Trout creek

Trout Creek

Last Saturday Nick Hymel and I set out to run the upper Wind. We were hoping to get a shuttle from a group that would finish first, then help us run our Shuttle. This plan went down the tube when we picked up our potential shuttle on the side of the road after they hiked out because of a dislocated shoulder. After getting them back to there cars we decided that with no shuttle we would simply run a short section of Trout creek. The run was class 3 boggie water a couple of 3+'s and one that might be class four at higher water. The run starts out at a 15-20' dam that looks runnable. We decided to pass because the top was shallow and it dropped into a small but uniform hole. With just the two of us we decided to put in right below.

Put in

(the dam is gone now)

The river immediately enters a couple class two's, then is 3-3+ for a quarter mile. The rapids are ledgey 2-3 foot drops, mostly a fast move past a rock. The biggest rapid is at the end of this section and is a series of holes, each slightly larger than the last. Its not quite class four, but interesting none the less.
Me half way down the largest rapid.
Final hole in bigger rapid.After this it is pretty manky until you reach a small ledge that we ran through a double-drop on the left. After this there is one more hole, then our take out.
Nick runs the double ledge

I then jogged the mile back to the car and we headed to Upper Panther creek to scout a couple falls. Unfortunately one was unrunnable and the other had wood. The top part drops ovaer 50' throug a crack that turns 180 degrees, while the lower was a 25' drop with the left landing on rocks, and the center dropping cleanly through a narrow slot with wood intruding on the entrance and halfway through the falls. The beauty more than made the trip worth while though, along with the interesting scramble to the creek.
Lower tier
Nick checks out the upper falls The normal Trout creek run continues down to the Wind and is much harder. This is what we were planning for until our shuttle was injured. I wouldn't suggest the run we because of it's short length, but it could be an after work/school run for a solid class three boater looking to get into creeking during the winter. Just don't miss the take out if this is the case because there is no other take out before the class 4-4+ on the lower part and the Wind.