A Quick Look at the Little White Salmon

First Time on the LW from Ryan Morgan on Vimeo.

The River List

This is just a quick reference list of the runs I've made it down since I began kayaking in August 2004 to date. I have provided links to descriptions of the runs from the best sources I could find as well as links to my trip reports.

Breitenbush River, OR
Cleator Bend Campground to Detroit Reservoir: IV

Bull Run River, OR
Bull Run Rd to Sandy River: III

Butte Creek, OR
Bridge above Upper Butte Creek Falls to Butte Creek Falls: II+ (V) Trip Report
Boy Scout Ranch to Hwy. 213: III (IV)

Canyon Creek, WA. (EF Lewis)
Fly Creek to Lake Merwin: IV-V Trip Report Video

Clackamas River, OR
June Creek to Collawash River: III+ (IV)
Collawash Rive to Sandstone Bidge (Killer Fang): IV (V+/VI) Trip Report
Three Lynx to North Fork Reservoir (Upper): III (IV)
McIver State Park to Barton (Lower): II+
Barton to Carver: II
Carver to Clackamette Park: II

North Fork Clackamas River, OR
3.75 miles above North Fork Reservoir to North Fork Reservoir: IV+ (V)P

Collowash River, OR
Hot Springs Fork to Clackamas River: III

Colorado River, AZ
Lee's Ferry to South Cove: III-IV+ Trip Report

Copper Creek, WA
End of Rd to East Fork Lewis River: IV-V

Deschutes River, OR
Warm Springs to Buck Hollow: III (IV)

Drift Creek, OR (Marion County)
Victor Point Rd. to Hwy. 213: III

Fish Creek, OR
End of Rd. to Clackamas: III

Grande Ronde River, OR (Wallowa River)
Minam to Troy: II (III) Trip Report

Hood River, OR
Dee to Tucker: III (IV)

West Fork Hood River, OR
Lake Branch Fork to East Fork Hood River: IV (V)

Upper East Fork Hood River, OR
Sherwood Campground to Hwy. 35: IV+-V

Illinois River, OR
Miami Bar to Oak Flat: IV (V) Video

John Day River, OR
Service Creek to Clarno: II Trip Report

Clarno to Cottonwood: II (III) Trip Report

Klickitat River, WA

Yakama Reservation to Leidl Campground: III+

East Fork Lewis River, WA
Green Fork to Sunset Falls (The Upper): IV-V Trip Report
One Mile above Sunset Falls to King Creek: IV (V) Trip Report

Little White Salmon River, WA
Fish Hatchery to Columbia River (The Lower): V-V+ Trip Report

McKenzie River, OR
Olallie Campground to Paradise Campground: III

Metolius River, OR
Source to Lake Billy Chinook: III (IV)

Milk Creek, OR
Bonney Rd to Beavercreek Rd: III+

Molalla River, OR
Table Rock Fork: Third Bridge to Gravel Pit: III (IV+)
Table Rock Fork Gorge: IV+-V Trip Report
Copper Creek Fork: Bridge above Copper Creek to Table Rock Confluence: III (IV) Trip Report
Table Rock Fork to Turner Bridge: III-III+
Turner Bridge to Glen Avon Bridge: III (IV)
Glen Avon Bridge to Feyrer Park: II-II+

North Fork Molalla River, OR
Dead Horse Creek Bridge to Molalla River Confluence: IV+

North Santiam River, OR
Pamela Creek to Bruno Mountain Rd: III
Bruno Mountain Rd to Detroit Lake: III (IV)
Big Cliff Dam to Packsaddle Park: III+ (V)
Packsaddle Park to Mill City: III
Mill City to Mehama: II-III

Little North Santiam River, OR
Old Mine to Three Pools (Opal Creek): IV (V) Trip Report
Three Pools to above Salmon Falls (Opal Gorge): V (VI) Trip Report
Elkhorn Valley Recreation Site to Mehama: III (IV)

Pine Creek, OR
One mile above Molalla River to Molalla River: IV Trip Report

Roaring River, OR
3.2 mile above Clackamas River to Clackamas River: IV+ Trip Report

Rock Creek, WA (EF Lewis River)
Dole Valley Rd. to above Moulton Falls: III-IV (V) Trip Report

Rock Creek, WA (Columbia Gorge)
Lower Put in Bridge to below Steep Creek: IV (V/VI)

Rogue River, OR
Grave Creek to Foster Bar: III+

Sandy River, OR
McNeil Campground to Lolo Pass Rd.: IV+
Zigzag to Marmot Bridge: II-III
Marmot Bridge to Marmot Dam (Dam was removed in 2007): II+ (IV)
Marmot Dam to Revenue Bridge (Dam was removed in 2007): IV Trip Report
Revenue Bridge to Dodge Park: II+-III
Dodge Park to Oxbow Park: II+ (III)

Silver Creek, OR
Lower North Falls to Silverton Reservoir: IV (V)

Tieton River, WA
Rimrock Reservoir to Windy Point Campground: III-III+

South Fork Toutle River, WA
Harrington Place to Big Wolf Creek: II-III

Trout Creek, WA
FR 43 to Footbridge (Upper): IV+-V Trip Report
Dam to Wind River (Lower): IV+-V

Washougal River, WA
North Fork Washougal River to Lower Fishing Access: III (IV) Trip Report
Dougan Falls to Salmon Falls (The Gorge): III (IV)

North Fork Washougal River, WA
Mile Seven to Washougal River: IV (V)

Wind River, WA
Stabler to High Bridge: IV+-V Trip Report
High Bridge to Columbia River: IV+

White Salmon River, WA
Warner Rd to Green Truss Bridge (Farmlands): IV-V
Green Truss Bridge to BZ Corners (Green Truss): IV+-V (V+) Trip Report Video
BZ Corners to Northwestern Lake: III+ (V-)

TR: Washougal River: Big Eddy Section

After our Grand Canyon trip, my wife Danielle has been more open to the idea of rafting. She just told me that she has to have a good dry suit and a guarantee that she will stay in the boat. I figure that's a fair deal, after all, we managed to make it through 25 days on the Colorado in a 13' 9" raft with a rookie rafter at the helm. It also helped having Will Volpert and Dan Thurber in town to help. These guys were on the Colorado with us and were essential in getting Danielle to give it another try. Will had brought up a 12' raft with him from Ashland and Dan was again with his Huka. We were still fighting low snow levels this weekend, however the Washougal suddenly shot up with warmer weather and localized rain giving us a great option to get Danielle on the water. Will had been hoping for a run down the Upper Wind, but I wasn't sure how Danielle was going to do and I wasn't too keen on getting her out on such a demanding run. After a brief discussion, we settled on the Big Eddy section of the Washougal. The gauge was reading right at 6,000 cfs or 8.77' and slowly falling. Not the highest I've done it, but a pretty stout level for the run. After meeting up at the Burger King in Camas we headed on up to the take out. We quickly formulated a plan to skip the normal put in and head on up to the bridge on the North Fork. This would add an extra mile or so to the run and provide an opportunity to catch a couple extra play waves. (I had brought my EZ for the run) Will decided that they would run it as a paddle raft which meant Danielle would get the chance to really RAFT rather than be the professional passenger that she claims to be.

Will is pumped to get on the water.

Danielle doesn't look so excited.After some rope work, the guys managed to get the raft lowered down to the river and with some quick instructions for Danielle, we were off.

Lowering the boat at the put-in on the NF Washougal.

Things went well until we approached Big Eddy rapid. Today it was a solid class IV drop complicated by a tree that had fallen across the exit of the rapid blocking off the entire right side and presenting a serious hazard. I charged in first and was suddenly faced with a monster hole in front of me. I managed a quick move to the left just skirting the hole and following a seam through the rapid. I grabbed a surging eddy on the left bank just in time to look back up and see the bottom of Dan's blue Huka rising out of the hole. As he drifted by I was really hoping he was going to hit his role as a second large rapid waited around the corner and a swim could easily result in a lost boat not to mention the strainer on river right. Fortunately, he snapped of a roll a few moments later and paddled to an eddy. I climbed out of my boat and set up to take pictures of Will and Danielle. They entered dead center and judging by Wills response, the huge hole in the middle of the river was a surprise. The raft dropped into the hole a little sideways, spun around and got quickly spit out. What a ride!

Danielle and Will at the top of Big Eddy.

Discovering that there really is a hole in this rapid. Hold on Danielle.

"That was one smokin' hole."If you look closely you can see the strainer downstream on the right.
You can also see the big smile on Danielle's face.

With the largest rapid behind us, I knew Danielle would be fine. As we rounded the corner and dropped through the next rapid I could see what looked like a kayaker on the left bank. Dan and I paddled over to him to see if he needed any help. It turns out that he had taken a swim along with his buddy in Big Eddy. They were paddling an inflatable two-person kayak and were caught off guard by the size of the rapid, swam and got separated. We signaled the raft over and offered to give him a ride back to the road side which he gladly accepted. I took off downstream in search of his buddy. I eventually found him about half a mile later looking upstream. I explained that we had found his friend and that everyone was ok. I also mentioned that there were a couple other spots that they may need to be careful at, namely around Cougar Creek. A few minutes later Dan came down followed by Will and Danielle. Apparently they had dropped the stranded kayaker off back around the corner. We headed on downstream and enjoyed the rest of the run. Will and Danielle even got in on the surfing action with the raft. It turned out to be a great day and another step to getting my wife to join me on some of my adventures. It also helps that Will is an incredibly skilled rafter as we would discover the next day and Dan would get a chance to use his Huka on water it was designed for. But that's another story.

You can also read Dan's write up at Team Kettle Chips or The Water Cycle.

A Snow Filled Day on Canyon Creek,WA

Dan Thurber takes flight at Hammering Spot with Champagne in the background

With low snow levels and not much water, we decided to do Canyon Creek again. Dan Thurber was in town and it was one of the only class IV runs with water and access that I could find to take him on. We were all a little surprised at the amount of snow when we arrived at the take out . The snow fell all day making for some difficult scouts. It was a great trip with the creek running about 6" below the unit. Mike Long grabs a few photos of the drop zone

The crew at the take out

You can see more pictures from the trip on Mike Long's site, Mike Long Photography.

TR: Canyon Creek, WA.

With the local rivers running low because of the lack of rain and a low snow level, boating options have been limited. The decision was to do a low water run down Canyon Creek, WA. It's always been a fun run and given we had a relatively new boater coming along it seemed like a good fit. It turned out to be a beautiful day and a great run. (For those of you familiar with the run, the creek was running about 12" below the unit.)

Alex runs Prelude to Thrasher without a problem

Dropping into Thrasher

Markus throwing down at Thrasher

Big Kahuna was a lot of fun. This was going to be Markus's largest falls, 18' to 20' depending on flow, and the rest of us were interested to see how he would do. He cleaned it without any trouble. Great run Markus.

Alex showing us how it's done

Markus dropping in.

Markus at Champagne and Hammering Spot, a couple of 12' falls back to back.

Alex at Hammering Spot

Back Home: Return from the Grand Canyon

Nankoweap

Pictures are starting to come in from everyone and the video should be underway soon. Here are a few more pictures from the trip and a brief story. Check back often as I will continue to add pictures and video as I soon as I can.

Danielle and I at Havasu

Keith and DeeDee

The Power of Lava Falls or: How I Lost My Sock

Lava Falls is always exciting, however it was just a little more exciting than normal this time around. A couple of guys in the group weren't up to rowing through Lava so we had two brave volunteers step up to hike back up and run the boats through. Well, after a long wait, the first boat appeared just above the ledge hole and dropped in. Things went well at the start, but the boat ended up too far right, caught a wave and flipped. Nothing special for Lava, lots of boats flip here. However, as everyone jumps into action to go after swimmers and a flipped boat things don't make sense. As the oarsman climbs back onto the boat he looks incredibly pale, not the bright yellow of his drysuit. OHHH!!! HE'S NAKED!!! This now explains the long wait for the boats to come along, but wait, there's another boat coming and he appears naked too. Fortunately, the second raft makes it through without trouble. Some how, a throw rope appears floating right next to the boat the naked rafter throws it to shore and we pull in the boat above Little Lava. Of course, I know they are going to need help to flip the boat back over (it happens to be the kitchen boat). Unfortunately for Danielle, the only eddy I can catch is also were naked rafter #2 is stopped. So, I left Danielle to talk, take pictures and find something else to look at while I scramble up shore to help out. By the way, the first boat over to help rafter #1 is Will and Laura, the trip leader's 17 year old daughter. Well, this was supposed to be a learning experience, a Grand adventure to help her see the world and learn about life. I have a feeling it exceeded everyone's expectations. (We'll talk about the sauna later) Everything worked out well, the boat came back over easily and everyone got dry and warm without too much trouble. Oh, the guys were wearing socks they found on the boat as a last minute attempt at modesty though the river had other ideas. This brief description doesn't do the story justice, but here are a couple pictures.

Rafter #1 post Lava Falls

"What's everyone looking at?"

Rafter #2: "I make Lava look good"

Danielle and I enjoying the canyon

North Canyon

Sunset at South Canyon

Enjoying the Redwall

Danielle hiking Nankoweap Creek

Anasazi pottery shard near Nankoweap Creek

Danielle about to rule the world from an agave pit

Tanner Butte

The author hiking Shinumo Creek

The man that made this trip happen

Tappeats Creek

Thunder River as it emerges from the redwall

Thunder River heading towards Tapeats Creek

The author exploring Travertine Canyon

Danielle shows off her mad climbing skills in Travertine Canyon

Alan enjoying the water of Travertine Canyon

Sunrise on Christmas EveThe setting moon on Christmas Eve

Bighorn Sheep

Danielle and I at Elves Chasm

Sunset at Lower Bass Camp

Keith and DeeDee enjoying the canyon

Will and Laura at House Rapid

The author motoring out to Lake Mead

You can also read Dan Thurber's write up at Team Kettle Chips.