North Fork Smith River Headwaters

This run was definitely not on my radar.  My motivation to run something new however, caught my interest immediately upon talking to J.R.  He was the brains of the operation, and had already roped Bearfoot Brad, potentially the worlds most weathered shuttle driver into aiding our mission.  Allow me a minute to plug Brad's Shuttle service on the Smith River.  Brad is a virtual black hole for knowledge about the Smith River; he absorbs all and will tell you as much as you are willing to ask...Be careful, the stories are all true!  He takes shuttle driving to a whole new level, tricking out his truck to maintain the shuttle road, and exhuming the courage and willingness to drive shuttle that you wish your girlfriend had.

According to Brad, it had been approximately 5 years since he took a crew to the Upper N.F.  Apparently they got separated and wound up hiking through wilderness in the dark.  This I tried to laugh about on our drive to put-in, but you can't help but wonder.  After leaving Gasquet at close to 11:00 A.M. our drive took us to the Ray's in Smith River where Wes purchased a delicious cut of Tri-tip off the BBQ outside and I was lucky enough to find some granola bars (past their expiration date).  The place was a total madhouse...there was about 75 random kids and all their parents in attendance for a planned 'easter egg hunt'.  Free coca-cola for everyone!  I must admit, beer in hand, I felt a little out of place.

But then we were gone like a whirlwind, and driving up the Winchuck River Rd.  It was a beautiful drive through unfamiliar territory, where the pretty girl (she was pretty) seemed to be impressed with Wes' large truck.  We averted the potential situation and continued up the road unabated, for we were on a mission.  It turns out the Upper NF shuttle road is actually lower than the normal put-in road.  We were able to follow our map and turn onto the proper road (290), and were immediately driving through overhanging bushes and trees weighted down with 6-inches of snow.  After a couple of miles of this we reached an impassable fork close to 2-miles from the river.  It began to snow as we declared this the put-in and geared up quickly.

After a mile hike down the road, we reached its terminal end.  

Unable to find any real trail, we dropped into a gully on the right that proved to be fairly easy going.  It was steep and woody for about 1/2 mile until we reached a flat spot and the river.  The forest was completely old-growth virgin, enormous douglas-fir trees, hemlocks, port-oroford cedars and possibly redwood.  We devoured the tri-tip, and put-on probably close to 2:30.  The run was entirely the opposite of the standard North Smith Run, with beautiful healthy forests on both banks and smooth dark mudstone rocks.

This section felt more like the middle fork run above siskiyou gorge, though not quite as difficult, and with more wood.

In all, we portaged about 4 times due to wood, but had another 8 log ducks or so.  Our level was ideal for ducking wood, without being too low.  The river grew in size gradually, and passed through 3 separate gradient sections before its meeting with Baldface Creek.  One of these had a sweet bedrock pinch with several ledge drops and mellow holes.

  I had been waiting and waiting for the Chrome Creek confluence, though we passed it without making any visual contact.  I did notice a sudden increase in water, and mile or so later we reached a large horizon line.  No time for pictures, we charged through the best and longest rapid of the entire run, a big and sweet class IV.  Upon our arrival at Baldface Creek we stopped for a well-needed break.  Baldface creek was easily larger than the North Smith at the confluence.

Cold times call for cold beers...Baldface coming in on the right side of the frame

Below here the character of the run changes completely and assumes the standard N.F. feel for the remaining couple of miles.  Props to Brad for coming through, waiting at Major Moores...good trip

South Chetco

After being on the top of my to-do list this year, I have to say that the south Chetco didn't disappoint.  It was absolutely dumping rain in Crescent City, and we were afraid flows were going to spike until we started to see snowflakes at less than 100' elevation.

With perfect flows, a chance to buy cheap oregon gas, and a low elevation guarantee of a snowy shuttle drive to boot, the list of reasons to do this run goes on longer than the actual meat of the gorge itself.  That being said, if we had actually taken the right shuttle road to put-in we probably wouldn't have had as much fun on our adventure.  Lesson learned: always make sure the person who knows where you are going is in the cab of the truck (as opposed to riding in the back).  After driving through snow for half an hour, and reaching the end of the decommissioned logging road we committed to the virtual cliff laced with overhead huckleberry bushes.. knowing what we were in for.

As the cliff got steeper, we were groveling through the mud and clutching to bushes for handholds when I heard my buddy announce we were cliffed out at least 70' above the river, and to head left.  Seconds later, I heard a branch snap and my other friend Miguel's boat start careening down the canyon wall.  Seven solid "thunks" later, John announced "it's in the river"!  Miguel looked at me and asked "what should I do?" to which I replied "run"!  It turned out that his boat landed upright, in an eddy, after careening almost 200' down the hillside.  At one point during the free-fall, the boat was headed right for J.Warner, and he ducked behind the only nearby tree.  The boat smacked the tree, as John avoided the near-maiming.  After a one-hour, quarter-mile bushwhack, we all made it safely to the river... J.R. said he saw a little poison oak near the bottom, but I didn't pay that close of attention.  Also there is a brand new throwbag waiting to assist anyone else un-lucky enough to find it down the cliff.

Glad to be on the water.

As foretold, the river was mellow with a steady flow and class III character all the way to the gorge.
The scenery was very Oregon-esque with moss covered walls and lots of enormous logs along the bank, as well as beautiful old growth forest.  After wondering when the river was going to finally drop, we arrived at the first major horizon line.  There was lots of gradient, but the character of the river made for suprisingly forgiving class IV+ drops.  In the first rapid, we all ran left through a sort of sneak line (due to ample flow) and aimed for a center boof.

Miguel hit the left boof with good results as well.  A couple of more ledge drops downstream brings you to the next rapid, which has a nasty undercut cave/recirculating hole.  In our efforts to avoid it, we all took a line to the left, managing to bounce off a very unfriendly underwater rock shelf.  This has potential for nasty pin situations, and should be taken seriously.  J.R. wisely took a safer line to the left of ours.

J.R.'s Left Line

This led into another fun wavetrain that finished the crux of the gorge.

Around the bend we came upon another great class IV rapid which we ran along the left wall.

After this the gorge let up, very abruptly.  As it opened up we all figured it was over: short, and sweet.  Luckily, there was one more additional rapid waiting on a right-hand bend downstream to spice things up.

The shuttle is fairly straightforward, though we weren't able to find our way to Swede Haven, the proper put-in (where you can drive straight to the river)...After driving up road 1107 to the top of Snaketooth Butte, we took road 550 on the left at a major two-way intersection.  This is the correct road, our problem was staying straight at a major fork approx. 1 mile down this road as opposed to taking the main road, which veers right.  Eventually it leads to the river, but that will be for the next crew to figure out.  Our flow was 6,000 on the Chetco @ Brookings, and we all felt it could accomodate either less (down to 4,000)...or more!
   

East Fork Trinity: Mumbo Cr. to Lake

We paddled this run on April 24, 2009 when the Trinity was flowing 1,000 cfs above Coffee cr.  We all felt it was the perfect level for class IV boaters yet had some serious potential for big water play at higher flows (Lochsa style).  This run can also be rafted (experts only).   Right off the bat the river drops through a steeper section of gradient, followed by a very fun bedrock drop.  After this it backs off for awhile, though it maintains a constant gradient throughout (in upper Trinity fashion) beautiful cedars line the banks.

Occasional larger drops are peppered throughout the run.  There are two memorable drops in this middle section, one that funnels into a large hole, and another steep rock garden.

Towards the end of the run is a 1/4 mile gorge gorge, signaled by an old dam.  This is the best part of the run, and feels like the Feather River drainage with beautiful granite and a mini-gorge-chunk style.  It was class IV+ at our flows, but develops into class V material at high water.  The best scout and portage seemed to be on the right, though an eddy exists on the left after the Dam Rapid.

  The Crux is next, which split around a huge rock at our flow.  The right was a boily, backed up hole, with the left side offering a perfect boof banking off of a pillow.  Lining a raft through here wouldn't be an option at flows much higher than ours.

  Two more quick drops brings you out of the gorge.  It would be wise to scout this entire gorge before dropping in.

After the gorge class III-IV rapids continue all the way to take out including one very fun low-angle bedrock slide.

This run is worth doing and deserves some attention.  Mumbo Creek and some of the other Tributaries offer additional paddling opportunities making this a worthwhile place to spend a weekend in springtime.  Rumor has it that a shuttle route exists on the East side of the river, significantly shorter than driving over Ramshorn Rd.  This misses the first rapids, but still puts you above the best stuff.  There is also excellent camping at take-out, just downstream from the bridge where the East Fork meets Trinity Lake.  2010 should be an excellent year as Mumbo Basin has received ample amounts of snow (42.5 inches snow-water content as of March 16).

South Trinity: Big Slide to Low Water Bridge

The South Trinity is probably one of the last runs on anybody's radar: a long shuttle to the middle of nowhere dims the motivation levels of interested paddlers.  After 10 years of living in Humboldt, I finally made it on this high-quality stretch of river with good friends Orion "O-Face " Meredith and Paul "Knoxville" Gamache.  This trip was made possible by two factors: 1) Orion's Dad was willing to drive us a shuttle and 2) Construction on Hyampom Road means that the Corral Bottom Road is being plowed this winter (2009-10; not usually plowed), shortening the shuttle drive immensely.  That morning Orion had to take the GWPE and as such we left Arcata at 10:00 A.M.  We met Orion's Dad in Willow Creek, and drove our vehicle to the low-water bridge, eventually hitting the 299 at noon, heading east.  2 1/2 hours of driving brought us to put-in at Big-Slide Campground.

We eventually put on the water at 2:40 in the afternoon, a bit late for the 17 mile section, but we were counting on perfect flows (2,000 cfs @ Hyampom) to carry us along through the canyon.  Big Slide, one of the four major rapids, is right at put-in.  This is a long 3-part rapid that drops a significant amount of gradient and offers multiple routes.  We found the top part to be the sketchiest, a big rock jumble.  You immediately begin to notice how many big rocks are in this river while scouting/portaging.  Below Big Slide, the river continues to drop through smaller rapids before arriving at Big Undercut (EntrapmentFalls).

At our Flow this was definitely the scariest rapid; I looked at it for 5 seconds before portaging. The first two drops had massive holes and wicked currents looked like making the final move above the big undercut would be a tough go.  Several of the rocks on either bank looked dubious as well as a couple obvious sieves.  We were running late and opted for the quick portage on river left.  It wasn't bad with our kayaks, but a raft would be more difficult for sure as you walk over and around many large boulders.  We got back in and several more fun rapids continued.  

In fact, I had expectations of this run being only 3 or 4 rapids, but actually there are many fun and exciting drops laced throughout the entire section, with several playspots too--maybe next time I'll bring the playboat and get an earlier start?  However, when you approach the obvious powerlines and a class 2 rapid with a disappearing horizon line, look for an eddy on river right.  Powerline Falls is ahead.  We eddied on the left and were able to get closer to the drop, but the scout and portage are marginal.  Orion and I took different lines on the left.  Someday I'll get that picture from Paul.

The River did back off for awhile, until we passed the confluence of Grouse Creek on the left, which was carrying a substantial amount of water.  The next drop "Grouse Hole" comes after a left hand bend, though not a falls, it had a large hole at the bottom we all punched through inadvertently.  Take the time to scout all the way down to this hole.  Below Grouse Creek the river drops into a beautiful canyon that continues all the way to Surprise Creek: the 3 Bears put-in.  My memory of this section is fuzzy as we were paddling quite hard.  We arrived at Low Water Bridge at 5:45, 3 hours and 17 miles later.  

This Run would be an excellent 2-day in early spring (March, April).  Although it would definitely maintain a great character at lower flows, I imagine this would limit the cleanliness and playspot density that we encountered at 2,000 cfs.  It is probably good down to 1,000 or less, though you should expect more sieve and pin hazards at lower flows.  Despite the major drops (which can be portaged relatively easily) the run has more of a class III-IV character, and should be on more class IV boaters' to do list.