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.