White Salmon: Lower sections (Below Husum)

Richie Slocum gives Rattlesnake a go

BETA

Stream: 

Lower White Salmon

 This run starts out in the town of Husum, and can begin either above or below Husum Falls.  Below the two bridges in town is a flat pool where those not interested in the waterfall can put in.  Immediately downstream is Rattlesnake, the first and most notable rapid on the Lower section.  Below Rattlesnake are a string of nice rapids of the class II-II+ variety before things off for awhile, keep an eye out for a castle-esque building on river left.  There is also a nice surf wave called the Cave Wave that is green, extremely friendly and with eddy access.  This also makes a nice spot for a lunch break.  Things ease off below here and gravels bars continue through the area where the old reservoir used to be, with houses t bank.  A bridge here marks the optional take out for those just running the Lower section.

Anna Herring and Priscilla Macy take a dynamic duo down Husum Falls.

Lower, Lower aka Bottom White Salmon

I have only continued downstream of the bridge in Husum in the Summer, so this description is for flows under 3'.  I have heard the area around Steelhead Falls becomes challenging to negotiate as the flows increase, but am not familiar enough with those flows to give useful insight over 3'.  

Downstream of the bridge, rapids are fairly continuous class II+ and maybe some areas that dictate class III skills.  The stream moves along through the portion of the stream that used to be underNorthwestern Lake Reservoir.  The rapids stay pretty easy as conglomerate walls start to rise up on either side as the stream approaches the historic Condit Dam site.  Below here the scenic value goes up quite a bit.

Before they removed the dam.

Photo: Shane Conrad

Scenic floating and rapids of a similar difficulty, but different style than those found above the dam continue for awhile, ending in the crux of the run.  The crux can be a bit challenging to describe, but if you are not with people who know the run you can still figure it out.  The crux move is catching an eddy above Steelhead on the left.  Just above this eddy the river makes a sharp turn to the left, then quickly a sharp turn back to the right and enters what is the largest rapid below where the dam used to be thus far (class III), downstream the canyon walls are tall and before the river settles down it turns to the left and out of site.  It is important your first time down not to go around this corner, and error on the side of eddying out too early as the closer you get to this corner the smaller and more challenging the eddies are to catch.

After beaching on the left, walk down the bank to take a scout of Steelhead.  If flows are not low, you may be wading through the river, ropes have been installed to help with this.  Steelhead is about a 5' pour-over ledge into a sticky hole, and is a large step up from the rest of the run.  It has been run successfully numerous times both left and right, avoid the middle.  As levels increase, so does the challenge and consequence of this rapid.  I have not done this section above 3', but hear as the water increases, this area gets challenging to navigate both for people running the rapid and those wishing to portage.

The stretch just below Steelhead is beautiful.

750 cfs on the Underwood gauge, a great flow for the Bottom White Salmon.

Sept 24, 2017

Paddler:  Nick Hymel                                          Photo: Priscilla Macy

More class II and one stretch that could be deemed class III continue downstream until the river becomes backed up by the Columbia.  If you are coming from upstream it can be satisfying to paddle under the bridge and into the Columbia before returning to the take out.


Flows:  There is a foot gauge in Husum, monitored by a local who reports regularly to This Facebook Page.  And this online remote camera of the gauge. The lower sections never get too low, but above 3' caution is urged around Steelhead for class III-IV boaters.  For these lower sections, the online White Salmon @ Underwood works.  750 was a padded level, and while catching the eddy above the Narrows required attention it was not stressful.  

Access:  Take out on river left at the mouth of the White Salmon River at the intersection of Hwy 141 and Hwy 14.  
An access point between the Lower and Lower, Lower/Bottom exists.  To get there turn left 4.1 miles upstream of Hwy 14 onto Northwestern Lake Rd, drive down and cross the bridge.  Then turn left into the park.


The put in is 6.4 miles upstream of Hwy 14 in Husum (or 2.2 miles upstream of the Northwestern Lake Rd/Hwy 141 intersection) along Hwy 141, where parking is abundant.

 Access:  Before the dam was removed, Steelhead at the de-watered flow was 5-10' tall and a nice vertical boof.   A couple hundred yards downstream a logjam full of trash stretched wall to wall, the portage was done by walking straight over the wood and said trash.  Downstream another 1/4 mile was a powerhouse that returned much of the diverted water to the stream.  From a couple hundred cfs to 1,000 or more the stream would go in an instant.  Downstream were a couple fun rapids, the last of which was what some considered the best rapid downstream of BZ corner.  It was a series of pushy hydraulics and waves, class III+ in nature.  When the dam was breached, the surge of water deposited a lot of sediment in the location of this rapid and it no longer exists, a small price to pay for a free-flowing White Salmon.

Little White Rafting

Dan and Jeff Compton rafted the Little White Saturday. We put in a ways behind Hans and Tom, who were also rafting the run. Cool to see the rafters taking charge! I helped them remember lines and we set safety for each other on the way down. It was a fun run. At the put-in Dan slipped and fell, causing his thumb to really swell up, he didn't make a big deal of it and said it was all good, so we put on.

The raft did really well, hitting a log near the end of getting busy, but not getting stuck. Aside from that they styled everything they ran. Dan fired up Stovepipe R1. We all walked Island and Spirit. We finished the run in good Spirits so to speak, we took our time doing the run, hanging out on the platform at Spirit for awhile and floating through the lake at the take out. I always enjoy taking time on this run, its such an amazing pace. The Columbia must have been lower than usual as we had current all the way to the take out.

The video for Kathy Mccain.

little white salmon from Jacob Cruser on Vimeo.

Dan also called me the following Tuesday to say he went to the doctor and the fall he took hiking around the put in area broke his thumb. He is getting surgery on it today(Wed.), and is getting a plate put in there. If anyone wonders how someone can paddle off the things he paddles off, maybe this will shed some light on the type of person he is, he paddled the Little White with a freshly broken thumb! Toughest guy I know.

The Level was 3.2

Life is good.

"LWS Drano"

-Jacob

White Salmon: Lower Sections

Richie Slocum gives Rattlesnake a go BETA Stream:  Lower White Salmon  This run starts out in the town of Husum, and can begin either above or below Husum Falls.  Below the two bridges in town is a flat pool where those not interested in the waterfall can put in.  Immediately downstream is Rattlesnake, the first and most notable rapid on the Lower section.  Below Rattlesnake are a string of nice rapids of the class II-II+ variety before things off for awhile, keep an eye out for a castle-esque building on river left.  There is also a nice surf wave called the Cave Wave that is green, extremely friendly and with eddy access.  This also makes a nice spot for a lunch break.  Things ease off below here and gravels bars continue through the area where the old reservoir used to be, with houses lining the right bank.  A bridge here marks the optional take out for those just running the Lower section. Lower, Lower aka Bottom White Salmon I have only continued downstream of the bridge late in the Summer, so this description is for flows under 3'.  I have heard the area around Steelhead Falls becomes challenging as the flows increase, but am not familiar enough with those flows to endorse doing this run over 3' or so.  Downstream of the bridge, rapids are fairly continuous class II+ and maybe some areas that dictate class III skills.  The stream moves along through the portion of the stream that used to be under Northwestern Lake Reservoir.  The rapids stay pretty easy as conglomerate walls start to rise up on either side as the stream approaches the historic Condit Dam site.  Below here the scenic value goes up quite a bit. Before they removed the dam. Photo: Shane Conrad Scenic floating and rapids of a similar difficulty, but different style than those found above the dam continue for awhile, ending in the crux of the run.  The crux can be a bit challenging to describe, but if you are not with people who know the run you can still figure it out.  The crux move is catching an eddy above Steelhead on the left.  Just above this eddy the river makes a sharp turn to the left, then quickly a sharp turn back to the right and enters what is the largest rapid below where the dam used to be thus far (class III), downstream the canyon walls are tall and before the river settles down it turns to the left and out of site.  It is important your first time down not to go around this corner, and error on the side of eddying out too early as the closer you get to this corner the smaller and more challenging the eddies are to catch. After beaching on the left, walk down the bank to take a scout of Steelhead.  If flows are not low, you may be wading through the river, ropes have been installed to help with this.  Steelhead is about a 5' pour-over ledge into a sticky hole, and is a large step up from the rest of the run.  It has been run successfully numerous times both left and right, avoid the middle.  As levels increase, so does the challenge and consequence of this rapid.  I have not done this section above 3', but hear as the water increases, this area gets challenging to navigate both for people running the rapid and those wishing to portage. The stretch just below Steelhead is beautiful. 750 cfs on the Underwood gauge, a great flow for the Bottom White Salmon. Sept 24, 2017 Paddler:  Nick Hymel                                          Photo: Priscilla Macy More class II and one stretch that could be deemed class III continue downstream until the river becomes backed up by the Columbia.  If you are coming from upstream it can be satisfying to paddle under the bridge and into the Columbia before returning to the take out. Flows:  There is a foot gauge in Husum, monitored by a local who reports regularly to This Facebook Page.   Summer flows are between 1.5'-3.5', it starts to get a bit trashy below  2'.  In the summer  you can ballpark flows by dividing the White Salmon @ Underwood gauge by 400 to get the level on the stick. This  section never gets too low to have a good time on, but the area around Steelhead does get challenging to navigate as flows increase.  I urge caution if you plan to continue through the Lower, Lower and flows are over 4' unless you can get beta from someone who knows the run well. Access:  Take out on river left at the mouth of the White Salmon River at the intersection of Hwy 141 and Hwy 14.   An access point between the Lower and Lower, Lower/Bottom exists.  To get there turn left 4.1 miles upstream of Hwy 14 onto Northwestern Lake Rd, drive down and cross the bridge.  Then turn left into the park. The put in is 6.4 miles upstream of Hwy 14 in Husum (or 2.2 miles upstream of the Northwestern Lake Rd/Hwy 141 intersection) along Hwy 141, where parking is abundant. Notes:  Before the dam was removed, Steelhead at the de-watered flow was 5-10' tall and a nice vertical boof.   A couple hundred yards downstream a logjam full of trash stretched wall to wall, the portage was done by walking straight over the wood and said trash.  Downstream another 1/4 mile was a powerhouse that returned much of the diverted water to the stream.  From a couple hundred cfs to 1,000 or more the stream would go in an instant.  Downstream were a couple fun rapids, the last of which was what some considered the best rapid downstream of BZ corner.  It was a series of pushy hydraulics and waves, class III+ in nature.  When the dam was breached, the surge of water deposited a lot of sediment in the location of this rapid and it no longer exists, a small price to pay for a free-flowing White Salmon.

White Salmon River: Green Truss

 Photo: Clinton Begley

BETA

Stream: The Green Truss section of the White Salmon is an incredible resource for paddlers in the Pacific Northwest.  When most of the other creek boating options dry up, this section of the river still offers a half dozen miles of quality class IV-V whitewater with easy access.  For paddlers in the area, this is often their first exposure to serious whitewater.  

***I have run the Green Truss between 1.5' and 3.5', and this description will reflect that.  As flows surpass 4' the run becomes more consistently class V.***

The put in is just downstream of the Green Truss bridge, adhere to the signs letting you know where, and where not to park and loiter.  It would be all too easy to loose this access point.  There is a steep trail downstream on river right of the bridge.  Many people use ropes to lower their boats down the side of the hill, yet many have also made it down without ropes.  Make good decisions here, there has been at least one person and probably more who have fallen off this cliff. 

There is a nice flat stretch at the start where first timers collect themselves and people often choose to warm up with some stretching and bracing/rolling in the calm water before the whitewater kicks off in earnest.

After paddling over the first horizon line, the action is sustained down to Big Brother.  If you have not done the run before and are figuring it out for yourself, it's worth taking a shore scout if you can't see the entirety of a rapid in this stretch.  Not all of the lines are intuitive or with the main flow.

This fun stretch of IV-IV+ whitewater ends with the Meatball and then Bob's Falls.  The Meatball is a large round boulder blocking downstream view in the second ledge of a two part rapid.  Left or right both work if free of wood, left is more common.  Scout if you don't know the line.

A pool separates Meatball from the next rapid, Bob's Falls.  This one can be run right or left, I have only seen people mess up the left line.  The right seems to be a "closer to danger, further from harm" option.  For first timers, or for the less confident it's nice to have a rope set up on the right.  Just downstream is a ledge most easily run on the right with a slightly delayed left stroke.

It's best to avoid the center of Bob's Falls.

Photo: Brandon Bloomquist

Below Bob's is a class three rapid (stay away from the left wall) and then you are in the pool above Big Brother.  Scout and portage left.  There are two hazards with running the standard boof flake line on the right.  The first is the obvious cave, the second is a shelf in the landing if paddlers fall off the left of the flake.  

This is a good place to be off the flake, though I personally like to be a half boat-width further left.

Photo: Priscilla Macy                                                             Paddler: David Formulo

At low flows boaters routinely paddle out of the cave, but safety should be set.    This can be done by climbing up to the cave from the bottom on river right and clipping into some webbing that is installed there.  Keep in mind even if its a warm day, that cave is a cold place to be.  If you have ten boaters, all scouting thoroughly and running the falls one at a time, the person setting safety at the cave is going to get cold.  Be a team player and tap them out if they have been there for awhile.  At high water, this cave has taken a life.

If  boaters are not interested in setting up thorough safety, a 75' throw bag does reach the cave from the viewing zone on river left. 

Cultural note:  The paradigm of how to run Big Brother has changed over the years.  When I started paddling the Green Truss in 2007 the right side flake was the line, no question.  Every now and then you'd hear about someone probing the left side, but it was generally considered a stunt, and sometimes done out  at high water to avoid the cave on river-right.  Over the years things changed as more people started running left, after enough people had pulled that stunt boaters started realizing it was a cleaner line than it appeared and because it kept you away from the cave was appealing.  Somewhere around 2018 or so the tables turned and the left side line is now considered the line and the right side flake is starting to be considered the bold line.  Go figure.

Nate Warren, paddling what has become the most commonly used line at Big Brother.

Photo: Priscilla Macy                                                             Paddler: David Formulo

Immediately downstream of Big Brother is Little Brother.  My preferred approach is to run the left side with a left stroke pointed to 1 o' clock.  It is usually possible to portage Big Brother via a permanent rope fixed to the left wall and put back in for Little Brother.  If flows are high, a portage of Big Brother generally means walking around both Brothers along a trail on the left.

A couple short boulder gardens separate the Brothers from Double Drop, a notorious and challenging, yet generally forgiving rapid.  Scouting is possible on the left, but robs your speed.  The most commonly successful line is center left off the top drop with a delayed right stroke, followed by any sort of stroke off the bottom drop.  The bottom hole often flips people, and sometime surfs people.  There is a big pool below at summer flows though, so recovery is generally not a problem.  No matter how good you are, an upright line through Double Drop is not guaranteed.

Photo: Michael Freeman                                                            Paddler: Anna Herring

  The drop draining the pool below Double Drop is called Karen's Box, the left side is sticky but if you can hit your boof isn't a problem.  If flows are high enough to run right and you're concerned about the hole, it's not a bad idea to scrape down the right side your first time down.

 Below Karen's Box are a few more read and run class IV's before things ease up and the springs start gushing in.  The water temperature decreases over the next half mile and the flow increases.  After a bit of tame floating the whitewater slowly picks back up, when you notice the change in style of the rock and a small horizon line you have reached Cheese-grader.  There is an eddy on the right at the lip you can scout from.  There are loads of line options here, Iv'e seen a lot of tail-stands in the middle of the top ledge.  Mind the walls in this rapid. 

A center line off the main ledge in Cheese-grader.

Photo: Rob Cruser                                                            Paddler: Jacob Cruser

Splashy water leads to a pinch at Unavoidable, run center with speed.  There are some funky hydraulics that sometimes flip people, I hear those same hydraulics can make it tough to roll.  At low water there are some tricky eddies people like to challenge themselves with. 

More read and run leads to Zigzag Canyon.  If you are not with someone who knows the run, keep an eye downstream below Unavoidable.  Don't enter any rapids you can't see the bottom of.  A small rapid that splits around a center boulder is just above the lead in to Upper Zigzag, downstream the canyon looks a bit more ominous, get out on the right to scout before entering the class III lead in to Upper Zigzag.

Upper Zigzag is a long flume rapid, I find the first part to be the crux, this first part feeds directly into two ledges.  The first is run left, the second right.  There is a sieve along the left wall in the second ledge that must be avoided, but fortunately not very magnetic if you are in your boat.  Zigzag can be portaged with some effort along the right bank, rope is usually needed.

Blasting through the top part of Upper Zigzag.

Photo: Clinton Begley                                                            Paddler: Robert Delgado/Brendan Currie

A moving pool separates Upper Zigzag from Lower Zigzag, scout and portage left.  The portage requires using a fixed line to lower boats and then a walk along a steep bank to get down to them.  The line will be obvious from the scout (if it's not consider walking the rapid).  

Just downstream from Lower Zigzag a small creek comes in from the right (often dry by the end of the summer) at the put in for the Oreletta Section.  A run often done by those who want more than the Middle White Salmon offers, but less than the Truss does.

The next rapid downstream has a rocky island in the center that is to be avoided either left or right (right has more water).   The rest of the Oreletta down to BZ Falls is read and run, generally following the main current.  As you learn the run you will start figuring out the smoothest ways through the rapids, but they aren't really ever difficult enough to warrant a scout if you are coming down from the Truss.



The rapid to be alert for is called The Flume.  It is signaled by a flume of water coming in out of a man-made structure on the left (sometimes people don't notice if they are not looking closely).  The rapid itself is narrow and full of off-set waves that gets more exciting at the bottom.  It's not uncommon to see flips or airtime from first timers as they accelerate through the steep bottom part into the pool below the rapid.

Exiting this next pool is one of the cruxes of the entire run.  A long class III rapid leads up to BZ Falls, which has a couple small eddies on the right just upstream of the lip.  If you are not with someone who knows the situation here, it is best to walk down from the pool below The Flume to check it out your first time.

BZ Falls is about 10' tall and very powerful.  The hole at it's base is both capable of extreme beatdowns, yet also of being remarkably forgiving.  Watch some video

Here are some people intentionally getting stuck in BZ.


2011 BZ Huckfest from Sheer Madness Productions on Vimeo.



You can portage BZ along the right side, where there are a couple seal launch options, or you can walk back down to river level in about 100 yards.





Read and run leads you to a set of makeshift steps going up the right wall in a moving pool, or you can catch and eddy on the right part way down Maytag, the next rapid (run right or get a good boof on the left side).  Walk up the set of stairs to the parking lot, and your done!

Some people choose to continue down through the Middle White Salmon for 5 more miles of class II-III+ whitewater.



Flows:  There is a foot gauge in Husum, monitored by a local who reports regularly to This Facebook Page. And this online remote camera of the gauge.  Summer flows are between 1.5'-3.5', it starts to get a bit trashy below 2'.  If flows are above 4' the run changes and you want to be a class V boater who is following someone down your first time.  In the summer you can ballpark flows by dividing the White Salmon @ Underwood gauge by 400 to get the level on the stick.

Access:  Get to Hood River, Oregon.  Cross the bridge over the Columbia River (1$ toll in 2016).  Turn left at the stop light, then make a right in 1.5 miles on Hwy 141 (the turn comes up kind of fast, if you cross the White Salmon River you have gone too far).  Continue about 2 miles to a stop sign, then turn left.  In about 4 miles you come to the town of Husum, where you can check the gauge.  If you are paddling down through the Middle White Salmon you can also leave a car here and scout Husum Falls.

To get to the standard take out, continue north along Hwy 141 about 4 miles past Husum to the BZ Corner Launch Site.  Leave as many cars here at the take out as you can, parking is limited at the put in.

The put in is 4.4 miles upstream along Hwy 141.  There is a black mailbox that signals a right turn onto Winegartner Rd, which crosses over the Green Truss Bridge itself.  Adhere to the posted signs.

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Original Write-up

My first two times down the Truss
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Nick and I finally got to run the Green Truss last Sunday for the first time. Theron Jourdan showed us the lines and was a great leader for the day. We all did pretty well with an IK swim at Little Brother and Upper Zig-zag, and plenty of bracing for me. Theron of course did really well and fired up BZ with a stellar line.

Theron on Double-Drop

This first trip was not as eventful as our second trip the following Thursday, so this report will be on that run. On this trip was Nick and myself, along with Jordan Englert (his first time) and my father (Rob Cruser) who was making his first descent in ten years in an IK. The last time he did this section in his IK he nearly died in lower Zig-zag, he finally felt ready to get back and face his demons. The story of his entrapment can be read here, http://www.oregonkayaking.net/tales/robcruser.html.

 We ran the warm up drop right below the Truss Bridge and headed around the corner and boat scouted the first few drops down to S-turn. On the second drop I had my first flip on the Truss, in a slot at the bottom that was kinda funky. We all made it down S-turn fine with the hardshellers finding a fun boof off the bottom ledge.

Things were looking good until we got to Meatball, when we discovered that Nick had broken his paddle in the drop above. Luckily it was a cheap plastic paddle, that had broken in the same way twice before. All that happened was the blade came apart from the shaft.  Nick didn't want to bail out part way down his first Truss lap, so we found a couple sticks and splinted the paddle back together with some duct tape.

Meatball and Bob's went smooth for all.

We all portaged Big Brother and had upright lines over Little Brother. 

 

The paddle held until we got to double-drop, where in the rapid above it broke again. Nick borrowed a paddle to run Double-Drop from Jordan who decided to portage, and had his only swim of the day in the bottom ledge.  My dad and I were both able to stay upright this time around. Below here my dad set to work loading up the paddle with sticks and duct tape until we had convinced ourselves it might just hold the rest of the trip

Rob Cruser (my dad)in Double Drop

Myself dropping into Wicked Hole aka Karen's Box, just below Double Drop.

Below here we made decent time to Zig-Zag canyon, with no flips occurring. Cheesegrater and Unavoidable were fun as usual and we got pictures and video for both of them.

Rob Cruser exits Cheese-grader.

We were all excited about Upper Zig-Zag for many reasons. My dad hadn't kayaked this drop in a long time, and had swam it the last time. Nick had swam it the last time. I had barely kept myself from flipping last time and wanted a clean run this time. Jordan hadn't ever run it and was pretty nervous/excited about it. I wasn't feeling too bad about it so went first and made it down without needing to brace this time. Jordan came next with an ideal line and gave a "Whoop", the first verbal expression of excitement I had heard from him on the river.   My dad followed with an exciting line, he got pushed left in the entrance and almost flipped, but pulled it together, then he got pushed sideways into the wall at the first ledge, he flipped here and kicked hard to get away from the sieve. Nick decided that he didn't want to run the rapid with his duct-taped paddle so portaged along the right wall. The portage took about 25 min. but could be done in about 10. I had read that the portage was brutal, but it really didn't seem that bad, and really might have been easier than the lower Zig-zag portage. We all portaged Lower Zig-zag even though it is starting to get run again now that the wood is shifting. Below here is the Orletta, which we attempted to get down quickly, but IK's don't really move very quickly, so we took out about 8 O'clock. The Orletta was fun as usual and went well, except that my dad hit his elbow pretty hard on a wall. We all cleaned the rest of the drops and arrived at the take-out after a good day.

Myself on Triple drop

Nick with his duct-taped paddle

Below is some helmet cam footage from before the days of GoPro, a couple years after my first trip down, and in the worst boat I have ever paddled. 

   
Truss POV from Jacob Cruser on Vimeo.

    

  -Jacob

White Salmon: Oreletta

BETA

2.2 mi

Stream: The Oreletta section of the White Salmon is a nice intermediate run that flows all year.  It consists of the final 2-ish miles of the Green Truss, dropping boaters in just below Lower Zigzag.  It is especially nice late in the year when the sections above are too low, as springs still provide water for this section. 

Boaters have just a hundred yards or so before the first rapid, a steep rapid with an island in the middle that can be avoided right or left.  The most common line is to stay along the right bank, without crashing into the right wall at the bottom.  This kicks off a series of fun class IV rapids in a classic White Salmon Canyon, keep an eye out for Sticky Hole.  Sticky Hole is a small ledge in a narrow part of the river, it takes up 90% of the river with a nice tongue existing on the right that avoids if it you know its coming.  If not, make sure you have a quick draw when it comes to big boof strokes.  It can be surfed out to the right, yet rafts have been surfed upwards of 5 minutes in it.

Sticky Hole

Eventually the rapids ease off and there is some class II-III floating before the river bends right and enters Broken Paddle/Triple Drop, the easiest line to remember and execute is to run the first ledge on the right, moving back to left and hug the left wall the rest of the way down.  Other lines exist once you know the rapid.



A bit of fun boogie exists before The Flume, signaled by a flume of water falling from a manmade structure on the left and a narrowing of the stream bed.  The trick is to stay center-right the whole way down.  The bottom part accelerates through a fun ramp with offset hydraulics that ends in a nice pool.  If it's your first time down and you are not with anyone who knows the run, it's safest to get out in this pool and walk down to check out BZ.  There are a couple last minute eddies right at the lip that can be caught for a shorter portage if you know where it is.

BZ Falls gets run all the time, but it also dishes out big beatings on a regular basis.  There are a couple seal launch options on the right for portagers, its also possible to get back down to river level to launch.

Priscilla Macy, BZ Falls.

 Photo: Clinton Begley

Boogie water leads to a set of rudimentary steps on the right that marks the take out for the Green Truss.  Most people running the Oreletta will continue down through the Middle White Salmon to Husum Falls.

Just below the steps the river enters Maytag, where the main line is left through a large hole, or right over a double drop.  If the water is low you can scout left before entering the rapid, if the level is high I'd recommend running right your first time through.

Halfway through this rapid you enter the Middle White Salmon.


Flows:  This section flows all summer, for quality class IV action look for 2'-3.5' on The Husum Gage.  It can be run lower, or higher.

Access:  Get to Hood River, Oregon.  Cross the bridge over the Columbia River ($1 toll in 2016).  Turn left at the stop light, then make a right in 1.5 miles on Hwy 141 (the turn comes up kind of fast, if you cross the White Salmon River you have gone too far).  Continue about 2 miles to a stop sign, then turn left.  In about 4 miles you come to the town of Husum, where you can leave the take out vehicle, check the gauge, and scout Husum Falls. 

To get to the put in, continue north along Hwy 141 about 5.8 miles (pass the BZ launch site at 4 miles) to a bridge over Wieberg Creek, which you walk your boat down the middle of to the river.  Stay off any private property, don't ruin the access for others.  There is a parking spot on B-5000 a hundred yards past Wieberg Creek on the left.

A video from our younger years (High School) on the Oreletta.