Exploratory close to home

   as told by Jeff Compton

      Upper Siouxon creek is a tributary to the north fork of the Lewis river about  an hour from Portland Oregon. Despite commonly having enough water to paddle, great class IV whitewater, beautiful old growth forest and being close to paddling epicenters, this delightful creek has only seen a handful of descents in the decade since the first descent.

     Scott Michael and myself set our sites on it based on the oregonkayaking.net description from the first descent at very low water. They gave an estimate for what a better flow might be and described miles of bedrock drops.  Supposedly there is a 2.5 mile hike from the top accessed by difficult to find and possibly 4wd logging roads or you can hike the whole thing from the bottom. It was rumored to be five miles. The only other info we could find was that a group had tried to hike up from the bottom and tired before they got to the good stuff.

   We decided to hike from the bottom. The take out is easy to find and it is a nice trail. Unfortunately we discovered, via the signs along the trail, that the hike is closer to seven miles, possibly more. It did allow us to check out some of the larger drops and where to portage them before putting on. We put in at the confluence of Siouxon and Calamity creeks. They were each too small to float on their own, but formed a creek just perfect for an IK. What we found were quite a few nice class IV bedrock drops, a twenty foot waterfall, two larger cascades that we portaged, and enough wood to keep us on our toes. We both swam at the bottom of the twenty footer at the beginning, but it was too good to pass up. Overall the trip was good, especially knowing that the work involved keeps most paddlers from ever running this stretch.



Upper Siouxon creek from Scott Michael on Vimeo.

PNW Winter Synopsis

Eric Adsit made a synopsis in numbers of this year in kayaking around the PNW.  Matt and I get a mention for a trip to Eagle Creek earlier this year.   Check out the other neat accomplishments in his article.

Grand Union Falls - Eagle Creek, OR

Article - http://www.canoekayak.com/pacific-northwest-winter-for-the-ages

Rock Creek Recon: C & K version

Photo: Keel Brightman

Ryan and Keel did a good job recounting our foray into the headwaters of Rock Creek in the Columbia Gorge for Canoe and Kayak magazine.  Apparently some of it is in the physical magazine for the June issue as well.

http://www.canoekayak.com/travel/rock-creek-recon/

Is it all just a cheap thrill, or so-called adrenaline rush?  Does it have a deeper purpose and meaning? It feels deeper to me.  It gives me something to dream about when I'm stuck in the mundane moments of life.  Something to remember that took everything I had in me to accomplish.  A rich sense of camaraderie and friendship that lasts a lifetime.  This time we experienced it on Upper Rock Creek.

   ~Keel Brightman



Blog write up of the trip here.

Little White Salmon River

Photo: Matt King


BETA

Stream: One of, if not the, quintessential class V backyard run in the world.  It can be paddled 365 days a year (about half those days is it flowing at it's prime), and has non-stop action the whole way with easy access and proximity to Hood River and Portland.

Most people's first trip down consists of following a guide down, if levels are below 3' you can figure it out yourself without undue consternation.  People building their skill set often ask how they know they are ready to run the Little White their first time.  The closest I can get to an answer is this:  When your boat does whatever you want it to, whenever you want it to, you are ready.  Another way of putting it is; you will know when you are ready.

The following beta relates to flows between 2.5'-3.5', the most common level for people who are stepping up to the Little White.  It gets run much higher, and the river does increase notably in difficulty. It also gets run down to about 1', but it's a different river at those levels.

The run starts with 1/4 mile of warm up before reaching Gettin' Busy, marked as of the last decade by a log jam that needs to be portaged left.  Gettin' Busy is a half mile long boulder garden.  This rapid is fast paced and many a first timer has exclaimed how surprised they are to be out of breath!  Kayaking is not often this cardiovascular.  The more you run the Little White, the more you learn to use the water instead of fight it.  While things come at you fast, typically the line is where the current is.  

Gettin' Busy ends in exceptional form at Boulder Sluice, one of the best drops on the run.  This 8' boof should be run off the peak of the launch pad at the lip or just to the left of it.  The first couple times I ran it my peripheral sensors were concerned I would hit the rock it the landing, but it's never happened to me.  While some people splat the rock, it is rare for someone in a creek boat to even touch it, let alone land or piton on it.

Boulder Sluice

                                                                                        Photo: Matt King

Downstream is some easier boogie before the river spreads out at Eye of the Needle, and stays that way to Island.  If you are showing yourself down this section is worth scouting, if you are following someone there is no need to have this part memorized.

At the Island, be ready to check out the rapid called Island.  Some years the rapid can be snuck to the right of island, but I have found it easier to portage left than bother with that.  The main line down the middle probably causes more problems for experienced Little White boaters than any other rapid on the run, but the consequences are justified towards pain over hypoxia relative to other rapids on the run.

Downstream the boulders start to give way to ledges, the first few are read and run, eventually leading to Sacriledge.  Sacriledge is to be taken seriously, this story is not the only close call that cave has produced.  Tentative first timers should run far left, nose pointed downstream.  As you get more comfortable, a fun boof option in the middle may be more appealing.

Sacriledge

 Nate Merrill

Photo: Matt King

A short bit of boogie leads to Double Drop, which can be scouted right if you are boating cautiously.  Beware sticky holes in the center of both ledges.  

Just downstream is one of the few inconsequential and named rapids on the Little White, Typewriter.  Drive center to right, a hydraulic breaking right to left at the bottom can take you for a fun ride (it doesn't hold boaters).

Some bouldery rapids continue downstream, leading to another island at Enchanted Forest.  Left of the island is a series of low angle slides (but has wood as of 2017), right is a bouldery rapid that can be read and run.

When the currents converge at the end of Enchanted Forest, get ready to eddy out and scout S-Turn in less than 100 yards.  This 10' waterfall offers a fun boof at the top, but demands much respect.  The second ledge is tricky, and the run out feeds under the downstream wall, there has been a fatality here.  Boaters often choose to run right-right to remove the thread of the cave.  


                Anna Herring taking the right-right line, this photo is taken from the roof of the cave.

Photo: Matt King

More read and run continue, the next named rapid is Backender.  This rapid has two short ledges, back to back.  The second one can flip boaters end over end, but is not sticky.

Some more boogie leads to Bowey's Hotel, where a busy lead in ends in a riverwide ledge.  The left side is sticky, the right side is easy.  If you are not following someone, and flows are low you can scout this one from the left.  You know you are there when there is yet another island, with a log extending into the right channel (circa 2018).

The next rapid downstream is Wishbone, a 20' waterfall.  If levels are 2.5' or above, the easiest line is about 6" off the left bank at the lip. If it is below 2.5' you will have to go center, but at those flows you can scout from the left just below Bowey's.  Or go center at any level if you want to feel the force of the Little White.  The right channel has been run, but it is not common.


                                                Lucas Glick, feeling the power.

Photo: Matt King

There is a big pool below Wishbone, the water exits into The Gorge/AKA The Squeezes.  This is worth a look from the left bank your first time down, if you look close you can see the horizon at Horseshoe downstream, the most common spot to cause trouble for boaters stepping up to the Little White. 

The Gorge can be entered right or left, then there are two holes to punch, center or center-left is where both flush best.  In the squirrelly water downstream, you must set up for Horseshoe.  Horseshoe should be run far right, but don't drive right too early.  If you go over in the right spot (the right side) with a strong right stroke the hydraulic is not hard to clear, if you do anything else, it is hard to clear.  This is a good place to be bold, and paddle aggressively.


Beatdown on the Little White Salmon from Nate Pfeifer on Vimeo.



The next horizon line is Stovepipe, scout and portage left or right (left is less hassle if you portage).  There are two lines at medium flow, right or main.  The main line is clean down to about 2.7' when it starts landing on a shelf/pothole.  The right side offers a great boof at the top, with a run-out.  The right side closes off/dries out around 2.5'.

One short and easy rapid leads to Contemplation Canyon, a short section of flat water during which the upcoming Spirit Falls is often contemplated.  More class III-IV boogie continues until the river bends right and over Spirit Falls around a semi-blind turn.  If levels are around 3' or less I like scouting/portaging left, but as levels rise a log jam downstream of the launch point can get hard to avoid for portagers.

The walk on the right side is starting to experience erosion with the influx of boaters running the Little White, and people hiking into Spirit for photos in recent years.

There have even been a handful of raft descents of Spirit Falls, Iv'e only heard of one where both paddlers stayed in the boat.  

Photo: Paul Thomson

Spirit Falls is a powerful drop and should be taken seriously.  It can hand out scary beat-downs, and has broken more backs than any other waterfall I am aware of.  Then just below is Chaos, a powerful ledge that has also handed out a lot of beat-downs.  Despite the hazards, Spirit Falls is an attention-grabbing, aesthetic drop that is as culturally significant to kayakers as it gets.  If you could plant the feeling of your first time in the pool below Spirit to a non-kayaker, for many boaters it would be as close as it gets to answering the question "why do you kayak?".  This drop fully lives up to it's reputation and deserves all the attention it gets, truly a contender for one of the more special places a kayaker can visit along the beaten path. That said, while many young kayakers run Spirit every lap (and sometimes more), it's also a drop that many "experienced" kayakers portage most of the time.  One of your runs over Spirit is going to be your last one, don't make it the one that compromises your back.    Scout, set safety, make good decisions.  For the easiest way to set safety at Chaos, portage right, the trail returns to the river just below Chaos.

                                          The right side of Chaos used to be considered extremely dangerous and paddlers tried to make a move to the left channel.  A transition of perspective occurred in the 20-teens and nowadays it's nearly 50/50 (and increasing yearly) that people go for the right side line.  Safety can be set by portagers or probers on the right from where this photo is taken.

Right line at Chaos

Photo: Matt King

Downstream are two channels, the left one ends in a log jam that has taken a life.  The right channel is easy.

Some class IV leads to the gauge (on the left in a pool) and Master Blaster.  Master Blaster is typically run left through some hydraulics, the last one can mess with you.  There are some other lines center and right, the rapid can be scouted right.

Master Blaster is the end of the class V, and it's now acceptable to let your guard down a bit.  Everything except the dams is read and run class II-III with some fun eddies to catch.  There are three low head dams, if you go off the top of them pointed straight downstream you may piton, if you are not pointed downstream when you land the hydraulic may hold you.  The higher the level, the stickier the holes at the base.  If you have made it this far, you will have no trouble sorting them out.

Landing off the last dam, you will find yourself in Drano Reservoir and it's really time to celebrate!  It's about 300 yards of flat water down to where the cars are parked.





  
Flows:  There is not an online gauge, but if you are on Facebook you can get a pretty good idea what is going on out there.  It can be run nearly every day of the year, but the majority of first time runs are done in April/May.

There is a gauge of the staff variety.  The friendliest first time flows are 3.0-3.5'.  A half foot in either direction of that is still in, and an additional half a foot past that is getting into the extreme's of what your typical boater will enjoy.  Yet another half foot beyond that in either direction and it's really not the Little White as the general kayaker population understands it anymore, but something else.

The definitive gauge is near the end of the run, just above Master Blaster on the left.  There is also a correlation gauge at the top of the run that is close to correct, enough so that you can at least have an idea of what you are getting into for the day.

The Little White is usually at the good first time flows of 3.0-3.5' in April/May.   By August, it is usually class IV.  The guys pushing the upper limits run it after heavy rains in the Winter and Spring.

Below are some videos from various flows.

At about 1.5'

Low Water Little White from Rogue Specimens on Vimeo.

At about 3'

Little white salmon from Difficult E on Vimeo.

At 5.4'

Access:  Bring some dollar bills for the bridge crossings.

The take out is just outside the gates for the Little White Salmon National Fish Hatchery (45.718726, -121.646259)

To get to the put in return to highway 14 and turn right (west).   0.6 miles later turn right onto Cook-Underwood Rd.  6.6 miles later you will cross over the bridge at the put in (45.779941, -121.628540).

One last video from Taylor Hazen.   It could be said the epicenter for the bro-brah culture in kayaking is Hood River and even more specifically the Little White Salmon River.  The humorous intro to this video nods to that.




Enjoy

Video from Worlds

Emile created this video from his trip down to Reno for the Squirt boat world championship.  Its a good one, take a look!



Worlds from Difficult E on Vimeo.

The Anatomy of a Debacle (on The Middle Kings)

The Middle Kings

The Kings River has always held the highest place in the sacred rivers of my life.  I first got in a kayak when I was just 12 years old on the lower Kings River in the mid 1990’s.  My parents and their boater friends told many stories of what lies upstream, mostly second hand.  The take-out for the Garlic Falls section, where great kayakers sometimes perished, ended at our put-in and we once found a boat while rafting the lower, folded and full of holes, presumably from some mishap upstream.  Then even higher in the drainage, there was mysterious Middle Kings, where only the best of the best dared venture.  The folks I grew up with, who taught me how to roll, eddy out and surf, spoke of the Middle Kings as the pinnacle of stupidity, a near-sure death trap where only those with an immense amount of skill and even bigger balls would ever dare venture.  So of course, I always wanted to go there, and it became my personal holy grail.

Before the River, There was the Bowl

That's Me!

Lower Kings Fully Loaded

My Mom!  I Learned in that Boat!

Fast forward to 2013.   I’ve been kayaing class V for many years now, and the Middle Kings is finally in reach.  Unfortunately,  the snowpack in the Sierras is dismal, and all the California classics are due to come in much earlier than usual and will be hard to predict.  Still, Dan McCain, a superhero among rafters and river types of all kinds, gives me a call, leaving only this message “Matt, we’re going to the Middle Kings, you’re coming.  Don’t tell anyone.” 

That’s where it all started.  Dan wanted to get the first decent of the Middle Kings, and was worried that someone might go in there first if they heard he was going to do it.  I’m pretty sure that nobody else is willing to carry a raft over that pass, but hey, it’s been done!

At first we had a solid crew, Dan and Jeff in the raft, the Dinsdale Brothers and I in kayaks.  With the flows somewhat on the high side of good, and the weather report calling for a mild heat wave, we decided to go anyway.   We should have known better.  Dan wanted it so bad, nothing could talk him down, and I was in the same boat. 

My family, and many of the family friends who introduced me to whitewater, were going to be on their annual Kings River camp out, spending their days rafting from the take out for the Middle Kings.  How great would it be if I could paddle into their camp, near sunset, coming off the holy grail of kayaking, and have a beer and trade stories with all of my mentors.  Plus they agreed to do our shuttle!

We made the final call to get in the car and go.  On the way down, we found out that Willy and Ben ended up having some trouble on Upper Cherry, and were both incapacitated for the time being.  The rafters and I still decided to forge on, despite having lost a day figuring out what had happened to the rest of our crew. 

We met at the trailhead, got our gear together, and started the long hike.  

Dan the Mule Going Up

And Up

And Finally Over the Pass, Over 12,000 Feet

It’s a hard walk, with lots of elevation gain and lots of miles with plenty of weight on your back.  Somehow the beauty of John Muir wilderness and the high sierras trumps the pain, and the hike went by fairly quickly.  Maybe it was also that Dan was having a much harder time than me, so I felt lucky to just be carrying my kayak!

Me teaching Dan how to Click the Camera 

We made it up and over the pass, spending the night in Dusy Basin, about 6 miles from the put-in, with a lot of elevation drop.  The next morning, we got back to it, made the descent down to river level, and put on around noon.  

Jeff Going Down.

Finally at River Level!

The first 3 miles are manky and slow, and we didn’t really make good progress.  Now 2 days deep into what we thought would be a 5 day trip, we were running behind in a big way, both in time and more importantly in food.  

Beauty and Mank

Portaging the Raft Around Mank  Sucks

Once we got to the confluence of Palisade Creek and the kings, our spirits lifted and we got moving a little faster.  Other than a slight mishap at Squeeze Play, where we tried to line the raft (it pinned and we almost lost some gear) things were feeling alright.  

Squeeze Play, looks good to go yeah?

And Now the Raft is Stuck

After corralling some gear and running a sweet 20' slide right after a quick portage, we camped at a barely runnable, near vertical 30’ slide called Can of Crushed Ass, named for this gnarly flake at the bottom that sends water shooting up in a massive fan.  It’s been run!

Danimal Before the Kings Drops of the Face of the Earth

The next day, we set off first thing and made our way down to one of the best drops ever, Money Drop.  After a couple of styled lines,  and some high fives, we continued on. 

Styling the Top

Styling the Bottom

And Again; Top

And Bottom

At this point, I was starting to get quite worried about our progress.   The river is really steep in this section, at one point over 500’ per mile. The raft was having trouble stopping, forcing me to probe everything, and the water felt quite a bit higher than good.  We arrived at a series of marginally runnable drops in the midst of very continuous whitewater, and I felt my heart sink.  We’d already found that portaging the raft was difficult and time consuming.

This Looked Sweet

But it Leads Directly into This

Once we started scouting, it was clear that we’d had a somewhat close call, and unknowingly had caught a last chance eddy before the drops.   Dan and Jeff started portaging, while I ran ahead to scout the next bit of water.

The continuous water continued with few eddies and some fairly terminal looking holes.  The water level was clearly too high, and from high above the river it looked like we’d be portaging at least the next mile.   I unilaterally made the decision that the mission was over.   It was the hardest decision I’ve ever made. I went back and found Dan and Jeff.  They had just finished portaging a quarter mile, taking about an hour to do so.

When I told them that I was done, they were at first reluctant to give up.  A little discussion changed their minds.  We were running out of time and food.  I had reached my limit of probing, especially since we knew we had higher than usual water.  It was 2 PM on day 3, and we only 5 miles into a 45 mile run.  The further we continued, the further the hike out, until we reached somewhere around mile 30, and even then there would be no trail.  The only prudent decision was to get out of there.  They agreed, rolled up the raft, and stashed it for a return trip.  I had to work the next couple weeks, and would almost definitely miss the flow window, so I decided I’d hike all my gear out in two trips.

Weird Rock

Thus began the most grueling experience of my life.  I hiked 18 miles over the pass with all of my gear, and made it out that evening well after dark.   Dan and Jeff were going slow, and camped about halfway.  At the car, I drank a beer I had stashed, and slept like a baby on my paco pad.  The next morning I woke up at dawn,  went into Bishop, had a giant breakfast burrito, a bunch of coffee, and bought some hiking boots and trekking poles for my next jaunt in the wilderness.  I got back to the trailhead by 11 AM, and hit the trail at a near run with only energy bars, my sleeping bag and a few emergen-C packets.   Spurred along by the amazing beauty of the place, the advantage of real hiking boots and trekking poles with no weight, I made it to my boat in the early afternoon, passing Dan and Jeff on their trip out and saying a final goodbye.  That night I made it about 8 miles back towards the trailhead with my boat, and slept on a bed of pine needles.  The next morning at dawn I got up and finished it off, making sure to take in the beauty of the place, knowing I wouldn’t be back for a while.

My Third to Last Trip Over the Pass

On the way out I passed a crew of 3 hiking in.  They were all Middle Kings veterans, and were surprised to see a kayak rig at the put-in.  They said they had done the first run of the year, the highest water run, the last 4 years in a row, and that trip would be higher than they’d ever done it, possible the highest it had ever been done.  I knew then for sure that we’d made the right decision.

In all, I hiked over 50 miles, three times over a 13,000 foot pass, in about 48 hours.  With a bunch of gear on two of the trips.   The only reason I can understand for how I got it done, and without too much consternation, was the immense amount of beauty at every turn.  Whenever I lifted my head and took a look around, I was blown away.  It’s the most amazing place I’ve ever been.

Amazing Trees on the Trail

Another Amazing Tree!

On my drive home, I reflected on the factors that got us there when we shouldn’t have been.  Dan’s excitement about the first decent, my excitement about making my family proud, the unclear snow report and fluctuating levels.  Many factors contributed to the debacle that we had in there.  All of them could have been avoided.  

The thing is though; I’m not disappointed in myself for making those mistakes.  We took a risk, made the leap of faith, and most importantly knew when to fold.  I look back on that trip and smile.  We got to spend the better part of a week in one of the most incredible, sacred places I’ve ever experienced.  We had a lot of good laughs (like when Dan discovered the bottle of whiskey I’d stashed in the rolled up raft for him to carry) and camaraderie.  I don’t regret it one bit. 

And for the record, Dan and Jeff made it back in there, with the Dinsdale Brothers in tow, and got it done.  They said it was the best trip of their lives. 

As you can imagine, it’s still on the top of my list.

Until Next Time.

Upper Collawash (Big Dog)

Jesse Shapiro, Priscilla Macy and I ran the "Big Dog" section of the Collawash after the Clack fest and found that the run has changed a fair bit and is a good run.  Possibly one of the better sections of whitewater in Oregon.

A young Newt at the put in.

The core beta for this run is captured well in both Soggy Sneakers and a trip report from Oregonkayaking.  The report here is a 2014 perspective of the run complimentary to those descriptions, the biggest difference being the improved wood situation and the change to the Churn.  The second large logjam is no longer a portage and there were only 2 mandatory portages on the whole run.

We paddled the 4 miles of class two broken up by a log portage and one small but tricky rapid before arriving at one of Oregon's largest log jams.  The class II moves along well enough, and the classic Oregon greenery helps.  On the second trip I paddled the last 1/2 mile of the EF Collowash at the start of the day, so got some nice class IV rapids in before the class II began.  The maps show an alternate approach that would drop a boater in just below the large logjam noted in the guidebooks.  This approach would be faster, but require more effort.
* A map showing this approach is included at the end of this report.

Andrew in the exception to the rule in the class II paddle in.  

Speaking of the mega logjam, the portage is a simple affair as the logs are large and sturdy enough that a nimble boater can do the whole portage without taking their boat off their shoulder until the final 15 yards in under 10 minutes. We started center and worked right, it was neat to see so many logs piled together in one place.  We did feel the logjam might be smaller than it used to be when the original guidebook description was written.

It is still a large logjam,.

 We put back in and paddled another hundred yards, then drug our boats across a grass covered island to the river left channel to avoid another short log portage.  Other routes across the jam are available.

The grass was tall and my irrational side kept checking for the Compsognathus from Jurassic Park.

On our second trip, we recognized the jam coming up and portaged early on the left, this took about half the time and effort.  I'd go left every time in the future.

Shortly below here Dickey Creek came in on the left.  The alternate access would be at about this point.  Oregonkayaking.net describes this next section well as "eerie".  The large, dead trees rising out of the water and slow current create this effect.

The sentinels

 Shortly below the "sentinels" the river eases to the right and there is an obvious horizon line.  This first class IV ends in a moving pool making for a fun and straight forward rapid.

The next horizon line is "Big Dog", a large class V rapid that is the first of the rapids in this stretch to have changed for the better. The log in the bottom left chute is no longer there, turning this into a good rapid.  Running far left the whole way worked well, be sure to take a peak around the corner as another smaller rapid waits just below.  As the guides mention; scout left, portage right.

 

Photo: Andrew Bradley

The Churn seems to have changed since the original descriptions.  It starts off with a lead in and the ledge with a pin spot, below which we eddied out to scout the second part which was a challenging boulder rapid dropping 15 feet or so over 40 yards.  I do not recognize the Oregonkayaking picture of the second part of the Churn, we believe a landslide has occurred; the resulting rapid is still good.   Take care to mind the holes, the first one provided a solid rodeo for a member of our group.  This section reminded me of Upper Canyon Creek, OR.

Kory Kellum take his turn in the first part of The Churn.

Below here the gorge offered one more class IV rapid and the seriousness of the rapids eased slightly but everything is still really fun.  However, don't let your guard down.  The rapid pictured on Oregonkayaking described as being just above "The Cave" surfed another member of our group and caused a swim. This drop through the cave has a class V-ish feel. The large log jam described on the Oregonkayaking site in this section has been altered and we were able to paddle under it on the far left.  "The Cave" itself was clear of wood and good to go, being mindful of the undercut left wall.  A few more class IV rapids keep you entertained to the take out bridge, though I recommend heading the advice on OregonKayaking and continuing down through Boulder Dash and taking out at the first tributary entering on the left.

Kory dashes through the boulders.

By the time we reached the take out bridge we had forgotten the class two paddle at the top and were all smiles.  Truly an enjoyable run for the adventurous boater.

Some more good news is the scouting and portaging is no longer as difficult as it used to be, the landslides must have settled as we felt moving around on the bank was not an issue.

After wrapping up, its easy to tack on Pegleg Falls and Blister Creek Falls before heading home.

Kory Kellum: Blister Creek Falls

Footage: Andrew Bradley

FLOWS:  We had 2200 cfs on the Clackamas at Three Lynx in 2014 and thought that was a nice level, but I think levels were a bit funky.  The  Oregonkayaking trip report was done at 2500 cfs at Three Lynx though there was more water in the Collawash on our trip. We noted the Hot Springs Fork was contributing very little water. Low flows would be trashy due to the landslide nature of the rapids.  We returned at 3,000 cfs or so and dropping in 2018 and the run filled in and was more of a strong medium.  More hydraulics and less rock.

ACCESS:   Take Out (There is a right turn onto Collawash river rd/NF-63, 4 miles past Ripplebrook on the Clackamas River hwy, it's another 5.5 miles or so to the Farm Creek take out below Boulderdash, then another 1/2 mi further to the guidebook take out): 44.9659104709281, -122.05527024831231

Put In (near Elk Lake Creek trailhead):  44.89766813327258, -122.00639656112921

There are three put in options up near the Elk Lake trailhead access:  The first is the regular put-in at the bridge.  This is hassle-free and gets right into 4 miles of class II floating.

The second option is on the East Fork Collawash, and involves 1/4 mile of class III-IV boulder gardens to start the day.  This requires a short bushwhack in off the 120 rd.

If you have the time, and the wood situation isn't too bad, hiking up a bit over 1/2 mi to run the final gorge on Elk Lake Creek is definitely the most exciting start to the trip.  That gorge has 2 large ledges, a clean 20'er and a couple boulder gardens.  It's worth scouting whether the ledge located here (44.88913539295887, -122.0126375620346) is runnable first though, as to portage that drop is rather involved.  

The final access option probably isn't going to get used often, if at all.  And then probably only if a group is short on time, or really opposed to a class II warm up.   It's a steep and challenging way down to the river through the woods, but does get paddlers to the water below the large log-jam, and right at the start of the whitewater.  Whether a steep bushwhack down to the river is better than 4 1/2 miles of class 2 and a logjam portage is a personal choice, the option is there.  

Short-on-time alternate access option

        -jacob