Eel River Van Arsdale to Dos Rios--Six Rivers Source to Sea Expedition

The V-Hole on Vimeo

Explore Six Rivers

 In order to keep our momentum and take advantage of another wet storm the Explore Six Rivers Team decided to head south and catch a spill from Van Arsdale Reservior.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Upper Eel River, check out The Friends of the Eel River Website.  They also have a great link with info about the Potter Valley Project and its ecological effects, forming a total barrier for imperiled Salmon populations that historically spawned in the Tributaries above Lake Pillsbury.

Lichen covered Oak Trees surrounding Lake Pillsbury

Van Arsdale Reservior is created by Cape Horn Dam and is the second of two dams on the Eel.  The first is Scott Dam, forming Lake Pillsury.  Both of these dams are a part of the Potter Valley Project, owned and operated by PG+E which is the second largest water diversion we will encounter on our Six Rivers Expedition behind the Trinity River.  I don't think they produce power at Lake Pillsbury and it functions primarily as a water storage for diversions to the Russian River watershed via. the 

Potter Valley Project.  

Cape Horn Dam and Van Arsdale Reservior 

Because of the "need" to keep Lake Pillsbury full, and because of the unusually dry winter, this was only the third time this winter that a runnable flow level has passed Van Arsdale.  The last time we had checked the Eel River at Van Arsdale Gauge at put-in at 4 in the morning the river was about 1,500 cfs, although an extremely wet storm had just dropped up to 3" in some of the surrounding hills and the river quickly began to grow in volume.  By the time we arrived the flow was steadily increasing and it felt like way more than 1,500.  Turns out it was more like 3,000 cfs.

Because of the water diversions, during the summer only 5 cfs is passed down the Eel River beyond Van Arsdale.  The result is water too warm for native juvenile Salmon.  The unnaturally low flow has also resulted in many willows and alder trees growing into the riverbed.  To be honest, however, at our flow there were a couple of bad spots in the first couple miles downstream but then it cleaned up quite nicely.

 I knew this would be a factor that could potentially hamper our downstream progress--we were hoping to paddle 37 miles all the way to Dos Rios at the Middle Fork Confluence.  As such we intended to leave town early meeting up at 5:00 am to accomplish our goal.  5:00 came and I was stoked to see Victoria and Matt all bright and shiny, Paul arrived and we began gathering our equipment.  Our buddy Wes, who is always down to boat and usually on it, was nowhere to be seen.  Upon calling we discovered he was still in bed.  No problem, we all made another round of coffee and hung out watching Paul's helmet cam footy from the Milk Drop on the Lower Mad River.  Before we knew it Wes arrived with Will in tow and we were loaded and on the way.  Victoria and Wes drove for what was guaranteed to be a long shuttle and a long day.  We met up at a gas station in south Eureka for Aztec Breakfast burritos, and Matt suddenly realized he had forgotten his drysuit and had to return to Arcata for it.  No problems, such has been the way of the six rivers expedition thus far...that's why we meet at 5, right?

On our shuttle drive down to Dos Rios and back, we passed another group of floaters!  Honking our horn and waving we were stoked to see the first group of paddlers on the river since we had started out the Six Rivers Expedition.  After a beautiful, albeit long shuttle drive through Willits, up highway 20 and then through Potter Valley and over the pass to Van Arsdale we arrived at a nice and easy put-in below the almost-runnable dam.

Photo: Paul Gamache

Then we were off kayaking through the willow jungles of the Eel, the water was a silty blue and the clouds were parting to make for a beautiful day.  We charged downstream and found that the addition of tributaries caused the riverbed to clean up more quickly than we anticipated.  Before we knew it we were past the willowy stuff and enjoying some quality whitewater in a roadless canyon.

Photo: Paul Gamache

The geology was interesting sandstone bedrock mixed with some peridotite looking boulders and a nice forest lined the banks dominated by oak and grey pine.  A couple of large creeks came in from the right bank, adding to our level.  I was looking forward to the Tomki Creek confluence as I have never paddled it and figured it would contribute significantly to the flow.  Tomki added perhaps another 500 cfs and the recession lines on the sandy beaches downstream indicated that we were riding at perhaps the peak of the flow spike.  Downstream the Eel continued through a nice canyon with occasional class II and III rapids.

Eventually we arrived at one such rapid with a good boof that I crashed through.  The hole seemed a little sticky and I windmilled a few strokes to get through it.  Looking upstream I got to see Paul launch into it and get stuck, clocking a solid 25 second ride or more before he freed himself from the hole.  We were all laughing at the thought of Paul swimming in a class II.  Paul's Hole marked the beginning of an awesome section of continuous class II-III that continued for almost a mile.

Making good time with the additional flow we played our way downstream with many great features and soon arrived at the beginning of the Hearst Valley.  After some brief Wiki-research, Hearst is named after the senator George Hearst, and doesn't seem to have any connection to the Hearst section of the McCloud River, though I could be wrong.  This was also formerly known as Travelers Home, and I can see why.  We were quickly floating through one of the most beautiful valley scenes I have witnessed complete with snowy mountain scenery courtesy of Sanhedrin Mountain.

Photo: Paul Gamache

Before long we were passing the bridge and entering the 18 mile Hearst section of the Eel.  I was excited to paddle this section with high hopes for a potential addition to my guidebook-in-progress.    We passed a house at the downstream end of Hearst with a whitewater kayak outside and were stoked it is a rarity in these parts.  At this point we had already covered 12 miles but still had another 25 to go. 

Photo: Paul Gamache

 No worries, though, the flows at Dos Rios were 12,000 and rising the last time we had checked so we figured our pace would continue to increase.  The Hearst section started with some fun drops and several playspots and our high spirited group continued to have a great time.  Suddenly the geology shifted to some very interesting bedrock that formed strange spires that seemed to erupt through the murky water.  It is some of the most unique and stunning scenery through which I have ever paddled and combined with the unforeseen sunny day (it was forecasted for rain and snow) the stoke level was high.

  

We passed one final property and mountainous view as we had quickly arrived to the notorious "Ramsing Corner" Rapid.  I told the crew the story about the crazy notorious landowner, Mr. Ramsing who used to yell at, and threaten to shoot, floaters who attempted to scout the rapid on his prop-er-tie along the right bank.  Right away we were giggling and decided to take a break in the sun for lunch.

The river makes a 180-degree bend around Ramsing Corner

Photo: Paul Gamache

The Six Rivers Posse, on the rocks

Photo: Paul Gamache

Its amazing all of the places this mission has taken us so far and I have no regrets for paddling any of the "flatwater" sections of the northcoast that have escaped my attention to date.  We continued downstream through an awesome section of river that constricted through monstrous boulders in an awesome class II stretch reminiscent of my childhood runs down 'Swirly Canyon' on the South Fork of the Payette River.  This was some quality river and the whole crew was in awe.

  The river was quite large and we had covered many miles at this point, knowing that the Outlet Creek confluence must be getting close.  

The abundance of play spots continued, here Paul shows you how they used to do it before cellphones.

Eventually the pace slackened somewhat and we found ourselves paddling mellow water, though some more large tributaries continued to add flow and excellent play features appeared in nearly every class II rapid.  We took another quick break and before we knew it the river was speeding up again.

Victoria with her signature smile.

Photo: Paul Gamache

Time on the Water

Photo: Paul Gamache

Then we arrived at The V-Hole, an excellent training boof that I launched through, telling the crew it was good to go...because it is.  All the boys, including myself, had to paddle hard to escape the backwash after we boofed it, because it was a sticky hole.  Then we waited for a minute because Victoria happened to be in the back of the crew for once.  We gave her the boof signal and she approached it full steam ahead.  This was really funny because merely miles upstream Victoria was quoted asking "what's the difference between a wave and a hole".  Sorry V, I guess sometimes you learn the hard way (with Paul G and his helmet cam directly next to you)

Then we came around the corner to see the Highway 162 bridge, and the aforementioned crew of paddlers taking out, it was our first real paddler sighting yet.  They turned out to be the folks with the kayak we saw, who live in Hearst and paddle the section with regularity.  After parting ways we paddled downstream to the confluence with Outlet Creek.

Photo: Paul Gamache

 Clarification, Outlet Creek drains Willits...the Outlet Creek Run is actually on the Main Eel, starting at the confluence with Outlet Creek and continuing to the Middle Fork Eel confluence.  Outlet Creek can also be paddled but is referred to as "Outlet Creek Proper".  Confused yet?  Don't blame me it's the old-schoolers fault, but if you live in Willits and say lets go paddle "Outlet tomorrow", the chances are you're referring to the Main Eel below the Outlet Creek confluence.  Reason Why?  Its awesome!

Photo: Paul Gamache

I tried to get some friends of mine to help with our shuttle attempting to bait them with "you can paddle laps of the Outlet Creek run while we do our 'mission' thing".  I kinda felt that guilt that you always feel when you ask a friend to help you with shuttle "but you could join us for your final lap", I said.  Several friends I talked to had never done this stretch and seemed generally uninterested.  I wonder what forces of the earth have caused the Eel to get such an overlooked and undesirable reputation and general disinterest.  Our crew, however, looked forward to this section as the cherry on top of our long day.  The first rapid down from the bridge continued into the sunshine and was one big = er.

Photo: Paul Gamache

Will and I, both having paddling roots in Idaho, felt right at home.  I may as well have been in Chair Creek Rapid on the Main Salmon River at 13,000 Cfs.  Then, what do you know it, there were some awesome playwaves too!

Photo: Paul Gamache

And some more great rapids led us to the dramatic Middle Fork Eel confluence where the river becomes immense.  At our triumphant take-out downstream we had checked off another 38 miles of the Eel.  While doing our shuttle a friendly local welcomed us into his home by the fire and we felt truly gifted to have experienced such a wonderful day of paddling on a river none of us had paddled or had a good idea of what to expect.  The whole run was great, the Hearst section was awesome and the Outlet Creek Run was "the best play run I've paddled in the Northcoast" --Will Parham.

Photo: Paul Gamache

High Water Three Bears

Howdy everybody,
It's been a busy winter thus far.  Lots of water and surf, but lots of work to be done as well.

When the rains came New Years day, we decided to head back to the Bears, which was flowing a respectable 13,000 cfs. at Hyampom.  Luckily for us, we timed it perfectly and put-on the peaking river, still well within its banks.  Our crew of 6 consisted of three playboats, two creekers, and an inflatable cataraft.  While we were gearing up at put-in, a second crew of two older (and mellower) paddlers arrived and got on the water ahead of us.  I was surprised to see them at such high flows.

After being away from Idaho for so long (~10 yrs), it felt awesome to be in big, pushy water again.  The typical eddy line was 10-20 feet wide complete with whirlpools and crazy boils.  We were expecting to get down the run in 20-30 minutes due to the high flow, but we were dead wrong.

Right away, the first corner has a sick breaking wave on the right.  The eddy service was marginal, but if you wanted it, was possible.  The river continues through fun and large wave trains with occasional play spots created by inundated house-sized boulders.  After Todd Ranch, the play gets better until you arrive at the Bears.

Our attempt to scout the first bear was foiled by the inability to see the river features from the bank, over 200 feet away.  No worries though, it turned out that all of the lines were the same as low water, just bigger.  Remembering the importance of the "buddy system" in big water, I peeled out with Matt Tolley and into some of the biggest water in years.  Next came the rest of the crew, with Grant flipping at the top and running most of the rapid upside down.  In his typical "no-swim" fashion, he made a crux roll, dropped into the biggest hole of the rapid and flipped again.  Everybody caught the eddy on river left as the wave train continued all the way to the lip of Mama Bear.

Mama Bear was easily scouted along the left bank, where you can get a good look at the Mother of all holes.  Our crew was nervously hemming and hawing along the left bank for at least 30 minutes before Ryan da Rafter stepped up to give her a go...Remember what I said about the "buddy system" in big water?  Well we had a breakdown in the buddy system, as I was on the bank holding my video camera and everybody else was watching Ryan's line, trying to psyche themselves up.  What happens when the buddy system breaks down is the true story of the day.  It's not often you have a cat-boat probing the lines.  Mad props goes to Ryan for stepping it up and probing out the line with his cataraft!

Ryan made the entry to Mama bear and approached the crux hole, staying upright with a vicious high-side.  While scrambling to get back on the oars, he dropped into a second hole just downstream and proceeded to get rodeoed directly from his boat and into the maelstrom.  Fortunately Ryan is an incredible swimmer, and deftly made it to the left bank (just downstream was a willow jungle with thousands of cfs flowing through.)  Ryan's cataraft, however didn't make it to the bank, and proceeded downstream through baby bear.
The scramble was on.  I put my camera quickly away and darted to my boat.  Tolley was waiting in the eddy at the top and he peeled out alongside me.  We both managed good lines through the 100 foot wide crux hole, and checked in with Ryan who was O.K. on the bank.  We then peeled back out in the current, dropping into Baby Bear.  I scrambled hard right, barely missing a macking pour-over that Tolley proceeded to drop into and recieve a proper spanking.  The chase was on!  We couldn't even see the cataraft, which was already en route for the Pacific Ocean.  Thinking to myself of possible eddies that the boat might catch before take-out, after a couple of miles we were quickly approaching the take-out when I finally caught sight of the boat, encouraging me to paddle harder.  Finally, less than half-mile from take-out, I saw the boat get surged by a pillow into a tiny whirlpool eddy carved into the cliff wall, complete with whirlpools and large woody debris.  It wasn't that gnarly, but it definitely wasn't a comforting spot.
I forced the boat into a corner of the eddy, and clinging to some alders managed to get myself and my kayak onto the cat.  Tolley and I "cooled out" and waited in the cleft eddy for awhile before deciding our best option was to get downstream to take-out.  Well, I'm no big water catarafter, and surfing the boat across the pillow was enough to get my juices flowing.  But we made it to take-out without incident, and started carrying the cataraft up to the shuttle rig to stay warm.

Meanwhile, the rest of our crew was dealing with getting Ryan back to the river right so he could hike out.  This went smoothly, however in the melee Howie (from the other group) took a swim and proceeded to lose his paddle.  After hanging out at the low-water bridge for over an hour, Matt and I saw a paddler come walking down the road on the other side of the river.  Minutes later, our buddies arrived with a kayak in tow.  Fortunately we were equipped with a breakdown paddle which we ferried over to Howie and watched him nervously as he made the ferry across to take-out.

I consider the mission a great success, we managed to get everyone and all of their gear (minus one paddle) safely to take-out, where we enjoyed some Boont from the can.  "Bahl Hornin'"!  The lesson of the day, however, is the importance of the buddy system in big water.  At 13,000, I give the Bears a class V- rating, merely for the fact that any swim could be long and troublesome...the play was awesome, all of the lines were the same as low-flows and I can't wait to do it again!

South Trinity: HWY 36 to Hyampom--Day Two: Sulfur Glade Creek to Hyampom

In case you haven't read the day one description it is here

The sun rose to the beach about 8:00, coaxing me from my heavy slumber.  It was damp and dewey, Ed claimed he saw some frost, but I must've slept through it.

In the morning I spent about an hour walking around on the enormous flat where we camped.  This area burned during 2008, and is beginning to revegetate nicely.  Upon returning from my jaunt, Ed was in his drysuit, with drybags packed and looking eager to go...

Recap on the camping situation:
Once you are past the river-spirit community a couple of miles (houses on both banks, suspension bridge) good camping is abundant.  I'm not sure exactly where we camped but we passed a gigantic flat and creek on river left that must've been sulfur glade creek, and I'd reckon we made it past there about another mile and a half.
The many enormous campsites are essentially deltas created by the monster floods during 1964.  Widespread logging of steep slopes and road-building practices (e.g. using too small sized culverts) led to enormous hillslope failures (landslides) that poured millions upon millions of yards of sediment into the South Trinity watershed.  This resulted in the "filling" of many pools and the "raising" of the river-bed.  Today, the system is still working all of this sediment through, though sediment inputs from human causes and the naturally soft coastal geology continue to contribute ample supply, keeping the system in stasis (impaired).  The salmon runs have been impacted as a result, but hey, there's tons of great camping!

Putting back on the water, and our stick gauge  

      

This put us about 17 miles into the 25-mile section and meant we would have ample time for scouting and portaging in the Hyampom Gorge.

After paddling for only an hour in the morning we reached Oak Flat and Butter Creek shortly thereafter.  Houses start coming into view, and the canyon opens up.  Butter Creek is the best take-out (unless you know landowners) for people who wish to avoid the gorge.  Taking out here requires an extra half-hour of driving time (St. Johns Road off Hyampom Rd), and it is a short steep hike up to the road (20 yards).  Nonetheless, this may still be less effort than lining/portaging rafts and kayaks through the rocky gorge downstream.  The gradient picks up slightly, and a couple of swift miles bring you to the gorge, which rises abruptly.  There is a large flat (Winton Flat) on the left upstream of the gorge, where we took a nice lunchbreak in the shade, put the elbow pads back on, and hydrated up.

Ed chilling on a beach where there was a goose-egg...We saw several nesting goose pairs.

Ed Scouting the Gorge

I was fortunate enough to get to snorkel this stretch of river, during the summer while doing a fish count.  I had already seen the ugly sieves and nasty pockets, and was happily looking forward to the portage on river left, which had an easy to catch eddy at our flow.  We took a good long scout on the right, however, and marvelled at the beauty of the nastiness.

I like the gi-normous undercut Limestone wall on river right, though taking this photo put me on an uncomfortably precarious slab above a man-eating crack in the wall.

The river forces its way through this notch, with a hidden mystery rock right in the middle, and head-hunting undercut on the right.

After pouring through one more VW Bus eating sieve, the gradient suddenly lets up and fun rapids follow for the next several miles.  The portage was really not that bad, though it was over large, uneven boulders for about 150 yards.  Here is the view, standing above another uncomfortable spot.

The fun continues downstream.

Eventually we reached another big class V rapid that we both fired off.  It had a fun double boof-entry to a ramp that ended with a crazy curler that you rode back to the left (of a sieve).  Ed styled the line, and I followed with a very not smooth line, catching every eddy and barely riding the curl to the left of a smooth rock, which I got a good look at.  I took a video of Ed, and should have it up soon.

A typical off-line consequence

More fun class III-IV continued for about a mile before it tapered off.  As quickly as the gorge began, it tapers off into the Hyampom Valley, with one final display of splendor as you pass an enormous limestone wall.

Two miles of flatwater brings you to the take-out, on the river left side about 1/4 mile upstream of the bridge in Hyampom.  Here you will find a big flat area where you can drive right to the river.  We, however, took out at the bridge, which was not such easy access.

Considering the easy access, high quality of scenery, wilderness and whitewater, likelihood of good flows combining with sunny spring weather and amazing campsites...I'd give the South Fork a definite 4.5 out of 5 stars.  There were certainly some nasty spots to avoid, but the river is generally quite forgiving with plenty of eddies for scouting and fairly easy portaging.  I'll venture to say that a crew of confident class IV boaters would probably make it down this run with maybe 2-3 portages in Klondike Mine, and another 2 in the Hyampom Gorge.

Rafting flows would ideally be slightly higher than what we had, as it would open up some narrow slots and provide more coverage.  In the words of Cassidy/Calhoun, "Any rafter who takes on this run must be a wilderness nut who doesn't mind several long, difficult portages.  Seasoned experts only.  Pack light."  We had ~1,000 cfs @ put-in (Forest Glen)...so I reckon ideal rafting flows would probably be 1200-1500.  The adventure is awesome and has the same remote feel as any other wilderness run that I've paddled.  Unlike all of the mainstream "notorious", permitted wilderness trips, we didn't see a soul for 2-days.  This run could also be extended all the way through to the 3-bears if one were inclined for a hefty 3-day (kayak), or 4 day (raft) trip.  Happy paddling.

South Trinity: HWY 36 to Hyampom--Day One Klondike Mine to Sulfur Glade Creek

To All My Paddling Friends,
I don't know of any reason not to do this run.  This has to be one of the most accessible and classic class III-IV (V, P) overnight runs in the country, and will probably be flowing for awhile longer.  I can't recall another river I've paddled with the same abundance of sweet wilderness camping spots than the South Trinity (Bruneau, Selway, M.F. Salmon, Grand Canyon, Rogue River & S.F. Salmon included)  In fact, I would rate the South Trinity among these rivers for the quality of scenery, solitude and beauty.  If you have done these rivers, you will undoubtedly appreciate the S.F.T. for its unique scenery and feel.  This shot is from S.F. Mountain, overlooking the Mad River, with Red and Black Lassic Buttes (Van Duzen Drainage) visible behind.

After paddling Lower Hayfork Creek a couple of days earlier, I convinced my buddy Warnertime to help leave my truck in Hyampom, at the bridge over the south fork (not recommended take-out).  Shuttle set, it was time to find someone to paddle with!  Several calls and messages later (my phone was running out of charge) I knew Silent Ed would be the man for the task.  After a night on the couch in Rio Dell, Ed picked me up at 8:00 A/M.  We drove to safeway in fortuna for a food/booze buy, then proceeded to stop at Murrish market for batteries to run the Ipod...then we stopped in Dinsmore so I could buy some sunglasses.  Ed then decided he wished to take a side-trip to check out the upper Van Duzen (class II-III).  Several more photo stops later, we finally arrived in Forest Glen and managed to put-on the water by 1:00 in the afternoon.

The Klondike Mine section has a great warmup before you get into the steeps.  Several small, technical rapids precede the first major rapid.  For the most part the run is actually not very difficult, despite containing substantial hazards (undercuts, sieves, logs) to avoid.  For rafts, I would recommend slightly higher flows than we had (1,100 @ Put-in) to provide coverage and more space through boulder-gardens and willowy areas.

  The nature of the river makes boat-scouting quite tricky, so I recommend scouting whenever in doubt (through Klondike Mine).  The first big drop is a long and complex affair, that would be difficult for raft passage at our flows.

After the initial wave of rapids, the run backs off again for a little bit until arriving at the major drop: Holey Schist!  This rapid is a holey affair and I mean water through rocks.  There is a sweet line down the right, that proved to be quite friendly for the loaded boats.  Ed sticks the line.

The portage down the left would be difficult, though not brutal.  After Holey Schist, fun rapids continue.

Eventually you reach the last major drop of Klondike Mine, with a nasty undercut on the left that draws most of the flow.  This is a longer rapid, and definitely deserved a class V- rating at our flow.  I don't have any pic's of this, but before you know it, the major rapids back off and the run gradually tapers off to IV- and then class III for the next 16 miles.  The Klondike Mine take-out is vaguely recognizable by a tailings pile 80 feet up the left bank.  This road has been decommissioned and is supposedly a 2-3 mile hike for access these days.  The float continues below here with a consistent pace with class III rapids interspersed throughout and a fairly even gradient.  There was a surprisingly small amount of flatwater @ 1,100, though in places the river coursed through tight willow and alder areas that could prove challenging for oar-frames.

The first major ranch comes on the left approx. 6.5 miles into the run, on the Left Bank.  A surprising amount of private property exists along this run, although most of the time the S.F.T. is flowing, residents don't have access to their land (due to snowed in roads).  South Fork Mountain, on the left, produces innumerable side-creeks that constantly add flow to the river.  After about 14 miles you pass the Riversong Community, where buildings are on both banks.  Approaching the river spirit community:

We couldn't help but check out this vintage Perception Eclipse, located behind an unguarded fence.

The South Fork sure is beautiful

Below here fun rapids pick up again for several miles.

After a while, I decided it was time for some beers and we started looking for a campspot.  The trouble we had was picking one!  We passed by one killer spot, then another o.k. spot, then passed by two more killer spots before arriving at the killer spot we decided to be our camp.  I loved this spot, with a huge beach, ample wood, and enormous grassy flat above.

We definitely saw some signs of life, though only one human and two dogs were aware of our presence along the trip.  This compared with the bald eagles, osprey, herons, goose, ducks, deer, lizards, frogs, turtles, woodpeckers and countless unique endemic plant species that inhabit the area.  See day two for more...