Disappointment, Debacle, & Delight in California (4.2011)

Feeling the need for a road trip, I started first by looking at water levels in California, one of my favorite places to paddle. Not wanting to drive too far and knowing that I'd probably only be able to pull off a three day weekend, I set my sights on the northern part of the state. I'd been wanting to do the the NF Trinity for some time, but water levels were way too high. The Cal Salmon drainage looked like it would be good, but even the levels there were on the juicy side. Then it clicked, "What about a multi-day on Deer Creek? Wow, levels actually look really good!" I had also wanted to do Deer Creek for years now, and if I could just pull a crew together, this may be my opportunity to do so.

Deer Creek:
The rest of my week (aside from work) was spent making phone calls and preparing for a potential mission. After multiple candidates dropped off one by one, it was down to three of us, Roman, Shawn, and me. Not a very big crew, especially for a long drive with two cars, but this did not deter us. Neither did the flow, which was now looking like it would also be on the high end. It had risen from the levels I had based my decision on earlier in the week, which was being caused by snowmelt from unseasonably high temps in the area. The recommended flow was between 600 and 1,200cfs, and by the time we left it was sitting around 1,400; however a cooling trend was in the forecast, so I was pretty sure we’d be fine and it would drop into the high end of the zone.

We left Thursday night after work and made it all the way down to Red Bluff, CA, which was about 45 minutes north of our takeout. We ended up staying in a Motel 6, which was cheap, but far from deluxe accommodations. The next morning we packed up, got some grub at a greasy spoon, and headed south. We had heard that leaving a car at the takeout can be risky due to break-ins, luckily we were able to convince a very nice local to park in his driveway.

The takeout bridge

Next we headed to the put-in. The road was paved the whole way, which was good since we hit elevations of more than 4,000' with plenty of snow piled against the shoulders. After a little over an hour, we caught a glimpse of Deer Creek, and some of the rapids we'd planned to travel down. We got out for a quick peek, before heading upstream a couple more miles to our put-in at Potato Patch Campground. To our dismay the campground was closed, so we were forced to park our car at the gated entrance and alongside the road.

Looking into the Upper Deer Creek drainage on the drive up

Snow at the higher elevations.
"Hope we're not gonna be sleeping in this stuff!"

The bridge crossing ~2 miles down from the put-in

Looks good from the bridge!

It was now time to pack our boats (much like a backpack) for our 3-day adventure that would take us through the Ishi Wilderness area. After stuffing and jamming as much gear as we could into our boats, we headed down to the water. It was difficult to find a spot since the banks were steep and the water was high. Finally we found a couple of less than optimal spots, where we sealed ourselves into our crafts and headed downstream.

"How the hell am I going to get all this stuff in my boat?!"

"Hey Roman, wanna carry some of my stuff too?"

After a couple of paddle strokes it became obvious that the heavy load was going to take a few miles to get used to -- I've done a couple self-support multi-day trips, but had been some time. Another thing that was clear was the higher than recommended flow. What was reported as nice warm-up class III, was definitely verging more on the class IV side. Figuring that we just needed to get settled into a rhythm, we continued downstream. Almost immediately we had to eddy out and walk around a river-wide log, further heightening our senses. Another mile or so below this we encountered a pretty sizeable horizon line and got out to scout. What lay in front of us was a pretty juiced up rapid that looked straightforward, but did require a strong move at the top to skirt a rather large hole blocking the entrance. Shawn offered to go first, while Roman setup with a bag, and I shot photos. Shawn entered the rapid, made the required move and threaded between the right wall and the hole, and after a brief mellow stretch he dropped over the second part of the drop. From my perch, I could see that he was eddied out far downstream. Both Roman and I packed our stuff and prepared for our turn. Both of us came through clean and joined Shawn in the eddy below. "Wow, that was pretty juicy" I said, with the others nodding in complete agreement.

Shawn drops into the rapid we scouted

Skirting the hole nicely

Dropping into the second half of the rapid

Soon the Hwy 32 bridge came into view, and we had reached the point of no return--it was discussion time. We were now questioning our decision of putting on above the recommended level. It's not that the rapids we had just paddled through were that tough, they were actually quite fun. The issue was we did not know how the juiced up the creek would feel as we got to the crux gorge sections, with some rated as class V. After a long discussion and review of some trip write-ups and maps (which I had printed out), we reluctantly decided to fold our cards. This was a really tough decision for me, for I'd really wanted to do this run, and we had already driven all this way. However, better judgment took over and I'm confident we made the right decision. Luckily I only had to jog up the road a couple miles to the car, much better than having to hike out through miles of wilderness.

Footage from our failed mission on Deer Creek.
It was fun while it lasted!

Our new plan was to try and put in on Lower Deer Creek for a two day run, where the it had a more reasonable IV/IV+ rating, but unfortunately this plan was soon crushed, as we were turned back by deep snow. "What the hell are we going to do now?!" We headed back to Chico to figure it out... Now that we had data service, I was able to check levels on Dreamflows for other runs in the area. To my surprise, the Downieville area looked to have almost perfect flows. We had spent last Memorial Day weekend there and had a blast. It was another two hours south, but due to the quality of the whitewater in that area, we decided to go for it. After a long drive into the night, we reached basecamp. Since the nighttime temps were still pretty cold, we decided to pitch camp about 15 or some miles downstream of Downieville where we would be a little warmer and out of the snow.

Basecamp

Wild Plum (NF Yuba):
The next morning we decided that our first run would be on Wild Plum. This was one of our favorite runs from last time, it’s basically continuous class IV for miles and miles. There are also two gorge sections on the run, Ladies Canyon and Moss Canyon. We had run both of these the last time, but the water level was now higher, and a road scout indicated that we would probably be portaging their main drops. Instead, we decided the best use of our time would be to takeout just above Ladies, and then spend the rest of our day with a quick lap on Lavezzola Creek.

After a pleasant discussion with some Sierra City locals at the put-in, we slid into the water and made our way downstream. The sun was shining with nary a cloud in the sky. California at its finest, it was going to be a good day! The run was just like I had remembered it, fun, pushy rapids, one right after another. In fact there are so many rapids, it would be almost impossible to count. It was also nice to have a relatively empty boat, which allowed for quick moves over and around the many boulders channeling the drops. The hazard on this run is wood, and although we didn't run into a lot, it was something that was certainly in the back of our mind as we scouted from eddies, as well as shore from time to time. Also, at least at this level, a swim could be long and gear could certainly be lost. None of this detracted from the quality of the run, we were smiling all the way to the takeout, ~10 miles downstream. The last big drop, just above Ladies Canyon, was a real hoot -- big hydraulics and a tight move. We all opted for the left chute at the bottom, avoiding the right, with an undercut man-made cement wall. We all had good lines, and soon after made it to our awaiting vehicle just around the corner.

Shawn enters a typical rapid on Wild Plum

Roman follows suit

Roman digs in on another

Shawn in the middle of the last drop

Elbow deep in it

Roman finishing up nicely

The author takes his turn
(photo by Roman Androsov)



Footage from our run down Wild Plum

Lavezzola Creek:
As planned, our next destination was Lavezzola, a great little class IV that literally flows into the town of Downieville with its sister creek, Pauley. After dropping off a car we made the quick drive up to the put-in. Lavezzola was quite a contrast from the large featured river we had just been on, and although it only had about one quarter the flow, its narrow riverbed channelized it well. The flow was ~300cfs and it felt like a nice medium flow, and little higher than we had done it last season. We were now moving at good pace, eddying out where necessary and leap-frogging down the creek.

We soon came to a gorged in section, and I recognized the drop that was in front of us, a fun two-tiered plunge. I eddied out just above the lip and peered over my shoulder -- after confirming that it was clean I dropped through and quickly eddied out. The others followed soon after, and we were now faced with another drop just below us. I had also remembered this drop from before and how I had gotten surfed in the hole at the base. Since the water was a little higher, I decided to get out and give it a scout. Sure enough the hole looked a little sticky, so Roman went down to setup a rope while Shawn and I came down. We both ended up with good lines, and Shawn took Roman's place while he took his turn. Soon he appeared, got in a good stroke, and sailed over the hole to join us.

The fun two-tiered drop

Shawn gets back in his boat after scouting the hole downstream

Droppin' in

Shawn lines up the ledge hole while Roman readies a bag

Roman grabs for it

Next, we headed further downstream until we reached a drop with the view partially blocked by the glare of the sun. It looked to be a straightforward class III, with a visible eddy on the bottom left. As I eddied out above, both Shawn and Roman passed by. I briefly looked over my shoulder and could see that Roman was sideways and appeared to be stuck in a small hole. As Shawn gave me the signal to go hard left, I then headed down to help if necessary. I snuck the left side down what appeared to be a clear path, and this is when I first spotted a vertically pinned paddle in the middle of the creek (and just to my right). Before I had a chance to process it, I slammed to a complete stop and looked down to see a log across my stomach. I was now in one of the most feared positions to be in as a kayaker, and in a fight for my life. Since I have already posted a video and small write-up on the event that unfolded, I’ll send you there, which also has a bunch of really good comments and feedback from the readers. Both can be found here.


In the end I was able to get over the log and safely to shore, with the help of my buddies. I did lose my paddle and one bootie, but this was a small price to pay to still be breathing. Luckily my boat had eddied out, and Roman had a hold of it. Since I was now safe, Shawn gave chase to my paddle, as well as Roman's boat and paddle. He had lost his gear after being forced to swim by the same log. He was actually flushed through upside-down and backwards, scary stuff. I had a break-down in my boat, which I quickly fashioned together so I could join Shawn in the chase. Roman hikeed down the bank in hopes that his gear would be recovered. Now taking it cautiously, I slowly worked my way downstream. I was able to see Roman from time to time, and eventually we met up again, where he was able to show me that he had found his paddle. Not long after that, I rounded a corner to see his boat washed up on a gravel bar, which made it easy to grab. Now that Roman had all his gear, we were able to continue by water together, with still no sign of Shawn. After a long, slow, paddle out, we finally reached the confluence with Pauley, our takeout. We quickly scurried up the bank to the car, where we found a note from Shawn, which read, "Nate and Roman, stay here." I was pretty sure he was driving up and down the shuttle road in case we had hiked out. We decided that Roman would stay at the takeout while I drove up to look for him. Soon enough we met up, and the first thing I asked him when he rolled down the window was, "Quick lap on Pauley?" We both chuckled and headed down to grab Roman before going to camp.

That night we stood around the fire and talked about what had happened that day. We chatted about all the great whitewater we had run, but mostly analyzed the event on Lavezzola, and talked about what we did right and what we could have done better. It was about this time that my ribs really started to bother me, most likely caused by the amount of force required to pull myself over the log. I really wanted to run Pauley before leaving the next day, but I was pretty sure I would be too sore to do so. Also, the others thought we should just take it easy and head home in the morning.

Shawn and Roman enjoy some cowboy TV (channel 1)

Going to sleep to some TV (channel 2)

Once again, the sun and voices in the distance woke me. I was surprised that my body didn't hurt as bad as I was thinking it would. I let the others know that I was good to go, so we decided to break camp and get a lap in on Pauley before heading back to Oregon. Once at the takeout, we walked over to look at Pauley Creek Falls, a runnable 20'er. Even though the flow was slightly higher than last year, when I ran it, it still looked a little boney. I figured I'd make a decision when we got there.

Pauley Creek:
From the pullout at Second Divide trailhead, we scrambled down to the creek and put on. Although my ribs were a little sore and I was paddling with a break-down, I was feeling refreshed and excited to be on this great little creek. The water was crystal clear, the sky was dark blue and the sun was shining bright once again. After paddling through some class II and III drops, we arrived at the first big one, Federal Falls. This 15'er is pretty straightforward at this level, and we all ran it without issue. Just below and around the corner, we eddied out to scout the double drop that exited the small gorge. It appeared to be fairly sticky, but there was really no good way to setup safety or even consider portaging. With that we ran down the left side and had good lines and avoided its grasp.

Shawn takes his preferred line at Federal Falls

Shawn eddies out above between the falls and the ledge hole

The author goes for a more centered approach...
(photo by Roman Androsov)

...which worked well
(photo by Roman Androsov)

Next up was a fun slide that we all ran down the left. We had seen this one from the road, so we knew it was clear of wood, but I still wanted to get out for some pictures.

The slide drop (from above)

Shawn approaches the end of the slide drop

Roman exits stage right

The boys relax below the slide

Soon after was a 6' to 8' ledge that dropped into another hole, although it was pretty easy to boof over. Even so, we still setup safety and took pictures, enjoying the beautiful setting that surrounded us.

Roman has a nice line

The author digs in
(photo by Roman Androsov)

The author readies for impact
(photo by Roman Androsov)

Before long we reached Split Falls, probably my favorite drop on the run. It's really more of a steep slide rather than a true waterfall, but dishes out plenty of excitement and sports a nice hole at the base. You can go for the gut down the far right, or try and air it out on the left. Between the three of us, we each took different lines, but we all made it through cleanly, and with a big smile.

Shawn enters Split Falls

Shawn claws his way out of the meat

Roman at Split Falls

Roman also gets a nice ender

Some more fun class II and III water continued all the way to the takeout eddy above Pauley Creek Falls. The others had already decided they didn't like the line so opted to walk out from there. I figured, what the hell, even though it's a bit scrapey it still looks fun.

Roman runs a fun class III drop just below Split Falls

Shawn takes in the scenery on a mellow stretch

Shawn takes out above Pauley Creek Falls

Shawn and Roman hung out to make sure that I made it down okay. After running the entrance ledge I ferried over to river left for my line on that side. I pulled out of the eddy and dropped into the current, took one last stroke, sailed off the falls, and got as good as a tuck as I could muster. The landing was surprisingly soft, and I easily paddled away from the base and over to the right bank. I was right, it was boney, but still super fun and a great way to end the trip.

The author drives hard at Pauley Creek Falls
(photo by Roman Androsov)

Air stokes
(photo by Roman Androsov)

Mid tuck
(photo by Roman Androsov)

Footage from our run down Pauley Creek

After hiking out, packing up, and talking to some more locals, we started our long drive back home. On the way out we stopped to look at the massive dam the highway went over. There was a massive spillway that was releasing water, and we imagined (like any boater would) what it would be like to kayak down. Of course it would be suicide, but it's still fun to imagine. We also had one last stop in Chico for fuel and food before heading out. I had a chimichanga that was about the size of my head, which set me up well for the rest of the drive.

Good people and good weather! How could you not love Downieville?!

Looks runnable from here...

I may need some help here
(photo by Shawn Haggin)

Our spring Cali trip was definitely a mixed bag -- from disappointment, to sheer joy, to near tragedy. Even with the mishaps, I still feel that California is one of the best places to paddle on the planet, and I'll be back soon enough -- in fact, we're already planning the next trip...

Stuck between a log & a hard place (4.3.11)

After heading to Cali last weekend for a multi-day on Deer Creek and being denied by high water, we headed to Downieville for some classic roadside whitewater. We were able to get on Wild Plum (upper NF Yuba), Lavezzola Creek, and Pauley Creek. We had plenty of sun and fun, although we did have incident on Lavezzola in the form of a river-wide log. Two of us are lucky to be here today, and for the second time this year I found myself questioning why I boat, and if it’s really worth it.

This time it was captured on my head-cam, which has allowed me to analyze it over and over to determine what could have been done better. To be honest, I’m not sure I would have done anything much different. It was a class III drop, which we could see the eddy/pool below. The log was both hidden by the glare of the sun as well as being mostly submerged. In fact I didn’t even know it was there until I was stuck underneath it. Obviously the vertically pinned paddle could have given me some indication, but it all happened so fast that I didn't have time to process it.

In the end, I concluded that whitewater kayaking, just like other sports of its kind (e.g. climbing, mountain biking, mountaineering, etc.), has inherent danger, and sometimes things just go wrong. However, this is also one of the reasons that it excites us and draws us away from the daily grind and the rat race.

Some are probably wondering why I share my carnage stories. I’ve never been too proud to show myself getting worked in a hole and going for swim for entertainment purposes. However, ones like this are more serious and meant to be used as a learning tool. My hope is that I can receive constructive feedback to help reduce and/or prepare myself for the next time. I also hope that others can learn from these events without having to go through it themselves. If you do have feedback, please add it to the comment section below so that others can also read it.


Stuck between a log and a hard place:

Eagle Creek, Oregon (3.19.11)

Chris at Punchbowl

One of the first things that Emily and I did after moving to Oregon was go backpacking up Eagle Creek, in the Columbia River Gorge. I remember being completely blown away by the massive waterfalls and moss covered cliff walls and trees. It was a stark contrast from Arizona, where we had moved from. The trail that parallels Eagle Creek and allows access to hikers was built using dynamite by Italian engineers in the 1910s. Also, the area above the 800’ mark was officially designated as Wilderness in 1984.

Fast forward ~10 years to 2011. Although I’ve grown accustomed to my new environment, I'm still awed when I visit places like Eagle Creek. Now being a kayaker (I wasn’t back then) I wondered what it would be like from the water level in my boat, as opposed to high up along the cliff walls. I’d seen many pictures and a few videos of fellow kayakers entering the canyon, and I knew it was only a matter of time before I made the journey myself.

Eagle Creek is not for the faint of heart, and the standard run (from Skoonichuck Falls) requires a four mile hike in, albeit on the well maintained hiking trail. Furthermore, one of the main reasons for hiking in is to run some big drops, and big they are. The first, Skoonichuck Falls, is a two-tiered monster that starts with a 40’er before almost immediately dropping over another 15’er. The next big boy is Punchbowl Falls, a 35’ drop into a deep pool with a notoriously hard landing. Not far below here lies the crown jewel, Metlako, 20’ of slope into 80’ of freefall, for a total of a 10 story drop!

For the last couple of weeks, Eagle Creek had entered my mind a few times, and when my buddy Chris threw the idea out in an email thread, I pounced. Now all we needed to do was round up a crew and find out how to determine flows (there's no real information out there on the internet for this). Chris worked on rounding up people up north, while I targeted the Eugene area. I also got in contact with Jacob Cruser, to see if he was interested in joining us. Jacob has done the run a few times and he’s always a good person to have along, as well as get beta from. Unfortunately he had already made plans, but he was able to direct us to the best gauge to use for determining flow. Basically, he stated that 400cfs on the Bull Run near Multnomah was a great medium flow. Further, he knew of people that had run Eagle Creek when this gauge was reading 600’. At that level Skoonichuck was too big to run (in their opinion) but the rest was good to go. He also stated that going in there over 700cfs would probably feel pretty full on. After looking at the gauge, it appeared that flows would be between 400 and 500cfs for Saturday. Perfect, right in the sweet spot, the plan was set.

The correlation gauge. We had
just over 400cfs on 3/19/10.

After many phone calls we were only able to wrangle up one more person into joining us, Eric Arlington, one of our dependable kayaking buddies from the Portland area. Luckily, Roman was planning to come up to Portland with me so he could run the slalom gates with Stephen Cameron. Having company would make the drive a little more enjoyable as well as help with the cost of fuel. We had also planned to all boat together on Sunday, so everything was starting to come together. Saturday morning rolled around, and after driving up to Portland and dropping Roman off at Stephen’s house, I headed over to Lewis & Clark State Park to meet up with Chris and Eric. Once we had all loaded up, we set our course for the parking area at the start of the famous Eagle Creek Trail.

When we entered the parking lot we saw that there were a couple groups of kayakers already there, packing up and preparing for the hike in. Obviously the word had gotten out about the water level. Upon talking to them we also discovered that these were not local crews, but rather from the southwest, specifically Colorado and Utah. After chatting for a bit they started the hike while we got our stuff packed up.

After some last minute preparations and some final adjustments to my kayak pack, I started up the trail, with my crew up ahead and almost out of sight. The hike in was long, but scenic. We stopped a few times along the way to rest and readjust. Eric, who didn’t have a pack, was shouldering his boat and doing everything he could do to prevent rubbing his shoulder raw. Chris, who was using the same NRS pack as me, managed to break it about a mile into the trip, and therefore was also forced to shoulder his boat up the trail. Luckily mine stayed intact, but with the boat’s high profile it was a little sketchy on some of the exposed/overhung portions of the trail. Our first major stop was at the overlook to Punchbowl, bigger than any waterfall I had run before, at 35’. From high up it didn’t look that big, but I knew this would be a different story from our perch at the lip once we were there in our kayaks.

The start of the hike

Chris readjusts

Slow and steady

There are some exposed sections on the hike in,
which were a little sketchy when you're top heavy.

Our first look at Punchbowl (from the the trail)

We now had about 1 ½ miles to our put-in, and since I was fairly warmed up it didn’t seem too bad. The scenery from this stretch of trail is pretty spectacular, including a narrow slot canyon that I was quite excited about floating through. Before long, Skoonichuck came into view, and although it was far away it looked massive and I was already questioning whether I’d be running it or not.

More hiking (and exposure)

The cool slot canyon, from the trail.

We made it! Finally.

Scouting Skoonichuck Falls

At this point we had ran into the crew of three from Colorado, Leif, Natalie, and David. After offloading our boats we hiked down to the lip of the falls to give it a look. I believe, “Wow, that’s big!” were the first words out of my mouth. Chris gave a chuckle and replied “Yup”. I was now about 50/50 on running this beast. The concern was that there was essentially no time between the first 40’er and the bottom 15’er. As Chris noted, “It’s basically a giant version of Double Drop on The Green Truss!”. At this point Eric had joined us and was also looking at the falls. His decision was almost immediate, “Yeah, I’ll be putting in below”. After some deliberation, Chris and I both walked away and decided not to run it. We were a little bummed about this, but at the same time happy in knowing that wisdom (more than fear) was what was guiding our better judgment. There was a line but it kinda seemed like a roll of the dice.

Leif Anderson drops into Skoonichuck Falls

(photo by Natalie Kramer)

David Schmitt runs the first tier of Skoonichuck...
(photo by Natalie Kramer)

...then the second.
(photo by Natalie Kramer)

The side trail that led to the base of the falls was back down the trail a bit. This off shoot was pretty steep but also short, so before long we were gearing up at the edge of the creek. Right below us was a ledge that I decided to take a look at before getting in my boat. This was good, since it allowed me to see that the right slot was pretty much a no-go, based on a piece of wood as well as a nasty hole. With that I directed the others to scrape down the far left side, where I followed soon after.

Our put-in, below Skoonichuck Falls.

Good to be on the water (at the put-in)

Looking back up at Skoonichuck

The first drop. We ran it hard left to
avoid wood and the hole in the right slot.

Just below was another horizon line, which Chris was already scouting. He motioned that it was good to go and then told us that it was an S-Turn drop which should be entered hard left. He also said it would be a good one for photos, so I jumped out to setup. Eric went first and had a super clean line. Chris was thrown around a bit, but finished it up clean. Now my turn, I ferried over to river left to drop in. I came down the tongue and was immediately flipped by the offset diagonals. After running almost the entirety of the drop on my head, I quickly rolled up in the pool below. In hindsight, I think the fact that Chris and I had to ferry over from the river right eddy complicated the line a bit, and didn’t allow us to enter cleanly. If I had it to do over again I would have put-in higher up or not eddied out at all and just stayed left.

Chris setups for the first good drop

Chris, mid S-Turn.

Below here were a couple more fun ledge drops before High Bridge came into view, signaling the entrance to the slot canyon. Since it did have a drop leading into it, I decided it would be a good time to jump out, have a look, and take some photos. The line ended up being pretty straightforward along the hard left side, and it reminded me a lot of Upper Trestle on Brice Creek. The canyon below did not disappoint, and was just as impressive as I had imagined it being. After taking a couple shots, I quickly packed up my belongings so I could boat down and join the others between the moss covered vertical walls below.

Chris runs the entrance drop to the slot canyon

Bustin' through

Eric takes his turn...

...and also gets a little squirt

The slot canyon. Amazing place!

We soon exited the slot and came to a pair of ledges, still in a gorge-type setting. The first drop had a narrow slot against the right wall that fed into a crack with a hole. It had a line, but it didn’t look that good to me or the others, so we all opted for the fun seal-launch into the eddy below on river left. From here a ferry back to river right lined us up for the next drop, with a tongue on that side to avoid a hole in the center.

Chris seal launches in between the pair of ledges

Chris lines up the bottom of the two ledges

Below these ledges the creek pooled in front of a logjam that was damming it up. We made the easy portage over the large log spanning the width of the creek at water level. Below here were a couple of class II/III rapids before we reached another obvious horizon line. What would be a fun ledge was all but ruined by a log that had fallen into the drop. There was a very narrow line on the far right side where the water spilled over it, but the water was pushing into the right overhung wall and it would have been difficult to stay off of it. Chris, who was scouting, quickly gave us the signal to portage. As I looked downstream from the rock shelf (that we were using to portage), it looked like Punchbowl Falls was right around the corner and we had reached a point of no return (based on the cliffed out walls). At this point Chris had already made the seal-launch back into the water and was headed downstream to check things out. Eric and I quickly made the portage as well and moved downstream to join him.

Exit to the tight gorge

Eric runs some class II, which allowed us to take in the view.

The drop a little way up from Punchbowl.
Unfortunately the log complicates the line
a bit, and most of the water plows into the right.

Eric contemplates the point of no return

Sure enough we had reached Punchbowl, and the entrance drop that guarded it. After eddying out, I hiked across the sloping cliff wall and met up with Chris who was scouting the drop. As predicted, the drop looked bigger than it had from high up during the hike in. After a short discussion on who should go first and where we should setup for pictures, I volunteered to be the probe so I could setup for them from down below. I did ask Chris to take photos from above and then toss the camera (in a drybox) to me once I had run the waterfall. After a quick study of the entrance drop I headed upstream to jump in my boat. I had planned to ferry over to river right to run the entrance drop on that side, which was really the only clean line. Once I was setup in the eddy, I paddled toward the lead-in ledge. I came down the drop with a nice little boof near the bottom which deposited me in the boiling pool below, and ready for the plunge that laid in front of me.

The author runs the entrance drop.
(photo by Chris Arnold)

The author catches his breath before dropping over Punchbowl
(photo by Chris Arnold)

I’d seen video from above of people running Punchbowl. One of the lines that looked really good to me was done by entering the pile as high up as possible and then riding it over the drop with a nice tuck. This would be my line, and we often refer to this recon as “video scouting”, usually in a joking manner. “Don’t worry man, it goes, I video scouted it!”After rehearsing the line in my head, I paddled toward my target. I was a bit surprised at the power of the boil which was actually pushing against me, and I had to put in some power strokes to make forward progress. As planned, I entered the pile high and drove through the seam with one last paddle stroke and a hip thrust. This is where thing started to go a little wrong. What happened next I didn’t expect (and therefore didn’t prepare for). I stalled out on the pile for an uncomfortable amount of time. Not only that but it was trying to spin me around and send me over backwards or upside down. Luckily I was able to keep it straight and upright, but unfortunately I had lost most of my speed and also wasn’t able to get in the tuck, which was probably the most important part (based on the infamous hard hit at the base). As I dropped through the air and toward the pool and the inevitable hit, I thought to myself, “This is gonna hurt”. Upon impact, which I landed completely flat, the jolt ripped the paddle from my hands, blew my skirt, readjusted my helmet cam, and flipped me. Without a sealed boat and paddle (I don’t have a hand roll), I was forced to swim. As I reached the surface I was glad that I was able to move all four limbs and had complete mobility. At this point I was pretty convinced that I hadn’t broken my back. I quickly swam for my paddle and grabbed it before climbing to shore and waiting for my boat, which was slowly floating toward me. A little shaken, I emptied my boat and asked the two gals (who were in their kayaks below the drop), if they could catch my camera as Chris threw it down. They graciously helped while I recomposed myself to prepare for my role as camera man.

Just out of view, the author goes over Punchbowl Falls
(photo by Chris Arnold)

After Chris was convinced that I was okay (through hand signals), he prepared for his turn. Although, I could not see the entrance ledge or boily pool above Punchbowl, I knew that Chris was coming based on the hooting and hollering from the others that were scouting the drop from the lip. He soon appeared on the pile with a deep blade in the draw position. As he transitioned the draw into a power boof stroke, he sailed off the curtain in perfect form. On the way down he was able to pitch the bow down and stuck the landing with an equally impressive angle. Happy with his line, he paddled over and joined the others in the right side of the pool.

Chris at Punchbowl, from the lip.
(photo by Leif Anderson)

Chris drives onto the pile

Chris gets over the front of the boat mid-air

Waiting for the others to take their turn on Punchbowl

We watched a couple of other paddlers go over (with good lines) before it was Eric’s turn. Eric was not super excited about the potential impact (especially after seeing my line), and had voiced his desire for me to get a good photo to make it worth it. Anyone who paddles with me can attest that this is not usually an issue, since I typically take an annoying amount of photos, especially on a personal first descent. One thing is for sure, I wasn’t going to let him down. As he came over the pile he immediately went into the ol’ “Oregon Tuck” to reduce the force from landing. I could tell while he was mid-air that he had nailed it, and he soon floated away from the base of the falls with a big smile on his face -- nice!

Eric and Natalie discuss their line
(photo by Leif Anderson)

Eric elbow deep in the pile

Eric gives 'er the ol' Oregon Tuck

It was apparent that we were all pretty tired at this point...we usually don’t have to work this hard for a kayak run. Since we wouldn’t be running Metlako, our portage route was starting just downstream. As we paddled away from Punchbowl we all turned around to take in one last view. It really is a stunning waterfall and there’s no wonder that it’s one of the most photographed in Oregon, if not the United States. Just around the corner I caught a glimpse of Roman and Stephen who had been watching from the trail. The first thing they asked me was if I was okay. “Yeah, I'm a little sore, but still good to go.”.

There was one more drop to run, Lower Punchbowl Falls, a ~10 to 12 foot boof ledge. The problem with running this drop is that it requires a more difficult hike up to the trail, but after my botched line on Upper Punchbowl, taking out above it was not an option. Chris also thought it was worth running so we both got back in our boats. The lead-in and lip were a little shallow so it required you to build up speed from further upstream. As I came over the lip, I got in a nice stroke and had a much better landing. Much happier with this line, I felt like I could finish the day feeling just a little bit better.

The author digs in at Lower Punchbowl Falls
(photo by Chris Arnold)

Feeling a little better about this line
(photo by Chris Arnold)

Chris grabs for the boof at Lower Punchbowl

The hike out was tougher than I had imagined. I was pretty drained and it must have shown, as both Stephen and Roman offered (and provided) assistance in getting my boat up to the trail. From here we had a little bit more than a mile of hiking before the gorge walls gave way, allowing us passage to the river. It wasn’t really worth setting up the kayak pack, so I just shouldered the boat. We watched as most of the other two crews paddled down to run Metlako. Since there were a couple of viewing platforms from the hiking trail, we quickly hurried down to watch the show. It was now starting to get dark, so we knew that we couldn’t watch for long before we needed to make our way out of the canyon. We also worried for the other boaters and hoped that they would not have to paddle out under dark skies. Soon enough, like lemmings, they dropped over one by one. It appeared that there were a couple of swims but most of them looked like they’d had good lines. The second to last boat had the most exciting line, as he was pitched forward and landed on his head. I can’t even imagine what that felt like after dropping almost 10 stories!

Metlako Falls

The Southwestern guys (and gals)
prepare for some air-time at Metlako
(photo by Roman Androsov)

Dropping in at Metlako Falls
(photo by Roman Androsov)

Once we were done watching, we quickly headed down the trail until we found the spur that would lead us down to the creek. Once we were back on the water it was a mile float out through class II/II+ rapids, and definitely helped relieve the energy it would have taken to hike all the way out. Once back at the car we loaded up and headed into Portland for some much needed Indian food and a good night’s sleep. The next day we paddled the ultra classic Canyon Creek run in Washington. We had ~800cfs, and good medium flow. We all had great lines and it was a good way to end the weekend.

In conclusion, I would say that Eagle Creek is at least a one-time “must do” if you live in the area, although it is a bit of a novelty run. The scenery is jaw dropping and there are some fun drops. That said, I probably won’t hike all the way into Skoonichuck unless for some reason I get a wild hair to run it. However, I could probably be convinced to hike into Punchbowl a few times as a simple “hike & huck”— right now I’m really feeling the need for some redemption…


The head-cam footage of our journey into Eagle Creek: