Taylor Creek

Photo: Priscilla Macy

  

BETA

Stream: This is a small stream near Merlin, OR in the Rogue Valley.  The nature of the run is tight and adventurous.  The stream-bed is quality class IV, but there is wood in inconvenient, potentially dangerous locations.  Low flows make the run manky, high flows make it hazardous.  If I lived in the area and it was wood free I would run it all the time, with the current wood configuration I felt it was worth doing once.  It's possible to either see the next eddy or scout in most spots, just don't be too aggressive.

A log above, a fun chute below, vertical wall; a typical scene on Taylor Creek.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

  
Flows:  There is no online gauge, a unit gauge at the take out exists on river left though.
Anything below "0" units is not recommended, but the stream is passable down to -3".   

I don't know what high water is indicated by on this gauge, but you don't want high water.

Note: The "0" unit starts where the concrete goes from angled to vertical near the bottom of the pillar.

The WF Cow Creek gage can be used to get a ballpark sense of the situation.  

- 500 cfs at noon and dropping was low (-3") VIDEO
- 700 cfs at noon and dropping was also low (-1") *trip report found on this page*
- 900 cfs at noon and fairly stable looked perfect (bridge gage not noted)
- 1200 cfs and rising between 6-8pm on March 23, 2018 was reported as perfect flows.  It was felt that max recommend flows would be even with the next bar (the 1 unit bar) visible above waterline in this photo by Joseph Hatcher on their perfect flow day.

 

 








Access:  From Merlin, OR drive about 8.5 miles WNW on Galice Rd until you reach the bridge over Taylor Creek at the take out (this is also where the gage is).

Drive up Taylor Creek using the NF-25 road on river left (visible and obvious from the take out) about 3 miles to the sign for the Taylor Creek trailhead.

Walk about 50 yards on the trail, but when the trail bends back to the left, leave it and follow the lesser used path going straight towards the creek.  It takes about 5 minutes to reach the creek.

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Trip Report
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Taylor Creek is a would-be go-to run near Merlin, in southern Oregon.  We ran it the Friday after Thanksgiving in 2017.

A couple of years earlier, Priscilla had been paddling Jump-Off Joe Creek with her brothers.  While signing the waiver required to run that creek, the RV Park host told her about one of the local gems of the area.  He said it was fun and ledgey class IV in a gorge, and got her really excited about it.  We tried to run it the following year, but the water was too low.

This year we had our eyes on Hurdgygurdy, but Priscilla's hip was bothering her and she wasn't up for hiking so we thought we would check out Taylor Creek, the run the RV Host had told her about.

We met up with Willie Illingsworth in Merlin, and drove to the take out hoping for healthy flows from all the rain.  The storms had been dropping most of their precipitation in the Coast Range, but we hoped enough had landed in the Rogue Valley for good flows.  Instead, flows looked low (-1" on the gauge).

We knew it had been run lower (at -3"), so without any other good options for the day in the near vicinity we drove to the put in to check out the run that Priscilla had been wanting to do for a couple years.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

  

From the Taylor Creek trailhead, we left the main trail within 50 yards and followed the more direct, less developed path straight towards the creek.  We put on to a low floatable flow, and made it to the first rapid in a matter of a couple minutes.  It's a quick scout on the left, and we all made it through without issue but it was apparent we were not going to have padding on this trip.

The first part of the run has a gorge character, we had read about "class 6 eddies above wood" which had us a bit on edge.  There was in fact a good bit of wood on the run so it was important to be diligent of blind corners, but nothing felt harder than class IV. 

The gorge was unique, and we were happy to be there.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

  

The second half of the run has lots of boulder gardens that could be eddy hopped at this flow, but would be a bit blind as the levels rose.  Willie was doing 90% of the probing, his role at the sharp end resulted in a couple rolls in manky water, but helped us move along at a nice pace.

These boulder gardens lasted longer than I was expecting, and were engaging.  We found ourselves wishing for more water and less wood, but it was a neat place and there were more smiles than frowns. 

One of the rapids had a cable running the length of the rapid, we did a partial portage on the left and ran the second half.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

  

More rapids continued until eventually the stream eased to class I-II and we floated past some houses, pleased to not have to portage at all in this final stretch before reaching the bridge.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

  





   -jacob