SF Tuolumne: Ascension Gorge

BETA

Stream: We ran this stream because we were looking for an adventure on our way south to Granite Creek.   The stream starts out flowing slowly past the put in at Carlon Station.  Class II with some wood to dodge makes up the first mile and a half of easy floating.  At the end of this stretch the river turns left and enters a small class III bedrock rapid.  This leads to a gentle 10' slide, and signals the beginning of the adventure.  The gorge downstream gets stout quick, but everything can be scouted and portaged at the levels we ran the river.  

The first big rapid we portaged right, it was a compelling rapid that I have mixed feelings about not running.  The second big rapid looks like it's going to be a great drop, but lands on boulders and may be the only mandatory portage on the run.  We walked around on the left.

A large pool separates this drop from the beginning of a stout 1/4th of a mile of hard class V bouldery rapids (with some bedrock mixed in) that we portaged with some effort at river level. 

 We started portaging on the left, before moving back right after running this ledge. 

From there we portaged another boulder rapid down to another bedrock ledge.  Below this bedrock ledge was another tenth of a mile of bouldery rapids.  Some we walked, the easier stuff we paddled.  This section ended in a ten foot falls that would have only been accessible from the right bank (we were on the left at that point).  The left side went into a backed up hole so we portaged again, which would have been tricky with more water.   Just around the corner was a beautiful set of class IV bedrock ramps, the last of which was our favorite rapid of the day.

After a short return to boulders, was a large rapid that we scouted right.  I gave it a go, while Priscilla walked on the right.

Downstream the stoutness faded.  There were a couple scouts for wood, but mostly numerous read and run class IV rapids, some bedrock and mostly boulders.  One bear. 

Eventually the stream eases into class II-III, with views of Ascension Mountain off to the right.  Near the end the stream makes a left bend, sending the Mountain into the rear-view mirror and a final flat stretch with some wood marks the home stretch to the Hwy 120 take out bridge.  We walked past the log-pile visible from the take out bridge along the left bank right up to the road. 




There is good camping further down along the South Fork, so after biking shuttle we set up shop and got ready to head further south the next day.

  
Flows:  We paddled the SF Tuolumne June 25, 2019

DREAMFLOWS GAUGE

CDEC GAUGE

Access:  About 14 miles East of Groveland on Hwy 120, you will cross over the SF Tuolumne at Rainbow Falls.  This is the take out for a different section of the SF Tuolumne described here.  To get to the take out for this upper run, continue East on Hwy 120 to a bridge 6.2 miles past Rainbow Falls.  37.820810, -119.918863  The creek is flat and woody here, but is not indicative of what you will find upstream.


From this upper bridge, continue yet further on Hwy 120, for 3.1 more miles before turning left onto Evergreen Rd towards Carlon Falls.  1 mile down this road is a bridge over the SF Tuolumne, we parked at the day use area on the downstream river-left side of the bridge.   37.814590, -119.862915

Click on the map to increase resolution.

Williamson River: Kirk, OR

 

BETA

Stream: The Williamson River exits the Klamath Marsh within view of the put in bridge with a tannin color that is unique for Oregon. 

Photo: Priscilla Macy

 The first hundred yards are bouncy class III+ before braiding around an island (right channel was clear in 2017).  The water pools in the braided channel, slowly gliding over what is marsh for most of the year(s).  While the beer colored water is too dark to see more than an inch or two into, dipping a paddle you can often feel the grass hiding just out of sight, and in places the tips of grass blades are visible dancing beneath the surface.  

Photo: Priscilla Macy

About the time you might start to wonder if you could have mistakenly put in on the wrong stream, boulders start poking up through the grass and along the banks. 

Pleasant floating

Photo: Priscilla Macy

After a couple riffles the whitewater begins at a class III-IV rapid that bends to the left.  For the next two miles the river incises into a formation of Basaltic Andesite from the Winema Volcanic Field.  The first horizon line is at a set of ledges the locals call Root Beer Falls.  We always found landing zones deep enough to boof into on the run, but there are many shallow spots in the landings too so scout thoroughly.  


                                                           The larger tier of Root Beer Falls.

There are rocks at surface level and just below in some spots, not only on this drop but throughout the run.  The line shown below worked well for this ledge.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

More fun rapids exist below Root Beer Falls. All the rapids are easy to scout (and I'd recommend taking a look at them all your first time down) from shore and there are large pools above and below many of the rapids that collect foam, bubbles and any potential free-floating gear.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

When you make it to the fun ramp pictured below you have reached the beginning of The Brewery, a set of four horizon lines separated by pools providing a whitewater finale for the run. These drops are more involved than anything else on the run.  Most paddlers doing the run will be interested in one or two, possibly even a third.  However if you are knocking down all 4 in a day you are probably a heavy hitter. 

 The fun ramp marking the entrance to The Brewery.
It's easy to walk up for laps on this one, and it has the most favorable fun:stress ratio of any drop on the run
 

Photo: Priscilla Macy

The rest of The Brewery is a step up from what has been seen earlier on in the trip.  Long pools separate these hazardous, complex rapids.  Be sure to scout thoroughly and make good decisions.  Scouting is still easy on these rapids, portaging a little more challenging but always an available option.  Three of the four I can confirm have been run, a 20' falls with a questionable pool depth is the exception.

Cheers to all the probes out there

*A few feet to the left of Emile off the horizon line ended up being the preferred route*

A few easy read and run sliding rapids below The Brewery deliver you to a beautiful high desert landscape with moving flat water and excellent camping potential.  This area is established in the climbing community.  Crack a root beer and celebrate your journey through the Williamson Gorge, once you pass the last riverside cliff you are either...

A) Done.  If you figured out access via the arterial roads its just a short walk up to where vehicles can be left.

B) Almost Done.  If you chose the less complicated shuttle route, there is about 1 mile of flatwater between the last cliff wall and Williamson Campground. 

  

Photo: Priscilla Macy

Flows:  This section of river only flows in healthy snow years when the Klamath Marsh Fills up.  When that happens it can run for a week to a month.  We found 400 cfs in the Williamson above Klamath Agency to be a nice flow, with plenty of room to go higher.  A group ran it later in the week at 360 cfs and found the flows similar and enjoyable. 
Access:  If you like logistics to be straight forward, take out in the day use area at Williamson Campground (42.6591, -121.8535) and put in where Kirk Rd crosses the Williamson River at the outlet to the Klamath Marsh (42.7407, -121.8341).  Most of the shuttle is done along Hwy 97.

If you are handy with a map and navigating unmarked roads, there are ways to cut out most of the flat water at the beginning and ending of the trip using arterial dirt roads on both sides of the river.

Click to enlarge, feel free to download

 

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Trip Report
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The Williamson has an intriguing description in the back of Soggy Sneakers, mentioning a run filled with unrunnable waterfalls and technical portages.  The description was from the 90s so I had some hope maybe those waterfalls would no longer be considered unrunnable.  Add to the obscurity of the river the issue that it rarely has enough water to paddle and I have reached over a decade of boating in Oregon and never checked it out.

Ben's birthday was coming up this Spring and he said he wanted to do a suffer-fest.  I liked the idea and tried thinking up a few ideas.  Last year we had done Box Canyon Creek (into the Chetco), so I didn't want to let him down this year with a run-of-the mill slog.

We considered going back into Gladiator Creek, but as the weekend approached the level was looking like it would be on the low side for that one.

I scrolled through the gauges on Pat Welches site and took note that the Williamson had water.  I mentioned it to the group and kept looking for other options.  However, the more I thought about it the more the Williamson seemed like a great option.  Of the last 10 years, the Williamson had only seen runnable flows during 4 of them and it was currently holding at what I thought would be a perfect first time flow of 400 cfs.  That was enough for Priscilla to be excited, a conference with Ben and rumors of this being a run Ben Stookesberry had once done before sold him, and Emile was down for whatever Ben wanted to do since it was his birthday... so all of a sudden it looked like we were headed to the Williamson.

We were in Eugene a bit past 7 but didn't leave until about 8am.  We arrived at the take out by 10:30 with a couple stops along the way including a couple level check.  Levels looked perfect so we stashed the shuttle bike and headed up to the Klamath Marsh.

With the favorable start time and a sunset near 8PM we were in no hurry, making sure Ben got a birthday rock as is tradition.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

We were pretty excited about the tannin color of the water spilling out of the marsh at the put in, something I had never seen in Oregon before.  We slid into the water at the ultra-convenient put in and bounced down a hundred yards of III+ before the stream settled down at an island (we went right) and eased into moving flatwater.

Splashy water below the put in bridge, the gauge is located 20 yards downstream of that corner.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

This section was intriguing as it is usually grassland, so in a kayak you are floating in shallow water over beds of grass that are just below the surface and occasionally visible through the dark water.

Easy floating early on

Photo: Priscilla Macy

About the time we started to tire of the flat water boulders started appearing along the banks, eventually transitioning to bedrock banks and cliff walls.  After a couple class II rapids we stopped at a place Ben wanted to try and do some bouldering.  There were a lot of options, at the best one we ended up scaring a Goose out of a nest.  We felt bad, so after taking a couple photos headed downstream sheepishly.  Hoping we didn't scare the bird from returning to her eggs.

 

Photo: Ben Mckenzie

Not far downstream the rapids began, we were unsure what to expect and had our expectations set low.  After paddling a fun class III-IV rapid and another small ledge we figured we had probably got our fun in for the day and got ready for some portaging.  Just downstream was the first horizon line, which turned out to be what the locals call Root Beer Falls.  We felt like we had lucked out when we found a runnable line off the first 5 foot tier center-right, then were sure we had used up all our luck when we were also able to paddle the second, slightly larger tier of the falls. 

 Second tier of Root beer Falls.

Photo: Priscilla Macy

More whitewater continued downstream.  After a handful of fun rapids we found ourselves splashing around in foam wondering aloud whether this might not turn out to be such a bad run after all.

 Jacob Cruser

Ben Mckenzie                                                                 Emile Elliott 

Priscilla Macy

  At the other end of this foam pool we ate lunch while Ben tried some more bouldering. 

Photo: Priscilla Macy

Not long after finishing lunch we came to what turned out to be our favorite rapid, a fast ramp between two rooster tales at the entrance to The Brewery.  It was fun enough that we did a few laps, Emile and Ben even gave it a go backwards.

Priscilla, back for another round.

The next few horizon lines were the toughest of the run, of the 4 drops making up The Brewery; Priscilla, Emile and I ran 2 of them, Ben ran 3.  There was a 20' waterfall with a questionable pool depth that we all passed on.

Ben, birthday boofing

Below here were a couple read and run class III slides before we found ourselves gliding through a gorgeous high desert scene that would be a pretty incredible place to camp.  Before long the current disappeared and we had about half an hour of flat water paddling before reaching a bridge with a small rapid underneath.  Another 5-10 minutes and we reached the Williamson Campground, pretty excited about the quality of this adventure!

I motor-biked the shuttle while the gang fished for mussels.  A scenic stop at the Spring River and some neckin' occurred before a quick dinner at the Chalet in Chemult (more enjoyable than the reviews would indicate).

 

We had 400 cfs, which is a good flow and I would absolutely go back at that level.  I'd also love to see it with more water.  If I saw it was flowing around 500-600 cfs it would probably be one of those drop all other plans and head to the Williamson deals because of how rarely it sees that kind of water.

We ran the Williamson on April 15, 2017

The Williamson Gauge was showing a steady flow of about 400 cfs that day.

North Umpqua: The Gorge Electric

photo: Priscilla Macy

This run starts out in the pool below Toketee Falls.  Either walk the short trail to the viewing platform and lower boats down the steep hillside, or drop over the falls (a V+ endeavor that I am not going to describe here).  The pool at the base of Toketee is a beautiful start to the run, consider taking a moment to paddle around in it and enjoy where you are, being in a kayak it is easy to paddle to river left and walk around over there for a unique view of the falls.

photo: Priscilla Macy

The rapids begin immediately out of the pool below Toketee, starting out then maintaining a nice class IV grade.  The first horizon line after some read and run is reminiscent of Sidewinder on the White Salmon River.  Look at the landing and the walls closely, or sneak the left side channel.

Ben Mckenzie does it right.

Each notable drop seems to be slightly more challenging than the last until a final rapid that channelizes the river against the right wall feels more like IV+ than IV.  

A fun one in the middle of the run

Though a clean, intuitive line is always present, if it's your first time down it is worth scouting the rapids to find the hazards.

photos: Priscilla Macy

Downstream of the IV+ rapid a short way is a fun bedrock rapid that can produce interesting lines and is easy to carry back up for on the right for additional fun.

 Lucas Rietmann

photo: Priscilla Macy

Brian Butcher

photo: Priscilla Macy

Sam Swanson

photo: Priscilla Macy

Ben Mckenzie

photo: Priscilla Macy

Myself

photo: Lucas Rietmann 

Not far downstream is a bridge, powerhouse, then a short pool.  If the powerhouse is releasing a lot of water, the next obstacle needs to be portaged along an easy path on the left.  If levels are low, it is sometimes possible to run that drop.  Make a good decision here.

Below here you enter the Electric Avenue, and if levels are up the rest of the run is fast and splashy down to the take out bridge at Slide Creek, if it is low the scenery helps pass the time until Fish Creek enters and adds some padding.  It's a special place.  On our second trip down, there was a lot of water in the system and an aqueduct was backed up and overflowing just above the take out.  It made for a captivating scene.

   -   If Toketee (at the put in) is at a good flow, the gorge below is too.  However the gorge could feasibly be run higher.  We had ~375 cfs on our first trip, and 450 on our second trip.  Both were good flows and I'd go back higher (or a little lower).  This section is heavily dam controlled and rarely runs at a good flow, so when its in it is worth heading down there.

 Toketee Gauge

February 11, 2017 was a good flow

Video from our first trip down.

CCC and the Gorge Electric from Jacob Cruser on Vimeo.




There are a number of take out options, the most straight forward is at the NF -4775 bridge near Slide Creek: 43.2961, -122.4782  It is possible to continue to the highway and get one more large rapid, but to avoid dealing I recommend taking out at Slide creek.

Click to enlarge

       -jacob

Upper Upper Cispus

Photo: Matt King

BETA

Stream: This is a classic PNW stream that runs during the summer.  It is mostly IV-IV+ with one mandatory class V section (Behemoth), and one optional class V rapid (island).

Starting at a campground, there is a couple hundred yards of warm up before the river bends right and over the first falls, which is off-vertical and about 10-15' tall.  If you intend on scouting, get to the left shore before the bend to scout.



                                                      Ben Mckenzie - Warm up Falls

Photo: Priscilla Macy

The next mile or so is on the hard end of class IV with the occasional mank pile or wood to watch out for.  It often looks trashy from above and below, but the lines are fun and padded if you are in the right spot.  It can be nice to follow someone who knows the situation down the first time, but can be boat scouted too.  There is one rapid near the end of this first gorge section that should be scouted.  A hard right turn leads into it quickly, with eddies on the left above the rapid. The right and middle of the river is sieved out, and at least one person has had a frightening tangle with one of the sieve's.  Ending left over a nice 4-5' boof is how the rapid is run, getting to that boof changes year to year and person to person, scout left.

John Edwards, hitting the bottom left boof.

Photo: Nate Merrill

Below here is a blind rapid that is boofed far left, where less of the water is going.  It drops about 5', a left stroke with your nose at about 10-11 o' clock works well to avoid pitons.

Close downstream is Not Island, the easier line used to be right the whole way, in 2018 it was easiest just to go far left through what used to be a powerful hole.  It's worth a scout on the left your first lap down.

Not far downstream the river opens up for a moment into a couple gravel bars and an island.  It is an option to bail on the right here if someone is not having a good day.

There is even a neat little tube through the rock to check out.

Around the corner things gorge back up and rapids build to Island.  

Mcbenzie after walking back up for lap two.

Island has a moving pool above it and a horizon line, its worth paying attention here so you eddy out in the correct spot (on the left bank of the island at normal flows).  The right side double drop is tougher even than it looks to get a good boof.  The portage is along a shallow shelf river-left.


Approaches to Island Drop from Eric Foster-Moore on Vimeo.


Downstream are more fun rapids, one that stands out is a ramp with short but vertical walls on either side.  The hydraulic at the bottom folds into the right wall, so people flip here often.  What I find works is moving center to left, nose at 10 o' clock and following through with a strong right stroke. 

The log is gone.

 Photo: Nate Merrill

A few more rapids exist before the entrance to Behemoth, noted by a short pool created by a landslide coming in from the right.  There is a lead in rapid, then an eddy on the right to scout the Rapid of No Return, which leads to a moving hallway above Behemoth.  If it's your first time, scouting from the landslide is not a bad idea.

The Rapid of No Return is a little tricky, but can be thoroughly scouted and even portaged on the right.  Below the entrance, catch an eddy on the left before the big horizon line that is Behemoth to scout.

The scout/portage route at the entrance to Behemoth.

 

 Photo: Nate Merrill

And the crux move in the Rapid of No Return.

There is more than one way to run Behemoth, and more than one hazard.  The biggest hazard is being pulled behind the falls on the left.  To avoid this, make sure you nose is not pointed left when you get airborn.  After landing, there is a ledge with a powerful hole on the right.  A strong delayed stroke about 10-15' off the right wall works.  Or if you finessed Behemoth you can run the ledge left where there is not a hole to speak of.

On line through the meat of the hole below Behemoth.

 Photo: Nate Merrill

Downstream are two long boulder gardens.  Enter the first one center, then stay right or right-ish the rest of the way until the boulder gardens ease to class II-III. 

 

Mathias drops in for his first time on this quintessential 1/4 mile of classic PNW boating.

 It is easy floating from below the last boulder garden to the take out bridge, one of the side canyons is worth walking up to see a neat falls.



  
 A couple videos 


Upper Upper Cispus August 2016 from IKNick on Vimeo.



Upper Upper Cispus from Lucas Rietmann on Vimeo.






Flows:  500-700 is best for a first time trip.  It's still in down to 400, and has been run even lower.  It can be run higher for a more class V experience.


Matt has a write up about what you can expect from the Upper Upper Cispus when the water is up.
And here is a video from Todd Wells at even higher flows.

Access:  From I-5, head East on Hwy 12 towards Morton and Randle.  Almost an hour after leaving I-5, turn right in Randle onto Hwy 131.  In 1 mile, turn left onto Cispus river road (Iv'e lazily missed that turn before). 17.6 miles later stay right, you will reach the take out bridge within half a mile.

To get to the put in, return the half mile back the way you came in and turn right onto NF-21.  Continue upstream about 5 miles to the put in bridge.



Notes:  For those with the skill, this is an exceptional run for class V R2's.  

There is free camping at the take out, and a pay site at the put in.  The free ones are smaller and sometimes filled, so it can be worth the money to get a site at the top with toilets and benches and more vacancy.

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Trip Report from Nate Merrill
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For whatever reason, the Upper Upper Cispus has eluded me for the past two years. I've actually been at the put-in sitting in my boat, and never actually descended the river. I've always felt that the run has a very polarizing effect on those who paddle it. Some folks claim that it's right there at the top of their list, while others associate the run with low water mank. And then there are the select few who have found themselves at the lip of behemoth at higher flows, who won't even make a return trip to the area. It seems that almost everyone has a strong opinion about the UUC in one light or another.

A few weeks ago, I finally got the opportunity to create my own opinion about the most polarizing run around. I shot the following photos over a two week span in mid-late august. In subsequent weekends, we had flows around 680 cfs and 550 cfs. I'd definitely recommend the higher of the two levels. In addition to cutting down on some of the mank in the upper boulder gardens, the higher flow also washed out the troublesome hole in the gorge above Behemoth. making that section far less stressful.

I'll start with the photos from the second weekend that I spent up on the upper upper.

Cruise Control scouting the 'Warm Up' Falls - This drop is a mere 150 yards from the put-in bridge. Be careful when approaching the lip, it would be easy to get swept down the gut if you get lost on the lead-in.

Looking down into the unknown

The warm up above the warm up.

Melting Pot

John finishes off one of the countless boulder gardens in the first gorge. This one required a strong move to the left and allowed for a really sweet fading boof off a big rock in the center of the river. The right side led into a nasty boulder sieve. 

Dan Rubado - The right side of Island is a tricky line. Boof early!

The bottom hole at Island - Brandon's got safety

Jacob - Island Paradise

JD - The top of Island tends to roll people onto their left edge. Be prepared and drive hard onto the boil coming of the right wall at the lip.

Scouting the gorge above Behemoth - This is about the point where everyone starts to get really concentrated and quite. The stress factor amplifies a bit as everyone begins to contemplate the massive horizon line at the bottom of the gorge.

Send out a probe

That's me, clawing my way out of the big hole directly above Behemoth. - It's best to hit this hole on the left with lots of speed!

JD in the Gorge

View from the top

View from below

After firing off Behemoth, I snapped this shot of the lower gorge. This section is one of my favorites in the entire PNW. Go right, then right again, followed by a move on the right before heading to the right... You get the idea.

The bark is worse than the bite. Although this hole looks terrifying, as long as you're in control and paddling hard, you'll make it through just fine. JD demonstrates.

Behemoth is a fun drop, but it is consequential! There is a nasty pocket on river left that several friends of mine have wound up in. Both folks required vertical extractions up the wall.

The following photos were taken on the first weekend spent on the UUC when flows were slightly higher. I apologize for the low photo quality. I was having a bad camera day.

Alex Kilyk on a cold summer day. Temps were in the 60's and water coming down was silty run off.

Dan and Chris Menges scouting Island

Alex fires off the left line at Island

This pinch drop should be approached with caution. As you can see, there is a log in the run out that is pretty nasty on river right.

Shortly before the river drops off the face. Issac, Dan, and Chris.

Contemplating life in the eddy above the big one.

First in flight

Issac gets his river karma back in balance.

And I'll leave you with this beauty! Issac Priestly likes his beer with a little extra sediment.