Single vehicle shuttle options

Through college I used a motorized scooter to run shuttle if we only wanted to take one vehicle or if I was paddling alone.  It was pretty neat, but it has been having irreconcilable issues as of late and left us stranded more than once.

Photo: Cade Waud

We decided to upgrade to a motorized bicycle we bought off Craigslist.  That way if there are mechanical issues it will still be possible to peddle the shuttle.

Our newest shuttle vehicle.

In 2021 we sold the motorized bike, and bought a small electric bike from Costco (lifetime warranty) during a time when they were selling it for half off the normal price.  With an ebike we don't have to worry about gas going bad (sometimes the gas sat in the tank of our motorized bike for months between uses), or making a mess.  The ebike also fits inside the car, so we don't have to worry about it getting stolen and it's easier to hide in the woods.  This one apparently gets 30 miles to a charge if it's in the lowest gear and on a flat, paved road.  The longest shuttle Iv'e done with it was 16 miles, over half on gravel with small hills.  I was using mostly the medium gear and the charge died 1 mile from the car so I did some pushing and un-assisted peddling.

  -jacob

Closing off the Siletz drainage

                                                                      PLEASE SIGN!

                                                                     PLEASE SIGN!

Word is that August 17, 2017 Weyerhaeuser will be closing off the Siletz River basin to the public. In the past they did this during high fire danger and during the week, this new closure is said to be keeping everyone without a permit out all the time. These permits are hefty, $300-$600 a month in many cases.

Many of my favorite parts of Oregon are in Weyerhaeuser owned portions of the Coast Range, with these fees I never could have afforded to do the exploring that helped shape who I am while I was in school. And even now that I am in the workforce, those fees are still higher than I will be able to justify splurging for. The whitewater is only a small part of why this hurts, the Siletz drainage has world class fishing, hunting, and hiking. It's one of those places I could spend hours driving around and never get bored. In my mind places like this make Oregon "Oregon". There is also historic value in the razed town of Valsetz and some of the largest trees in the coast range (Valley of the Giants) are there.

Here is a list of some of my favorite runs that will lose access in just the Siletz drainage, there are many more across the state that suffer from Weyerhaeuser restriction.

NF Siletz
Warnicke
South Fork Siletz
Little Luckiamute
Valley of The Giants Fork
Main Stem Siletz
Boulder Creek

Scroll down to help the cause

 Weyerhaeuser taking steps to protect their product is reasonable (i.e. closing the areas during high fire danger and during the week when their vehicles are up there), keeping a large portion of the land that makes Oregon "Oregon" out of reach for many Oregonians is not.

SO PLEASE SIGN!

   -jacob

Labor Day; North Santiam; Ruckus on the River

Why we go

After a rough start to the summer, watching Nick have a stellar trip down his hardest run to date reminded me about one of the reasons I kayak.

Nick was leaning towards walking out at Island, a broken paddle during a scout made that an easy choice to take had he been looking for an excuse.  However, he decided finishing the run was something he wanted to do and committed to paddling to the lip of Behemoth, a point from which there is not a reasonable option of turning back.

The risk in kayaking can be hard to justify, most often to those who don't do it, though sometimes even to yourself.  As anyone who has ever stepped up their game in a setting like that at Behemoth knows, you can be one person at the top of a rapid, and a slightly different one at the bottom.  

Here is a video of Nick expanding his horizons by means of descending one.

Upper Upper Cispus August 2016 from IKNick on Vimeo.

*So understated he got left out of the credits, Ben Mckenzie deserves a shout out for his role on this trip and many others.

Also on this trip was a friend of ours who was helicopter lifted out of the area last year when he broke his leg at Island Rapid.  He succeeded in descending the canyon safely this time around with only a single roll.  I have never hurt myself this badly so can only surmise about how tough that was mentally to come back and run the same river that wrecked him.  Good on you, two significant accomplishments with one river trip.  Powerful moments in a special place.


  -jacob

Ohanapecosh Update

June 18-19, 2016

The Ohanapecosh experienced some high water this last Winter, and produced some notable changes on the stretch from Secret Camp to La Wis Wis campground.

Slide above put in:  There is a slide a hundred yards above the put in that had a log jam, that log jam is gone along with a couple river wide logs above that.

Rail Slide:  I had never seen anyone miss the move on this rapid before last weekend, when 5 people blew it.  I guess I attribute this to a couple small, but deceptive hydraulics in the lead in to the ledge.  Think the squirly water above Horseshoe for those familiar with the Little White Salmon.

Photo: Clinton Koontz

First sweeping right turn:  There are a few rapids that you start on the left and then bend right through some medium sized hydraulics.  The first and most pronounced of these has changed significantly.  It's no harder, but notably different.  Driving right after entering left worked best for us.

Shot: Clinton Begley

Non-descript rapid:  A paddler ended up in an innocuous sieve in the bottom right hand side of a nondescript rapid with a left to right move.  It was frightening for all involved and changed the mood of the trip.

 Shot: Clinton Begley

 Shot: Clinton Begley

Fun Boof:  There used to be a small rapid in a straight away with a fun boof at the end, the boof is gone :(


Butcher's Block:  This rapid changed significantly, the portage route on the left now has water flowing through it and a lot of the logs got blown out.  Last weekend all scouting and portaging was done from the right hand side.  Fortunately, the rapid itself is much friendlier and almost everyone ran it multiple times.  It did cause one swim and some flips, but it is no longer the rapid it used to be.

Jesse Shapiro in Butcher's Block

Photo: Clinton Koontz

Triple Drop:  Earlier in the season there was a log on the right side of Triple Drop, it is out of the way now.

Narrow slot on the left:  The boulder garden with the narrow slot on the left has changed in a number of ways.  First is, there is no longer a narrow slot on the bottom left, it is more open and straight forward now.  The sieve on the bottom right appears to have changed, it may even be runnable now.  Also there was a sneaky piece of wood half way down on the left.  It wasn't much of a hazard last weekend but it likely will be at lower flows.  It might be worth scouting your first lap down if flows are below 1200 cfs.

What used to be the narrow slot on the left, is picture here on the right.  No need to tuck the elbows anymore!

Elbow Room:  Lines are the same, but there are some nuanced changed where boulders moved around.  One person ran the bottom right by accident and had a dry head run, but there were about 11 people all holding their breath there for a moment.  The line appeared even thinner over there this year than last.  Left line went ok for everyone who ran it.

Petrified:  Same lines, but with minute changes such as the middle hole is a little less sticky (two people worked their way out of it) and its easier to make the middle to right move (a nubbin at the boof point disappeared).  

Clinton Begley got on the Ohanapecosh for his first time this weekend and like so many others have found out, its a pretty special place.  Here is a video he made, which is where most of the screen shots in this report came from.


/áw-xanapaykaš/ | Ohanapecosh River, Washington | Whitewater Kayaking | My First Descent from clintergalactic on Vimeo.

With all the changes it seems the upper stretch may be worth a look again, but we didn't check it out.

Hawt Fire:  The class VI rapid just above has even more wood in it now, including a giant old growth that wasn't there last year.  If running Hawt Fire definitely don't put in at the bridge!  This was the highest I have run Hawt Fire and the hydraulics were larger, but the ride was still smooth. 

2019 Update:  The log is gone, the pinch is still stout.  A fun exercise is to try to visualize the amount of water and power that was needed to move that log.

Photos: Dan Price & Adam Edwards

Hawt Fire!

Boater Photo Order:  Ben Mckenzie, Adam Edwards, Priscilla Macy, Jacob Cruser

Photo Sequence taken by: Clinton Begley

 

 Final two photos by Priscilla Macy and Jacob Cruser

Ben looked at Silver Falls for a long time but in the end saved it for another day, that is one big chunk of whitewater.

Flows: 1,000-1,500 cfs in the Cowlitz @ Packwood is the friendliest flow.  It is often done between 700-2,000 and higher if you want.  It's runnable, but stout at 4,000.

Directions: The typical take out is at La Wis Wis Campground.  To get there from Packwood continue up Hwy 12 for 7 miles and turn left into the campground.  Turn right at the bottom of the hill.  Make another quick left and leave a vehicle by the large covered structure and take out at the confluence with the Clear Fork Cowlitz. 

To get to the put in return to Hwy 12, and turn left.  Half a mile past La Wis Wis turn left onto Hwy 123.  In 2.3 miles turn left onto a gravel road (If you cross under the National Park Entrance you have gone 100 yards too far).  At the bottom of this rough road go right until you reach an open area.  

   -jacob

PPNWWW Guidebook

There is a new guidebook coming to the Northwest, here is a teaser put together by Substantial Media House to help get the word out about the book.

If you would like to support your local shops, please do.  Next Adventure, Alder Creek and the Kayak Shed will have them here in the Willamette Valley and Columbia River Gorge area.

If you would like to support Amazon, it can be purchased there too.


Paddling Pacific Northwest Whitewater: A Fresh Guide to Northwest Rivers and Creeks from Substantial Media House on Vimeo.

Gladiator Creek: Rock Quarry Access

BETA
4.5 miles   :      Class IV/IV+(V)

Stream: This is the section of Gladiator Creek I run most often.  The hike puts you in about 1 mile below Vesuvius Falls, thus removing that drop from the equation along with ending up with a shorter hike while still getting the vast majority of the class fun whitewater.  There isn't much to say other than it is fun, there are loads of rapids, and everything is scoutable/portage-able.  Once on the creek, the rapids start off pretty quick with some bedrock and don't let up until the bridge marking the beginning of the lower section.  Depending on flows, the rapids are IV-IV+.  The only class V rapid at the flows I have run the creek is The Punisher, on the lower section, which can be portaged.  I always appreciate the amount of variety in the rapids.

Photo: Priscilla Macy 

Flows:  This section is best with the gage reading 2.5-3.0' at the end of the day, but Iv'e still had a good time down to 2' when I took out, and it could be paddled higher but I wouldn't be able to tell you anything about that.

Access:  To get there, hike up to the bridge at the start of the Lower section, staying on the mainline.  There are no turns, but at any major junctions stay right.  Cross the bridge and continue upstream, and uphill for a steep mile.  At the far end of the rock quarry, the road takes a sharp right.  Just as the road turns right, an overgrown road veers to the left of the main graveled road.  Get onto this overgrow road and follow it as far as it will take you, the end is on an obvious nose of land.  Find your way down to the creek from there, following the path of least resistance.  Easier access to the creek and more whitewater await if you veer upstream while descending the nose.

Click on the maps to increase resolution.  If you run the creek, print it out or save to your phone to reference while you are hiking. 

Overview

Zoomed to Rock Quarry

Note:  While the parts of Gladiator upstream from this section leave me with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, the rock quarry section always puts a smile on my face.  If this photo is indicative of that, Priscilla agrees.