Packers Gulch

 All photos: Priscilla Macy

I try to mix up my trips to the Quartzville drainage these day.  Because the upper section that is the usual draw is short, there are a number of combos that can be had.  The ambitious can head upstream, or even further upstream.  My favorite option is to do the section from Greg Creek down to the reservoir, but sometimes doing a park and plop or adding on a tributary is the ticket for the day. 

This day we did an Upper Qville lap, then with a large group split up.  Some car portaged their rafts around the middle section to avoid Double Dip and Pick up Sticks, others did another lap on the upper run.  Priscilla and I went and checked out Packers Gulch.

The hike in was about 1 mile on a gravel logging road, no shuttle needed.  The first pitch is steep, then it flattens out until reaching a bridge at the put in.  The description in the back of Soggy Sneakers just says "class IV" and that's about how I'd sum it up too.  The run was worth doing once, had a few neat sections, engaging boogie water, problem solving, and two easy log portages.  

We were there January 20, 2019 in the afternoon.

Put In:  44.600335, -122.395380

Take Out:  44.589596, -122.392972

        -jacob