BETA
4 miles
Stream: There are 3 great rapids on this stretch, it is best run as an extension to the Middle or Upper, but I have put in here before when Iv'e hiked to the bridge and decided flows were either too high, or too low for me to want to continue on. Arena is just below the bridge, and is my favorite on the lower stretch. The obvious line down the middle is as fun as it looks, a fast ramp into a kicker.
A couple small ledges seperate Arena from The Punisher. Keep an eye downstream for a horizon and a waterfall coming in from the left, eddy on the right as soon as you see this, it would be easy to run out of eddies. The scout and portage are both along the right, the drop has been run right at high water, but left at medium and lower flows.
Another short stretch of class II leads to The Colleseum, a very long set of low angle slides. Along the right wall is the most exciting, if flows are high I recommend going left. It is a good idea to scout this from the left if you don't know the situation, which is easy to do and obvious when it should be done.
After taking in the Colleseum from the pool below, you are done with the good stuff. The whitewater starts off consoledated, but gradually spreads out and starts weaving through islands. If the water is low, you take the wrong channel, or wood shifts this section can be a pain. However, if flows are up, you guess the wood-free channels, and maybe bring some hot chocolate to sip this section goes by alright. There are some small surfable features to change the pace too.
Eventually the islands end, and the take out bridge comes up just around the corner. If you only brought one car, just drop the boats and walk the short distance back up to the gate to retrieve your vehicle.
Flows: The rapids are still fun even when the Upper and Middle are low. That runout is still a bummer though when flows are low. The Punisher lives up to it's name at high water. Flows detailed here.
Access: From the take out drive upstream 1/4 mile and turn left, park at the gate. Hike about 3 miles on the mainline until reaching the Lower Bridge going over the creek to the right, this is the put in for the lower.
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My first time down
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My first time down was with Tim Brink and Bruce Reed from ORT, who were going to raft the creek. The last adventure we had done was the North Fork Lewis, none of the drops on this trip would be as large as those, but the unknown factor was higher. The gate is only open during hunting season so we brought along a bunch of camo stuff and stuffed the kayak in the back of Tim's Truck (2014: now it's walk in only).
We got skunked by low water on the upper and middle sections, but decided to try out the less mysterious lower run. This trip started in excellent fashion, with a peal out into the 15 ft Arena Falls. After this is a short ledge, that demanded its own respect when it gave the raft an exciting shove in the wrong direction [the upside down direction :) ]. Shortly after this was Punisher, which had not been run on the previous descent. I felt at this water level it looked good and was able to hit a line going left-left (and have repeated that line a few times since). The first drop lands in shallow water so nose up is the only way to go. The raft could have run it, but chose to ghost boat it on this trip. A minute of class II and we arrived at the large horizon line of Colosseum. It is about a 200 yard long series of slides, with multiple lines. After this came the two miles of class two we knew we had in store. It took awhile with the raft, and while there was some log dodging no portages were needed.
I was really jazzed on this trip, and have been back a number of times. It's one of my favorite creeks in Oregon. I am thankful that Tim and Bruce were willing to come along, and that I got to see another awesome place I probably never would have without my kayak.
-Jacob
11/15/2008
11/15/2008
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