The author portaging the only log we had to deal with.
The Table Rock Fork Gorge is not often run. Water levels are hard to predict, the run is short and it can not usually be linked with other sections. These factors along with the committing nature of the gorge proper limit how many people see this section every year. I, however, find myself running it once or twice a year as flows allow and boredom sets in. The run is relatively short, but a good change of pace, great scenery and it usually presents an opportunity to show someone a new section of water. The gorge never really gets beyond class IV, though this changes as the water levels increase. The crux drop in the gorge consists of a 4-6' ledge/hole that can be very retentive at higher flows. This combined with the fact that drop is jammed between smooth rock walls perhaps 8' apart can make for some exciting times.
On this particular day, Markus and I found ourselves fighting a very poor start to the boating season as many of the standard late fall rain storms had failed to materialize. In search of something to do, we decided to head up to the Table Rock Fork Gorge. Markus had never seen it and I am always up for taking someone new through the gorge. We drove up to the take out, which also is the put in for the 'Old Bridge' section of the Molalla. (This is the higher put-in option for the Three Bears run) We then did a quick, but thorough scout of the main gorge for wood and to check the crux drop to see how retentive it would be. Things looked good so we headed up to the second bridge to put in.
The author running a rapid above the gorge.
Things started out with some great technical class III boulder gardens. Things got bigger as we entered the gorge. I went first so as to set up and grab some pictures of Markus coming through the crux drop. I was in my playboat and got stuck in the ledge hole in the heart of the gorge. After some back surfing and clawing at the wall I was finally able to grab my paddle, get a couple strokes in and break free. Markus cruised through without trouble.
Markus running the crux drop in the gorge.
Markus finishing up the hard part of the gorge. (The crux drop is in the background, notice the wood in the left slot.)
We only had one log to contend with that should be portaged. It was another great day on the Molalla. If you do venture out on this section, be sure to scout the gorge before putting on. One misplaced log could spell disaster for you. If the Three Bears is getting marginal, the Table Rock Fork should be great. See you on the water.
With summer coming to an end and the winter rains yet to come, I found myself eager for a little adventure. I had never done the Killer Fang section of the Clackamas and it kept calling me as it's the only section I haven't done. I made a call to Marcus and we agreed to give it a shot. While I was on my way to the river, Marcus gave me a call saying he was really sick and wasn't up for boating. Nuts. So, I decided to go ahead and give the run a shot solo. It didn't take too long before I was able to hitch a ride up to the put in from some great people from Bark. If you aren't aware of their organization, I recommend you take a look. They do some great work protecting the wild places we all like to visit. I quickly put on my gear and slid into the river at the confluence of the Clackamas and Collawash Rivers. The river is very scenic and very mellow. The first mile or two was basically flat water. I soaked up the scenery and the solitude that this most remote section of the Clackamas afforded me. Slowly the rapids started to appear, but nothing Killer. Mostly just nice class II and III drops. Eventually, about 2/3 of the way into the trip the canyon starts to close in and I came up on the first significant rapid that I needed to scout, Prelude. The rapid exits through a couple different slots and feeds into the pool above Killer Fang. I did a quick check for wood and made sure I could see the eddy to get out above Killer Fang before hopping back into my boat. Prelude proved to be a nice rapid with plenty of space to exit the river above Killer Fang.
Killer Fang Rapid
Killer Fang is an ugly rapid. That said, there is a thin line that could be run, but a mistake would put you in a huge sieve where most of the river is going. IF you make the cut left, you would still have to deal with an undercut cliff wall before exiting into the pool below. It was an easy descision for me going solo and in a playboat, so I shouldered and did the somewhat difficult portage. (Lots of climbing and lowering the boat)
The outflow of Killer Fang
Looking back at Killer Fang.
The lead-in to The Sieve.
The next rapid below Killer Fang is a rapid known as the Sieve. I hopped out and scouted right first and then ferried back left to get another look. The Sieve is a solid class IV rapid with significant consequences for a mistake. After looking it over, I opted to portage the initial drop leaving a mandatory ferry back to river right. (The Sieve can be portaged it's entire length on the left.)
The entrance to the Sieve. I portaged just below the log.
This is where I put back in to ferry across. Still class IV, but manageable.
The rest of the run was fun with one class three that stood out. I had a nice mellow level of about 1,000 cfs at Three Lynx. It was nice to finally see the run, but I think it will be awhile before I go back. If you haven't seen it, I wouldn't let the Killer Fang name hold you back. It is just one rapid after all. Do be careful to check all of the narrow slots for wood before committing, otherwise it's a nice class II-III float.
It had been about a year since I last went through the Sandy Gorge. With the Marmot Dam coming out this past fall and limited time in my day I found myself interested in revisiting this section of water. Alan Douglas and Matt Haven met me at the put in and after a quick shuttle we were on the river. The gorge looked good and it was a beautiful day to be on the water.
Alan and Matt gear up for the Gorge.
We had heard that there was new wood in the first significant rapid, Boulder. I eddy hopped down the left side and scouted for a route through. The right line and the center line both had wood so we opted for the easy portage down the left side.
Matt sneaks down the left side at Boulder.
Looking back upstream at Boulder.
Below this the rapids get closer together with the next one being Rasp Rock. I felt pretty confident about running this drop so I charged ahead. It was only as I began to drop in that I realized the size of the hole. I disappeared into the foam and resurfaced a couple feet shy of breaking through. The rodeo had begun.
Rasp Rock aka "The Hole"
I quickly got pulled back into the hole and threw a nice compilation of boat ends and paddle blades as I struggled to gain control over my boat. I was just hoping Alan and Matt had decided to scout because it was looking like I was going to need a rope soon. After what seemed like far too long I managed to get a my boat under control and began a bouncy side surf in the hole. It was at this time I realized that the hole was backed up by a large rock and the exits were only on the extreme edges of the hole. It also quickly became apparent that this could be extremely difficult to swim out of and there still was no guarantee that someone was going to be able to hit me with a rope. As the gravity of my situation began to settle in I happened to look to river right and see the bottom of Alan's boat in the hole with me. OH SHIT!! Now there's two of us in here, what the hell are we going to do. Fortunately, Alan's time in the hole was relatively brief as he was able to grab some deep water and flush out the right corner of the hole. Unfortunately, there was no way I was going to be able to surf over to that exit without getting trashed and it wasn't a sure thing that I would flush out the same as Alan. My only option was to back surf out the left side. Working my skulling brace I managed to get to the left corner and begin to finally find some water that was exiting the hole. I pulled hard and popped free. I was immediately propelled downstream and flipped before hanging up on another rock just downstream. I reached around the rock with my paddle and pulled myself free. A quick roll and BAM!! piton into a rock. I drifted into an eddy, spent and happy to be free. What a ride. Lesson learned, scout Rasp Rock. (Not only for the hole, but it is known to collect wood) I walked back up to get a picture of the hole that nearly kicked my ass. It was strong and I certainly would have run it differently had I looked at it ahead of time. It did feel good to know that I was able to handle a tough situation. It was the first difficult hole I've ever been in with my Salto and it performed great. It also appeared to me that it would have taken Matt a while to get a rope to me if he could at all. It looked a little sketchy and I'm not sure he could have positioned himself in a manner that would have allowed him to pull me out.
A closer look at the backed up hole that almost gave me a beating.
After some pictures of Rasp Rock we continued on to Drain Hole. Drain Hole has an ugly sieve on river left that you must cut hard to the right above in order to miss it.
Matt runs through Drain Hole first.
Alan takes his turn making the "move"
Everyone had clean runs at Drain Hole and we proceeded to the last rapid on the run, Revenue Bridge. This rapid has cleaned up nicely with the extreme right and center lines looking really good. I went center while Alan decided to go right. Matt had portaged down the left. All in all, it was a fun run and I'm glad that I gave the gorge another try.
Alan at the top of Revenue Bridge rapid.
As a side note, it appears that Revenue Bridge is being replaced so parking is limited at the take out.
Still fighting low snow, not much water and an itch to do something new I found myself gravitating towards Rock Creek. (Though there are many Rock Creeks, this one flows into the EF Lewis above Moulton Falls) After a brief call to Alan Douglas the plan was set and we were off. We quickly set shuttle and drove to the bridge that marked the put in.
Alan preparing to put on.
While there was ample flow to float your kayak it was still a small creek. The upper section of the creek isn't very steep, but moves along with a constant gradient. This is a good thing as this is also the most likely section to have wood problems. We encountered some minor wood, but nothing requiring a portage. After about a mile, Cedar Creek comes in on the left and added about 60% to the flow. It was enough that we began to question if we had put in on the correct creek. We proceeded downstream and the scenery began to improve when we came to a small tributary coming in on the left. It was a nice 4' ledge that looked like a nice park and huck. (There wasn't much more than class II action above this point making the drop look more enticing) But, I decided it really wasn't worth it to get out and carry my boat up the bank to run. The next corner after this the character of the creek changed and we found ourselves quickly grabbing an eddy on river right. We had come to Little Rascal and the beginning of the good stuff. After a quick scout I decided to run it first. While the guidebook states that you can run the middle slot and get buried in the foam I opted for the boof just to the right of center. Alan followed my line shortly after and we continued on downstream.
Alan hitting the boof at Little Rascal. The slot is to his left.
The creek turns to bedrock at this point and some nice surf waves show up. A couple of nice rapids appear below this before coming to the last large rapid before the confluence with EF Lewis. We took a quick scout for wood before continuing as the canyon became tight and it was difficult to see through the rapid.
Alan scouts the upper half of the last rapid on Rock Creek.
We exited the creek and found ourselves in a large river with some fun rapids. I was surprised by the amount of action once on the EF Lewis. For some reason I didn't think there would be much. Now that we were on the EF Lewis, we kept our eyes open for the last and biggest rapid of the day, Naked Falls. Naked Falls is a three part drop separated by short pools. The first drop looked the hardest as the line through the hole looked thin. The second drop looked good and the third has a clear line right of center. After a lengthy scout on river right, we decided to ferry to river left and portage at least the first drop. (Eddies are scarce on the right side above Naked Falls, so be cautious approaching this drop) We didn't find any place that looked good to launch above the second drop so we both put back in in the pool above the third part of the rapid. We both had clean lines.
The first two drops of Naked Falls.
Looking downstream at the last drop of Naked Falls.
We decided to take out at the confluence with Yacolt Creek as the eddies above Moulton Falls were small and not really worth the risk. (I scouted the falls before we put on and had no interest to run it due to the size of the hole and the undercut wall)
The gage on the EF Lewis was reading about 2,200 cfs at Heisson and slowly falling. This seemed to be a nice low first time flow. (However, it is important to note that things had been falling for two days without any rain and snow melt is most likely what was keeping the creek and the EF Lewis up.)
With Dan and Will still in town and a successful run down the Washougal with my wife we decided that we could step things up a little bit. After gathering some beta from the group of rafters that had hit the Upper Wind the day before we made plans to do the run. I was still a little nervous about Danielle going, but Will is a very good rafter and Danielle had the right attitude. With Dan's car fixed, we car pooled up to the take out which was still covered in 1 1/2' of snow. This was going to be a beautiful run. The water level was a little higher than I had run it in the past, but it looked good. We quickly piled everything into Will's truck and headed up the road to the put-in. We found 3'+ of snow, but easy access to the river.
Dan and Will getting ready for the Upper Wind.
Danielle getting geared up. (Thanks Will for the dry suit)
Will decided to run the raft as an oar rig today with Danielle adding paddle assistance when needed. I wasn't able to get many pictures as the whitewater was continuous and my camera is hard to get to. In any case, it was the best time I've ever had on the Upper Wind. I was a little fuzzy on the rapids so it turned into some of the best read and run whitewater I've done in a long time. I was truly amazed at how Will was able to move that raft. It was so much fun. Danielle had a great time and the scenery was incredible. The only minor problem occurred at Climax. The hole was a little retentive and pulled Dan back in for a second ride. Of course the raft couldn't see this so I quickly threw up my hands to signal the raft to hold up so they wouldn't drop in on him. Unfortunately that's all it took for an eddy monster to grab my boat and flip me into the wall. A took a hit to my back before I could locate my paddle and snap off a quick roll. Dan came out and rolled up.
Dan works on getting the raft down to the river.
It was a really nice day on the water and fun all the way around. Danielle has started entertaining the idea of future river trips. (Provided Will is at the oars) I'm looking forward to our next chance to get out on the water.
The water was just going through the horns on the gage rock providing a nice medium/low level.
Danielle has a little fun in the snow while Will and Dan run shuttle.
The author portaging the only log we had to deal with.
The author running a rapid above the gorge.
