South Fork Rough and Ready Creek

BETA

4 miles (another 5.5 on mainstem Rough and Ready)
It's hard to give it a class rating, but I feel comfortable saying that to enjoy the run, a class V skill set (and judgement) along with the ability to react to the unexpected would be a good per-requisite.

Stream:  Emile Elliott grew up near Grants Pass, and whenever we talked about the area he always mentioned the whispers he had heard of a run in the area the Knapp brothers had considered their favorite run.   He knew was it was near Cave Junction, ran dry in the summer, and you hiked a long way (possibly 6 miles up from the bottom).  He was pretty sure it was one of the tributaries to Rough and Ready Creek, which meets those parameters.

At first glance I thought the run looked kind of lame.  Where you drive over it, it's spread out and gravelly.  The satellite imagery didn't get me fired up either.  Yann Crist-Evans began talking about it more often this year, so I looked at it again.  Making a mental stew from photos and reports Zach Collier has from trips into the drainage, the whispers of a great run from Emile, and Yann's enthusiasm, I got the motivation I needed to put in the logistical efforts to get a group in there.  An opportunity arose on a weekend we were headed down to visit Priscilla's parents in Grants Pass.

I was lobbying for an overnighter in the NF Smith or Chetco drainages since the conditions were uniquely shaping up for something like that, but only half the the group was up for it.  The other half were more interested in the Rough and Ready headwaters, which seemed like an odd choice to me given the forecast, but once Joseph dropped out (he was part of the contingent interested in the overnight option), the momentum swung heavily towards Rough and Ready.  Iv'e never been against low water if it's a run Iv'e never done before so long as the stream is floatable, and it's a place I want to see, thus I was quickly converted to the Rough and Ready idea.

 

Rough and Ready take out, the highway 199 bridge between Cave Junction and O'Brien.

Most of the information I could muster up from the internet was from the North Fork of Rough and Ready Creek, but the mapwork I was doing made the South Fork look like the run I would have put money on the Knapps liking so much.  

Access to this area is tricky, which is why it is still the special place Zach Collier (who has boated more in the drainage than most) describes whenever he writes about the area.  While the option to hike up the south fork from the bottom existed, I was in for a penny, in for a pound so wanted to go in from the top and see the whole stream.  This would increase the logistical difficulty, but in the end would mean less hiking and more boating.  The major obstacles going in from the top would be the uncertain snow situation, and a gate on the shuttle road protecting the drainage from Port Orford Root-Rot.  This gate is typically shut during the time of year the creek has enough water to float, increasing the length of the hike, and I didn't actually know where on the road it was.

Regardless of the extra challenges of accessing the creek from the top, the team was up for the challenge. 

Joseph Hatcher drove up the shuttle road after work a couple days before our trip, sending us coordinates for where exactly the gate was, and giving us a better sense of the length of the hike and snow situation.  I try not to let the challenge of carrying a kayak keep me from boating rivers I'd like to check out, and neither do the people who were planning to be on this trip, so the trigger was pulled.

 Going to places where others are not can be part of the appeal of kayaking. 

Photo: Priscilla Macy

We hit snow on the road at about 4,000', the hiking on the road from there was easy.  Once we hit the cross country potion of the hike the going slowed.  Things started out brushy, opened up for awhile, then started descending steeply amungst boulders.    

Photo: Priscilla Macy

It was actually a nice, warm day for January, in the 60's.  We ate a snack once we reached river-level and gazed downstream at the first couple logs we were going to need to negotiate.  We were putting in as high as seemed floatable in the drainage, and based on imagery recon were expecting 5-10 log portages in the first mile, which dropped 400 feet.  

After taking our time gearing up, we started our descent on what had correctly been anticipated as minimal flows.

We were happy to be able to dodge the first couple logs as we started getting into a rythym on what was quickly becoming a cool trip.  The run was uniform, similar to many of the creeks in the area. 

We were finding the creek to be mostly read and run, continuous boulder cascades with plenty of boofs.

 

There were a few nice ledges in that first mile that Priscilla (who was in an IK) hopped out to check before giving us the verbal.

One of them ended up having a log that we were able to railside, Ben spiced up the move with a hula-paddle around the neck/camera mug.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

 

We were pleased to be finding that all the trees we had seen on satellite imagery were actually suspended 5-10 feet above the creek and non-factors for paddlers.  This has happened nearly every time I have done an obscure run in the Siskiyous, Ben calls these faux portages "shadow trees" and we were paddling under all of them.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

 

In fact, in almost 10 miles of paddling we had only 1 wood portage, and even that would have probably been runnable with more water.  After the first steep mile, Ben noticed his boat was taking on a lot of water, we pulled over to drain and saw that his duct-tape patch had been scraped off enough to be letting water in.  We ate another snack while Ben spent some time adhering more duct tape on with a lighter.  

We were thankful it was a nice day or the patching would have likely been futile.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

After half hour or so we were ready to get back to it.   While the gradient had eased, that was relative, this next mile dropped about 250' (about what you have through Gettin' Busy on the Little White Salmon).  

Despite the steep gradient, the river was manageable, and still nearly all read and run.

 It was remarkable how wherever the water was going, there was a way through.  It was an intuitive creek to read and run, though in a few places we did venture away from the main channel.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

After another half mile to a mile, Ben's new patch had been scraped off by the constant boulder contact due to the low water level.  We now had just an hour and a half of daylight, and 2 miles before we reached the confluence with the NF of Rough and Ready, then another few miles on the mainstem.   Daylight concerns were beginning to enter the conversation.

 We ate another snack and pondered the forest of Port Orford Cedar while Ben worked on getting his boat patched up.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

The whitewater continued

Photo: Priscilla Macy

Ben's patch failed again awhile later, and while he thought about hiking out, decided instead to make a mad dash for the take out.  The nature of the creek was conducive to this, as at the flow we had if you just aimed for the deepest channel, that was typically the line so scouting hadn't been something we had needed to do since those ledges from the first mile.  After helping Priscilla unpin her IK, Ben took off on his own while I helped Priscilla re-attach a thigh strap that had come off in the pin.  

An IK has it's advantages on low water creeks, but something about the character of the run was making this a common occurrence.

The gradient had now eased off to the magic 200 fpm threshold and our downstream progress increased as we caught fewer eddies.  Bedrock rapids appeared every now and then, creating fun chutes and ledges.

Barrett, Priscilla and I did end up portaging one boulder pile that we later found out Ben had bombed through successfully.  Otherwise, it was more of the same, fun read and run, imagining how fantastic the run would be with more water.

Near the end of the run the creek started going around islands and was less awesome, but still had it's moments.

Finally we reached the confluence with the North Fork, with 45 minutes or so of daylight left.  After a quick surf we headed downstream, at more of a relaxed pace.  The assessment of the water level relative to the river bed had been promoted from "floatable" on the south fork to "low" after the confluence, we relaxed a bit knowing we would be making better time from here out.



Eventually we caught up to Ben, who was on shore draining his boat.  He had gotten a new crack that was about a foot long and would take more time to fix than we had left of daylight.  He would just paddle as far as he could as his boat took on water, then drain.  We were checking the watch and he was making it about 10 minutes between drains, his boat was filling up fast enough that it was bulging his spray skirt up.  

"What a beautiful, floating boat Barrett has.  Maybe he'd trade if I asked nice?" 

                                                      - Possibly what Ben was thinking

Photo: Priscilla Macy

Fortunately the mainstem of Rough and Ready was III-III+ at this flow so he was able to make his way through.  Without the ability to boof he was having to channel his squirt boating skills.

 I initially wondered if he might enjoy the challenge, but his expressions indicated otherwise.

As the light was fading we reached the low-head dam, indicating we were most of the way through the main stem.  One last boat drain here before boofing the left side of the dam (deemed reasonable due to the low flow) before making the final push for the take out.

With more water, this hydraulic has proven fatal.  Use good judgement here, it's an easy portage.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

 The creek was interesting in this lower section, in that it was on a wide flood plain and went between islands, the downstream view looked "off".  I don't really know how to explain it, but it was neat and if you paddle the stream I'm sure you'll understand.

It did get dark about 10 minutes before the take out, but the paddling was easy enough and without clouds there was enough ambient light to get where we needed to go. 

All but done, as the lights from vehicles crossing the take out bridge became visible.

We took out feeling like we had a nice adventure, and I saw why the Knapps would like it so much.  The South Fork is 3-4 miles of non-stop whitewater, everything goes where you think it would, and it's mostly read and run.  I don't think there is another creek I have done of that nature and quality. 

 On my list of creeks to return to, this one sits at the top (with the correct flows next time of course).

Flows:  Too low, I believe Jan 27 or 29th would have been good flows for SF Rough and Ready.  We had just under the "1" mark on the bridge.

Illinois River near Kerby

Take out bridge on the morning of our trip.

Driving over Whiskey Creek during the shuttle, flows were similar in this creek to SF Rough and Ready.

Access:  Know the snow situation before you head to the Rough and Ready headwaters, unless you are hiking all the way up from the bottom, you will be driving to 3,000'-4,000'.


The take out is where highway 199 crosses Rough and Ready Creek 5 miles south of Cave Junction (42.092838, -123.683421).  This is also where the painted gage is.

To get to the put in, head further south on 199 to O'Brien and turn right onto Lone Mountain Rd.  If you are not looking at a map, stay on that road for 13 1/2 miles until you hit a gate.  If you are looking at a map, this road changes names and is called 5505/Lone Mountain/4402/Wimer, then at the very end just before the gate stay right on the better road onto 112.

Beyond the gate (42.013778, -123.836150), you will spend some time hiking on a road, then descend to the creek cross-country.  You'll want to make your own plan for how to do that.  Here is the route we took.

Click on the map to increase resolution.

Briggs Creek

Stream: Briggs Creek is a tributary to the Illinois River that enters on river right about 2 miles downstream of the standard Miami Bar put in for the Wild and Scenic Illinois trip.  It is accessible by road without a hike and can be done either as a day trip or tacked on to the beginning of a Wild and Scenic Illinois trip.  

Brandon lake, Ben Mckenzie, Emile Elliott and I ran Briggs Creek at the start of a 2017 "Cinco de Illy" trip, meeting up with 20 other boaters at Pine Flat on the Illinois River.  

The beta we had going in was that there was a rumor that while Ben Stookesberry had been going to school in Ashland he had run this creek.  He put on with high water and when he got to the final rapid, had found it too sticky to safely run.  He chose to camp out above it, waiting for the levels to drop overnight.   A good group of boaters had also gone in a few years ago and hiked out at the first rapid when it was determined the levels were too high (about 5k on the Illinois gauge).   I had also gathered from maps and satellite imagery that the run was steep and bouldery (250 fpm in the crux section), but looked like it had minimal wood issues.  One of the boaters who had attempted the run a couple years ago (Jospeh Hatcher, who had given us the only beta we had on the run) was planning to paddle the run with us and take out at the campground, but the morning of it looked like flows were going to be low.  He understandably decided not to take work off with a likely possibility of getting skunked.  The rest of us were doing the Illinois anyway, so figured Briggs would be worth a look for us.    

With the talk about the sticky final rapid, big holes at higher water and stacked bouldery rapids, we were happy to see low flows at the campground, but were they too low?

We decided to drive to the put in and if we could float our boats, put on.  Driving the few miles up to Brushy Bar, we were unhappy to see a plethora of poison oak in full bloom that lining the road.

We appreciated the beauty of the urushiol-free oak varieties though!

                                                  Classic Kalmiopsis water color at the put in.

Ben taking advantage of the facilities.

Priscilla saw us off and headed back up to the Swinging bridge to gear up her raft for the Cinco De Illy float.  We were planning on joining forces again either at the confluence with the Illinois, or more likely Pine Flat where the group was planning to camp.

There was about a mile of class II to warm up on with a log duck before the rapids began in earnest.
The first big rapid (one of two class Vs at our flows), was unique and was just around the corner from the onset of the whitewater.  The crux move was an 8' ledge with a kicker at the bottom.  Based on how you interacted with the kicker dictated how you went over the second, smaller ledge.  We had a variety of bounces off the kicker, with everyone coming through the bottom ledge upright, and most everyone facing forward :)

Ben went first, right on the money in "Cavity Search"

For the next mile or two, there were a bunch of nice boulder gardens with plenty of variety.  At our low flows, there were short pools between all the rapids, I don't see that being the case at medium flows.  Because of the low water there was also some mank, but the fun and clean lines outweighed the rock bumps.

Here is a photo of the same rapid by Tyler Pohle, a few months later (Nov 17, 2017) at medium flows of 3,000 cfs in the Illinois.  They reported that this way an ideal class V flow.

Some of the rapids we shore scouted, most of them Emile boat scouted.  I bumped into a patch of poison oak on one of the first scouts, but we were able to avoid it the rest of the trip.  At higher flows, boat scouting would be more challenging as the rapids padded out.

We had a good time through this section of whitewater which made up the bulk of the run, all the rapids had their own flavor and came at a pretty relentless pace with enough recovery time below each to not feel stressed.  Most of the rapids were entirely comprised of boulders, but every now and then some bedrock played a role.

Near the end of the run we came across a landslide we had been keeping an eye out for, from the satellite imagery the rapid created by the slide looked like it would be a portage and signal the entrance to The Brig, the gorged in section where portaging stops becoming practical and from which one needs to run the sticky rapid we had been warned of to escape.  We scouted the rapid from the right and found that while it would be hard to style, it actually looked plenty good to go and pretty fun.  It just involved lining it up correctly, then setting your angle and holding on!

Even when you are pretty sure a rapid is good to go, you are never really sure until someone tries it out.                   Ben probes.

Brandon, most of the way through the whiteout.

Just downstream from where Brandon is in the above photo is another tier that delivers paddlers into The Brig itself, the walled in section that ends with the ledge Stookesberry was held prisoner above while he waited for flows to drop.

Emile and Brandon drop in.

 There are just a couple small rapids in The Brig before the exit rapid, which ended up being a 5-10 foot ledge.  As it turns out the final tier is not only unportageable, it is tough to scout.   The drop definitely appeared sticky from above, and the line was not obvious looking downstream.  The water split around a rock in the center; right seemed ominous, left looked like it might go, and boofing center like it might go.  Because of our low flow, Emile was able to tether into his cow tail and crawl along wall through the shallow water pretty close to the lip while we held the other end of a rope.  He came back with good news; he could see the left line and it looked fine.  The recycle was also not as bad as it had looked from above.  He agreed to go first.

Emile seeks freedom from The Brig.

He was planning to bank off the wall, but instead took a left stroke and that worked fine. 
  Brig - A place on a board ship used for temporary confinement, like a jail cell.  

 From below, he was able to see the rest of the drop and signaled Brandon and I off the right edge of the center rock (Ben had already followed him down the left side).

After seeing the rapid, we could all tell how this drop would get hellishly sticky at high flows.  The walls below it kind of bow in, backing up the flow and creating a bowl.  We felt that at medium flows boofing off the center would be something all of us would be comfortable with.  We did not see a way to set safety from shore, or portage.  It looked though like a skilled rock climber could maybe sketch his way out from above the drop without his boat, maybe.

Floating away from The Brig, the walls open up immediately, a true boof to freedom moment.  A few minutes of class II-III lead down to the take out bridge at the campground.

If you are doing this as a day trip, you are done.  If you are continuing through the Illinois you have one last obstacle.  Where Briggs meets the Illinois it sifts through a gravel bar, where some of the water disappears into the rocks.  Then, right where the waters merge a stand of brush has grown thick.  Ben read and ran the obstacle and we all followed.

Next time I might just portage into the Illinois :)

We waited at the confluence for the rest of our group for a couple hours.

Around 3PM we started to wonder if maybe they had actually gotten to the confluence before us, so decided to head downstream.  We arrived at Pine Flat and spent the next hour collecting firewood, reminiscing and avoiding the creepy-crawlies.

When the group did show up, the rafts were unloaded and Cinco De Illy went into full swing.

Flows:  To estimate if Briggs might be running, the Illinois gauge is used.  If the Illinois River Near Kerby, OR - 14377100 gauge is between 2,000-3,000 cfs Briggs Creek will probably be running at a reasonable first-time/medium flow.  Add or subtract 500 cfs from that for outlier flows.

Since that is just a correlation gauge, and flows matter on Briggs Creek I'll also describe the visual gauge that locals use located below the footbridge at Briggs Creek Campground (42.37809292765215, -123.80436982944379).  Just below the footbridge are two rocks that are used to make the call on running Briggs Creek.  These rocks are circled in the photo below.  This run hasn't been run all that often, so take this gauge with a grain of salt.  For medium flows there should be a small amount of water going over the "triangle rock", but if you could boat over the triangle rock without making contact with the rock itself, it is considered too high to run safely by locals due to the committing nature of "The Brig".

Photo taken at minimal runnable levels, that correlate to about 1,500 cfs on the Illinois @ Kerby gauge.  Most of the photos on this page were taken at this level.

May 5, 2017

Photo taken at an ideal first-time flow, on Dec 30, 2023 with the Illinois gauge climbing from 2,000-2,400 cfs.

A photo of the gauge from a trip Mike Goglin and Tyler Pohle did March 25, 2018 with the Illinois gauge dropping from 3400 to 3000 cfs, at a flow they dubbed "High side of good".  They felt this was the highest this run should be done, as with more water the entrance rapid to The Brig would become unscoutable/unportageable in addition to the exit.

Looking upstream the day the photos on this page were taken - May 5, 2017

Minimal enjoyable flow

 Medium flows

Access:  Briggs Creek enters the Illinois River on river right shortly below the put in for the Wild and Scenic section.  The same road that is used for the Illinois put in is used for Briggs, just instead of stopping at Miami Bar, you travel another 2 miles to Briggs Creek Campground.

The take out is at Briggs Creek Campground, the put in is at Brushy Bar.

All roads shown on the map below were drivable by a high clearance vehicle without 4WD under dry conditions in 2017.  Personally, I would not take a Subaru past Oak Flat.

A final couple of notes if you are doing Briggs Creek in conjunction with the Wild and Scenic section of the Illinois via self-support.

• If you are hiring someone to run your shuttle, it might be tricky to start on Briggs.  You may need to get creative in order to leave your vehicle somewhere a shuttle company would be willing to pick it up.  

• Stash your overnight gear near the campground so you don't have a loaded boat on Briggs.

• If you get to Briggs Creek Campground and flows are not good, don't fret!  You can just put in right there at the foot bridge and you won't miss anything on the Illinois.  Or backtrack 2 miles to Miami Bar

• If the rowdy section of road between Oak Flat and the take out concerns you, 4105 is a better gravel road that serves as alternate access.  This route takes you past the put in first.  4105 is accessed by veering right off the normal Illinois Put in road 1 mile upstream of Six Mile campground and day use area (9 miles upstream of Miami Bar).  This road goes up to 2700'.
  

           -jacob