class II that followed down to a bridge (42.8469, -123.7525).  After that, occasional rapids and abundant brush carried us another 2 miles down to another bridge (42.8297, -123.7185) we had passed over during the shuttle which we felt might be a higher "bang for your buck" put-in option on a return trip.

One of the rapids between the bridges, a welcome break from the brush-bashing.

A short way below the mainline bridge passed over during the shuttle, and about 5 miles into the trip we stopped for a lunch break.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

I had heard from Yann Crist-Evans that the section below the bridge was a nice class IV high water option.

 Not too far below the mainline bridge, the stream started to mature.  The creek entered a beautiful canyon section, the brush eased up and the whitewater started to get better.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

Large boulders started to make it tough to see downstream, we hopped out a couple times to scout out the best route.  While only class III-IV, there were places that were better to be than others.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

This ended up being the best part of the run, and would be a hoot at the right flow.  At low flows the rapids were not filled in, and while we had plenty of water to float, the character of the stream was more river-like and needs the boulders to be covered to bring the rapids to life.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

The scenery is unique, and worth taking in.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

About 2 miles before our take out, Priscilla remembered that she had not left the keys for the bike lock at the take out, they were in fact back at the put in.  After trying to think up any other option, we resigned to stopping at this point and walking the 7 miles back to our vehicle.  Given it was Thanksgiving (we were planning to celebrate the holiday Saturday), we didn't see anyone else the whole time we were in the Cow Creek drainage.  The walk back up to the vehicle wasn't as big a bummer as we were anticipating, which we completed and returned to collect our things well before dark.  During our walk, we again noticed that the stream had more water the higher we went.  And when we reached our vehicle it was obvious the heavy showers throughout the day had brought the stream up, and we had missed the bubble by only a few hours.  Oh well, the whitewater might not have been as good at the low flow but it was still a neat canyon worth checking out.

 West Fork Cow Creek Gauge

      -jacob

West Fork Hood

Photo: Rob Cruser





Beta

Iv'e never run the WF Hood at anything but low flows, so I will direct you here for better information on healthy flows.

Stream:    I like putting in at Lolo Pass, but many people choose to put in at the Lake Branch confluence to avoid running or portaging a class V upstream.

The section from Lolo Pass to the standard put in is class III-IV with some fun bedrock rapids and one class V-ish bouldery rapid in a small gorge.  This one has a semi-strenuous portage high on the left if needed, or I have done a partial portage on the right at low water and paddled the rest of the rapid on the right.

The run below the Lake Branch weaves in and out of gorges with numerous class III-IV rapids.  The most unique hazard is a fish ladder half way through the run.  This has been run, but it is highly recommended that you make the easy portage on the left.  Rumor is there used to be a ten foot waterfall here before the fish ladder was created.

The biggest boulder garden of the run is just down stream and can be boat scouted or shore scouted on the right.  Rapids continue down to the take out bridge, some portions being more interesting than others.  Either take out on the right and hike up to your vehicles below the bridge or check out Punchbowl Falls just downstream, which is a powerful ten foot plunge usually boofed on the left.

Nick going center at a low flow.

And a video

  

Punchbowl is a straight forward move, but missing the line can result in serious downtime.

 If you run Punchbowl continue down to the confluence of the EF Hood.  Take out on the gravel bar on the right and walk the steep-ish trail up to the decommissioned road and back to your vehicle.

Flows:  The run can be done as low as 300 cfs on the WF gauge, but people generally shoot for 500 cfs and up.  700 cfs is medium.

If you are using the Tucker Gage 5-6 feet is medium, 7' is still not high.  4.5 is low but still fun. 

Iv'e been down with my dad as low as 3.5' a couple times, most people would not like the run at that flow.  The lower the flow, the more inviting Punchbowl is.

Access:  Take Hwy 281 out of Hood River to the town of Dee.  A bridge crosses the stream in what used to be the middle of a town.  Cross this bridge and turn right on Punchbowl Rd.  Follow this road until it crosses a bridge.  Backtrack 100 feet and you will find a gravel parking area that is the take out (downstream of the bridge).  Some people may wish to spot their take out from the bridge or by walking down the road past the gate.

Amercian Whitewater has done good work for this location, in the future the take out may be improved and more obvious to spot.

The put in is accessed by returning towards Dee, but instead of crossing the bridge continue straight on Lost lake Rd.  Following it through farmland and then paralleling the WF Hood 5.4 miles to the standard put in.  For the Lolo Pass put in continue upstream 2.5 more miles, then turn left onto NF-18/Lolo Pass Rd and follow that a short way down to the put in bridge.



Notes:   The Green Point Creek drainage has seen some attention by locals, this stream enters the WF Hood in a gorge in the last 1/3rd of the run.  Here is a trip report from Ryan Scott on the North Fork of that creek.

Rock Creek (Baker City) / WF Eagle Creek (Wallowa's)

In the morning of May 27, 2017 Joseph Hatcher, another guy and I checked out the Rock Creek that flows off the East side of the Little Alps near Baker City, OR.

The NF John Day @ Monument was running about 3,000 cfs from snowmelt.

It was very steep (700 fpm+ for a portion: 44.8906, -118.0976) and we found a bouldery, eddy-free mountain stream cascading at a rapid pace down the mountain.  We discussed Joseph and the other guy running the creek, with me standing along the bank to catch them above wood hazards since eddies were not available.  In the end we felt it was more sketchy than we wanted to deal with and no one put on.  Neither Killamacue Creek or the section of Rock Creek above the Killamacue confluence looked any friendlier (in fact they looked worse).

Typical Rock Creek

There is a fools hope that a run might exist below the S Rock Creek Lane bridge, maybe a local would enjoy checking out that section.  It looked less steep than the parts we scouted, but scouting/portaging might put a boater on private property. The run we scouted would probably also be fun if someone knew it was completely free of wood, and could be run put in to take out without having to stop, though its unlikely that scenario will occur.

We then headed over to the south side of the Wallowa's and the Eagle Creek drainage, where Joseph Hatcher and I paddled the WF Eagle Creek.  We took out just upstream of the NF-67 bridge and put in a couple miles above that at a low water crossing, upstream looked flatter and woodier than the portion we ran.  The part we ran resembled a wider, less steep version of Rock Creek.  We found the run to be stressful class III+ with plenty of wood and few eddies.  We scouted every foot of stream eddy to eddy style and the eddies were more often difficult to catch than easy.  We had few portages, the fun came from puzzling the river together and not from the whitewater.

I'd not do it again, but was happy to find out what was on the run.

 We had 1300 cfs on the Eagle Creek Nr New Bridge gauge (which can be found here).

And about 2700 cfs on the Imnaha gauge, May 27, 2017, the Saturday before Memorial Day.

Put in:  45.0444, -117.4617
Take Out:  45.0235, -117.459

 -jacob

County Teaser

Here is a quick teaser showing some of the wealth located in NE Oregon.  The melt is about to start, get out and explore!



    Some pictures Matt took of the intimidating gorge the crew took care of a few weeks back can be found here.

              -Jacob