BETA
1 mile
Stream: This is a pretty cool little creek in the Little North Santiam drainage. It never reaches class V below the WF/EF confluence, it's also never boring. The run is made up of fun bedrock chutes and ledges up to 10' tall. The first two times I did the creek, it was messed up pretty good by wood. Lately though, it has cleaned up considerably.
Most people doing Gold Creek will continue down through the Classic Opal section. Gold Creek enters that run near the beginning, so nothing is missed on the Opal run.
The hike starts out the same as the hike into Classic Opal, but just before reaching the bridge over Gold Creek a faint trail goes off to the left, marked by the old metal post circled in the photo below.
I typically drop my boat at this post, walk the last 100' on the road to the bridge over Gold Creek to check flows, and make a plan for the log pile below the bridge. It used to be possible to go over the log pile, but recently it collapsed and now paddlers need to go under. Since it changes, take a look and make a plan before putting on. The confluence with Opal is just out of sight downstream of the bridge.
The log situation below the bridge in 2019.
Once you leave the road and start hiking up the trail there will be a short climb before the trail levels out. Once it levels out, it is a short walk to a point where a short scramble leads down to the creek. The beginning of the scramble was signed in 2019. When there is enough water, I consider this a better put in option than the mine on the Little North Santiam for a classic Opal day, giving boaters a few fun, creeky rapids start to the day.
Sign marking the scramble down to the lower put in on Gold Creek.
If you are feeling more adventurous and would like to do the full run on Gold Creek, continue past the sign and follow the trail to the WF/EF confluence, about 1 mile after leaving the road. It is possible to cross the creek and climb up the nose of land between the two forks for some extra whitewater on either the WF or EF. The EF has a couple tall drops currently blocked by wood. The WF also has drops, but they are not as tall.
Putting in at the WF/EF confluence, everything can be scouted and portaged without much difficulty, though always proceed cautiously as the wood situation is ever changing. The character of the run is friendly 5-10' ledges.
In 2019 all the wood could be snuck or ducked, and didn't deter from the run except in two places that were both above the lower put in. The first place is at the largest drop on the run, a 10' ledge that resembles a cleaner version of Boulder Sluice on the Little White Salmon. Then not far downstream was a log jam that required a straight forward portage on the right.
The 10' ledge
The log jam located a couple corners below the 10' ledge marks the divide between the upper and lower sections. Downstream of the log jam the fun continues with a short barrage of class IV chutes and ledges down to the confluence with the Little North Santiam. 
The final obstacles are just above, and just below the bridge over Gold Creek. Just above is the fun double ledge anyone who has ever run Opal Creek has stopped to look at from the bridge, and just below is the log you should have scouted beforehand. Once below the bridge and log, it's just a minute or so to the confluence with the Little North Santiam.
While it is possible to run Gold Creek on it's own, by taking out at the bridge and hiking back out to the car at the trailhead, it requires a bit of creativity to get the boats up to the road and makes it a novelty trip. Gold Creek is better used as a bonus addition to a Classic Opal trip. In fact if you use the lower Gold Creek put in, the hike in is the same distance as it would have been to hike to the regular mine put in on Opal (albeit with more up and down), giving paddlers more rapids for the same amount of hiking .
The full Gold Creek run is worth checking out if you have the time and are willing to hike the mile up there to the top. Just know that while you will add some fun ledges, you will be adding a portage or two as well, so get an early start.
Flows: 2,000+ cfs in the LNF @ Mehama gauge is best, but it has been done lower. I wouldn't shy away from 5,000 and dropping on that same gauge either, just note that is higher than most people paddle Classic Opal.
Access:
Use the same vehicle access points as Classic Opal. Most trips will continue down through Classic Opal, or if you like you can hike back out to the trailhead at the end of the day.
While hiking in on the gated road, just before crossing the bridge over Gold Creek you will reach an overgrown mining road with an old post as marked in the photo below.
Take the faint trail off to the left marked by the arrow in the above photo. After a short uphill, the trail will flatten out and it's an easy 1/4 mile to the point where the scramble down to the lower put in leaves the trail, it was signed in 2019.
To get to the upper put in continue up the main trail another 3/4 mile until it crosses the creek at the put in, at the confluence of the EF and WF of Gold Creek.
*Shortly after passing the scramble for the lower put in, a massive tree blocks the trail, and after that is a washout with a cliff and spring on the left. The trail gets better after that, but small obstacles still remain.
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Original Write-up
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Photos by Jeff Hartley and Jacob Cruser
After running Opal Jean and I hiked back in with his dog to scout more of the creek. We hiked up about a hundred yards and saw some clean class III-IV drops and I decided it was worth hitting the maps and finding a way in there. The gradient didn't look unreasonable and the geology was good, so last Monday Jeff Hartley and I, a week after our Little Luckiamute adventure, were trying to decide where to go. The water was up and we decided Gold creek would be a good way to spend his day off, and serve as an after class run for me (it's only a mile long).
I left Monmouth at 12:15, met Jeff in Salem, and we were at the gate by 2. We got geared up in the rain and started hiking in. At the bridge, we looked for a way out at the end, saw the level looked good, then continued on up the road looking for the spur accessing Gold creek I had seen on maps. We found it shortly and began our 1 mile hike up the abandoned road. It gained significant elevation and wore me out. Having no food or water between us may have contributed to this. Eventually the road did a switch back and we ended up bush-wacking downhill for a bit. We dropped about a hundred feet until we hit another more abandoned road, almost non-existant. We followed this for awhile and somewhere along this path I heard a large roar and was a bit nervous we would run into a huge set of drops. Eventually the going got a bit tougher and I decided if much more of the creek was going to be making a noise like the one I heard, it would be wise to put-in now and make sure we had plenty of time so we didn't have another paddle out in the dark. We bush-wacked down and my boat got away from me at one point but by chance got stuck right before launching off a large cliff! We got down shortly after this and I was pleased with the water level and the steep boulder garden visible upstream.
We put-on and ran a couple class III's, then eddied out right above a log jam. Below I could see...tree tops! Jeff came down and we climbed onto the jam to see what was downstream.
Jeff at the top of the pinnacle, with the creek in the background.
The slide that we put in below would have been fun if yet another couple of logs had not been there. The big drop we portaged is in the background.
We put in below, happy to be on the water. From the portage route we had seen a tributary coming in from the right and realized we had put-in on the East fork and that was why this huge loss of gradient had occurred on a run that was supposed to be less than 200 fpm. We were relieved to know the whole run would not be like this. Just below here was a short horizon line around a corner. Jeff hopped out to scout and he was looking for awhile so I hopped out too and saw a cool 8 foot drop with a bad log on the left side. The move was only class IV, but a miss meant impalement, so we portaged to a weird seal launch and kept moving. *We ran this drop on a subsequent trip, after a wood shift*
Below here was another short log portage, then a fun slide. Then a drop that went around the corner. I got out to scout and was at first excited about the lip of this sweet 12 footer, until I noticed the 3 logs in the landing :( Portage number 4. ( In 2019, it's portage number 1, and marginally runnable).
After this Jeff climbed up the left wall and I clipped the boats to a rope as he roped his up from the bridge then I came up and assisted with my boat.
*2019, this run is as clean as it has ever been and is worth doing, especially if using the lower put in as an alternate start to a day on Classic Opal*
You can tell a logjam has been there for a long time when it has its own sediment deposit built up.
This is what we saw.
This is what we saw.
The chasm would be runnable without the wood, but wood there
was so we started looking for a way to portage. The pinnacles of rock
gating off the way downstream reminded me of Thors' Hammer if you were
to make it just a little less vertical. I climbed up the river right
pinnable about 60 ft, then lowered a rope down to Jeff and pulled them
up after. The climb up was scary for me. I scrambled up to about the
point where
the chances of serious injury outweighed the chances of things being ok
if I lost grip before I was stupid enough to look down. That was a
mistake. I looked up at the next section of
climbing I had to do and I started thinking of what was going to happen
if I didn't make that climb and who else I was going to effect if things
didn't go well. Somewhere during this thought process I decided it
wasn't worth it and decided to head down and find another way. The last
move had been pretty committing and I didn't see a safe way to do it in
reverse. So going down was as bad of an idea as going up. I really
started to wish I was somewhere else, but eventually was able to do a
sideways move and then climb to the top. [looking back 8 years later, I now see this climb as a watershed moment for me. I have been afraid of exposure ever since].
Once I was at the top I tossed my rope to Jeff and standing on a 4
foot wide piece of relatively stable ground atop a sixty foot drop one
way, and a hundred foot drop behind me roped the boats up one at a time.
The run has been repeated since, and a longer but safer portage route was found up a hillside on river right. Some wood has shifted in the drop as well, and it is indeed runnable. Currently there is wood blocking the exit below the pool though.
The run has been repeated since, and a longer but safer portage route was found up a hillside on river right. Some wood has shifted in the drop as well, and it is indeed runnable. Currently there is wood blocking the exit below the pool though.
On my way up the wall. The place we roped our boats up from is as high as you can see.
Jeff
repeated the climb with much less trauma. We roped up one more
section, then walked a short distance and lowered our boats back down to
creek level.
The slide that we put in below would have been fun if yet another couple of logs had not been there. The big drop we portaged is in the background.
We put in below, happy to be on the water. From the portage route we had seen a tributary coming in from the right and realized we had put-in on the East fork and that was why this huge loss of gradient had occurred on a run that was supposed to be less than 200 fpm. We were relieved to know the whole run would not be like this. Just below here was a short horizon line around a corner. Jeff hopped out to scout and he was looking for awhile so I hopped out too and saw a cool 8 foot drop with a bad log on the left side. The move was only class IV, but a miss meant impalement, so we portaged to a weird seal launch and kept moving. *We ran this drop on a subsequent trip, after a wood shift*
Jeff below the first big portage. The West fork came in just around the corner.
Below here was another short log portage, then a fun slide. Then a drop that went around the corner. I got out to scout and was at first excited about the lip of this sweet 12 footer, until I noticed the 3 logs in the landing :( Portage number 4. ( In 2019, it's portage number 1, and marginally runnable).
Below the large ledge the logs really started stacking up. It seemed every drop worth running had wood. We made at least one sketchy ferry above a log in the middle of a class IV series of ledges, and there were a few good class IV slides and rapids, but just a lot of log portages. Probably 8-12 in the mile long section. *down to 1-2 portages in 2019*
The bottom of the series of ledges with the hairy ferry.
The last couple hundred yards were the best. Class IV ledges and slides that were just fun as could be.
Soon we were at the last double drop and I got out to look and take a picture. We both entered right and Jeff snaked to the left while I boofed the right of the second drop.
The last couple hundred yards were the best. Class IV ledges and slides that were just fun as could be.
Soon we were at the last double drop and I got out to look and take a picture. We both entered right and Jeff snaked to the left while I boofed the right of the second drop.
After this Jeff climbed up the left wall and I clipped the boats to a rope as he roped his up from the bridge then I came up and assisted with my boat.
It's a bummer about the wood on this run, I'd run it regularly if it was clean. The drops are all of high quality with plenty of bedrock, and class fun. We have had some big storms between 2009 and now, maybe the run has cleaned up? But maybe not. Regardless, next time I hike over Gold Creek on my way to Opal I will know the answer to "I wonder what is upstream?"
*2019, this run is as clean as it has ever been and is worth doing, especially if using the lower put in as an alternate start to a day on Classic Opal*
The Little North Santiam gage when we ran it on April 13th, 2009.
-Jacob
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