The Green Truss (7.11.10)

The last two weekends have been spent in Hood River, (big surprise) and included a couple of runs down one of my favorite rivers in the PNW, the Green Truss section of the White Salmon. This run is truly a classic, but often overshadowed by the Little White Salmon, its neighbor just down the road to the west. There is also a great run above the Truss called the Farmlands (IV/IV+) which can be used as a combo during the longer days of late spring, when light permits. Just below the run is the Middle White Salmon, which is a super fun class III/IV run where most folks run their first waterfall at Husum.

Both weekends we ran the Truss it was ~2.75’, which is a nice medium flow. I’ve run it at a variety of levels and the range I prefer is between 3’ and 2.5’, so this was right in there. The stick gauge that is used for the run is located a couple hundred yards below Husum Falls, just above a road bridge that crosses over the river. It should be noted that there is a difference in flow on the Truss at the same reading between winter and summer, at least for the top half of the run. Unlike most runs which are opposite, the level in the winter will feel higher than in summer at the same reading. The main reason for this is due to the springs below the first gorge that feed the river from underground aquifers. These springs are locked up in the winter, so most of the flow comes from upstream. The springs are pretty impressive during the summer when the walls have water blasting out of them through the cracks. There is also a significant drop in water temperature below the springs.

The stick gauge at Husum (~2.75')

For reference, there is also an internet gauge that can be used and found here, but the correlation changes based on the seasons, and typically, I only use it to determine if the level has gone up or down since the last time I recently ran it. On 07/11 (the day we ran it) it was reading ~2.4'.

The internet gauge reading for the day we ran it (~2.4')

Once again, we had back-to-back weekends on the Truss, and the photos shown in this trip report were taken from both; however, since I have such a bad memory I’ll focus on the one that just passed.

Roman, Bobby, and I left from Eugene early on Sunday morning to meet the rest of the crew at Lewis & Clark State Park, which is on the outskirts of Portland as you travel into the Columbia River Gorge. We would be meeting up with Jason (up from San Diego) and the Portland crew, consisting of Chris Arnold, Nate Bell, and Matt Jordan. We were also joined by one of the veterans of the sport, Stephen Cameron, who I had not previously paddled with. Once we had all met up and exchanged greetings, we headed up to BZ Corner, the takeout for the Truss. We sat around in the sun for ½ hour or so waiting for “Late Nate” before heading to the put-in.

The put-in for the Truss is at the green trussed bridge that gives the run its name. Although this is private land, the land owners have granted access for recreation. To get down to the river from here is actually an adventure in its own right. Basically, you either do a sketchy scramble down an extremely steep slope with your boat on your shoulder, or you lower your boat down using a throw rope. I always opt for the latter, since my balance on technical scrambles is not confidence inspiring. Once I reach the large rock shelf just above the river, I typically use the fun 10’ (or so) seal-launch down the rocks and into the water, although this is optional.

The green truss bridge marking the put-in

Looking downstream from the put-in

The path down from the top to the put-in

Bill plays catcher for boats being lowered down at the put-in

Shawn utilizes the fun seal-launch at the put-in

Once we had all made it into the slow moving water at the put-in, we headed downstream. The first mile or so of this run consists of really fun class III/IV drops with a couple that require some moves through or around holes and other obstacles; this acts as a great warm-up for the bigger stuff below. The first big drop you come to, which signals the first gorge section, is Meatball. Meatball has a lead-in ledge right above which creates essentially one rapid. This initial ledge does have the power to surf you at certain levels, so I typically run it center-left and put-in a right boof stroke to hit the left eddy between the two drops. The one time I did get an extended surf the level was ~3’ on the Husum gauge (in early summer). Luckily I was able to rodeo out of it and avoid a swim over the bottom ledge, which is not recommended. Regarding the bottom ledge, the only good line that I know of is through the narrow chute left of the boulder in the middle of the river, which gives the drop its name. At anything other than low water, there is a nice boof opportunity on the left side of this left chute, although the move can be a little tricky since the water flows back to the right, around the rock, to the center of the river. Since I’ve never gone right of the “Meatball” boulder, I can’t say for sure what’s over there, although I’ve always been told you don’t want to be on that side...

Just below Meatball, and a slow moving pool (at medium to low levels), is Bob’s Falls. The hole that this ledge forms packs quite a punch and is supposedly the most swum drop on the run. Although I’ve been lucky enough to avoid its clutches, I have had a couple of close calls and have personally watched a few people get hammered. On the last two trips that we were there, a total of three paddlers were caught by its grips and swam...it was feelin’ extra hungry. My preferred line at Bob’s is to start from the center of the river, angled right and off of a kicker flake on the hard right side of the ledge; it should be noted that this flake disappears at low water. The main problem that I’ve seen people have when running this line is that they start too far right in the pool above, and get knocked left into the hole as they slide down the ledge. The other popular line on this drop is on hard river left using the same approach of starting in the middle of the river and angling that way. There is a much more pronounced flake on the left, but a missed line (not uncommon) puts you into the worst part of the hole, thus my reason for running right, where the hole kicks out.

Roman does it right at Bob's Falls.
Meatball is the drop just upstream.

Aaron Goodwin takes the right line in his playboat

(taken on a later trip)

A little too far to the right while running the left line at Bob's...

... and hammer time!

"Need air, must pull"

The boat went for an extended ride
even after the boater was on shore

Immediately below Bob’s is another ledge, about 8’ or so and far less sticky. The preferred line here is to run the right side, angled right. This is easiest done from the river left eddy above it, if you can get over there after running Bob’s.

Matt runs the fun ledge directly below Bob's

Just below these two back-to-back ledges is another small twisty ledge that dumps into a generous (slow moving) pool above Big Brother, the single largest drop on the river. This classic 25’ waterfall has been the backdrop for many photos and videos. Just as famous as the image it provides is the cave at the base, which has corralled more than its fair share of unsuspecting boaters who miss the line off the flake by a mere foot or two to the right. I can speak from personal experience, as more than half the time I’ve run this drop I get in some good cave time. Luckily I’ve always been able to paddle out of the cave and have never swam Big Bro. The problem with running the flake more left is the potential for a shallow landing on that side. Essentially you have to thread the needle and land between both obstacles at the base. At this level I wasn’t feeling it (a little high), so I made the portage around with most everyone else. On the second weekend, Chris Arnold and Nate Bell both fired it off and managed to avoid the cave. Nate got a little excitement as he was hammered by the curtain for longer than I’ve seen before on this drop, but he fought it out and stayed in his boat, nice!

Looking down at the drop leading into the pool above Big Brother

Looking back upstream from the pool above Big Brother.
The top ledge of the three is Bob's.

Big Brother from above

Looking over the lip of Big Brother

Chris grabs some style points on Big Brother

The author having one of his better lines at Big Brother
(taken on a previous trip by Mark Buckley)

Aaron Loft nails the line perfectly

(taken on a later trip)

Chris lays it out of Big Bro
(taken on a later trip)

Sitting just below Big Brother is its younger sibling, Little Brother. This ~15’ waterfall is a total classic, and a great place to practice your delayed boof off the rolling lip. Although it is a fairly friendly drop, it can dish out some punishment if you land sideways and/or are too far to the left. I remember the first time I ran Big Brother I was so elated that I got complacent and a little cocky, which is just what this drop was looking for. I came over the lip, missed my boof, and penciled into the base of the falls on the left side. A throttling ensued, and I swam out while tasting a little bit of humble pie. Sometimes you just need to be reminded…
In order to run Little Brother you have to either run Big Bro or access it via a sketch route down the cliff wall between them on river left. Although there is usually a rope already set-up for lowering you and your boat down, getting back in your boat can be an undertaking depending on water level. That said, you do have the option of portaging them both which I’ve done on a few occasions.

Shawn makes the portage around Big Brother to run Little Brother

Jason lines it up perfectly at Little Brother

Wild Bill enjoys a good line at Little Brother

Aaron Goodwin shows how to do it in a playboat. Freewheel style!
(taken on a later trip)

This photo was actually taken just after the first time I ran Big Brother
and was about to get throttled by Little Brother. Ain't that a mother?!
(Photo by Chris Arnold)

After a couple of fun twisty rapids below Little Brother, we were sitting above the next major drop of the run, Double Drop. This monster squeezes the whole river through a narrow chute over two ledges with barely enough time for a stroke in between. It drops a total of ~18' and is always entertaining from a spectator’s perspective, for it’s sure to dish out a couple of dynamic mystery moves and barrel rolls. Even with the shit show that usually plays out, it's remarkably friendly and you'll most likely get shot out of the bottom hole like a watermelon seed into the pool below. This is also a drop I prefer not to scout and just run blind, since it looks much more terrifying than it really is, and you only have a couple of line options. The two that I usually summon are either 1) put my head down and paddle as hard as I can right down the gut, or 2) attempt a boof off the small kicker on center-left of the first tier to stay high on the pile for the second; usually the latter results in a stern-squirt leading into some kind of new rodeo move at the bottom. Regardless of what happens, I'm usually laughing too hard at the bottom to care about how good my line was. This is probably my favorite drop of the run.

The author enters Double Drop
(photo by Chris Arnold)

Chris nails the line on the first tier of Double Drop...

... and on the second

Shawn having one of those typical exciting lines at Double Drop

Below Double Drop and the small ledge just below it (with a powerful hole on river left), the river mellows out considerably for a good mile or so until you reach the next named drop, Cheesegrater. Its location can be determined from upstream by the sight of the lava rock dome wall on river left. Although this drop is certainly not the largest or most complex drop on the run, it does deserve some respect. Like the many other ledges on this run that form powerful holes, this one is no exception. The meat of the hole forms on river right, so the safest route is typically to run it left. I actually had one of my worst beatdowns/swims here at ~3.25' when I was typewritered to river left all the way from the river right hole, and shoved into an undercut wall with a recirculating eddy feeding into it. After an extended stay out of my boat at this location, I was eventually able to work into the current and flush downstream; however, my adventure was not over as I was flushed for probably another 1/8 of a mile downstream before I got to shore, completely wiped out. Since this experience, I walk the drop about half the time, which usually depends on my memory of the day the incident occurred. That said, I think this was somewhat of a freak accident and as long as you line 'er up well, it's good to go.

Jason goes for the hard left line at Cheesegrater

Shawn opts for going more center at Cheesegrater

Not far downstream of Cheesegrater is Zig-Zag Canyon, which consists of both an upper and lower rapid separated by a pool that can either be calm or fast moving depending on the water level. Both Upper and Lower Zig-Zag accelerate through sheer vertical walls with the current slamming against them forming large laterals and offset holes. Upper Zig-Zag is often the mental crux for people due to its claustrophobic feel and difficulty that would be associated with portaging it. Also, at higher flows (> 3') the pool between it and Lower Zig-Zag picks up some speed, which increases as the level does. That said, I (and many others) feel that Upper Zig-Zag gets easier with more water and cleans up quite a bit. As levels drop below 2' the entrance can get quite trashy, making it hard to set-up for the rest of the ride. These last two times we were there the levels were good, and everyone made it through without issue and smiling.

Roman gives Upper Zig-Zag a quick scout

Shawn lines up perfectly on the top part of Upper Zig-Zag

Upper Zig-Zag from below. Stephen coming through nice and clean!

Stephen letting on to his slalom skills at the bottom of Upper Zig-Zag

The crew relaxes in the pool between Upper and Lower Zig-Zag

Lower Zig-Zag has always given me pause, and I've never made the choice to run it. This is mostly due to the wood that has dropped (and continues to) between the walls that frame it. Most everyone that I have talked to says it’s easier than Upper, and even with the wood the line is still the same. Even knowing this, I just don't like the look of the drop in its current form, but I guess everyone has a few rapids like this...
Once again, I made the decision to portage along with everyone else in the group, except Chris and Steve, who both cleaned it up. The portage on river left is not too difficult, and takes about 15 minutes total if you have a small group. It requires you to lower your boat from a rope at the end creating a bottleneck in the process, so it will take longer for larger groups.

The entrance to Lower Zig-Zag.
The section above is the run-out of the upper.

Chris in the middle of Lower Zig-Zag

Chris finishing up Lower Zig-Zag.
The logs below him just recently dropped.

Just below Zig-Zag Canyon the Orletta stretch starts. This section is best with more water and has lots of fun class III/IV splashy rapids. A couple of favorites, and bigger ones in here, are Triple Drop and The Flume. Triple Drop can sneak up on you as you round a hard left-hand corner of class II/III water. It has some tricky hydraulics that has flipped me more than once. The last tier, which forms a deep diagonal seam, is the one that would usually get me, but I've finally learned to run it as an airplane turn from hard left. The Flume is just pure fun, and you can pretty much run it anyway you want. There is a huge set of diagonals at the very bottom which you can catch some serious air off of, if you hit it correctly.

Just below The Flume and after a large pool is the lead-in to BZ. This lead-in is only class III, but the eddies (on river right) get smaller and more difficult to catch the closer you get to the drop. In fact, one of the days we were there an experienced boater slipped out of the last eddy and fell over BZ backwards. Remarkably, he flushed right through and was able to roll up in the pool just below. His buddy was not so lucky, and after intentionally dropping over the lip he was served a good beating which included a recirc or two out of his boat. To be honest, this drop has never looked appealing to me as the whole river basically folds onto itself, and into a stompin' hole. At lower water it does look much better and a nice boof forms on the hard right. On this day, no one in our group considered running BZ, and made the portage around it. There are a couple of options for portaging, 1) seal-launch beside the meat of the hole using a ramp that is etched into the right cliff wall, 2) seal-launch from high up on the cliff into the pool below, or 3) hike all the way around and down to the under-cut cave well below BZ (where there is a rope lined along the wall with carabineers).

The lead-in to BZ Falls

Looking over the lip of BZ Falls

A bad photo of BZ Falls, which doesn't do the hole any justice.

The boys wait their turn to portage BZ Falls

Jason lends a helping hand while Steve gets ready to
use the seal-launch right above the meat of BZ Falls

Once below BZ Falls, it’s a mellow ride to the takeout at BZ Corner. You can takeout above or below Maytag/Top Drop, the first rapid of the Middle White Salmon (the run below). The hike-out of the canyon is slightly easier if you start it from above the rapid, but obviously you miss out on one last hurrah. Whatever decision you make, celebrate with a couple beers in the parking lot while you wait for your buddies to run the shuttle. You just ran a PNW classic!

What a couple of great days on the river with good friends. I could tell that these last few trips made Jason homesick, so hopefully it will help get him and Cleo back up here sooner…


Here is some head-cam footage of a summer time run on The Truss:

Summertime on The Green Truss from Nate Pfeifer on Vimeo.

The Little White Salmon (6.26.10)

My maiden voyage down the Little White:

First, I must give a little back story:
As I started my boating career back in early 2005, I remember perusing Jason Rackley’s site Oregon Kayaking, and drooling over all of the rivers and creeks the PNW had to offer. Although I was not yet a creek boater (which I would venture into the following year), I knew that someday I would want to tackle some of them. Runs like Opal Creek, Upper Quartzville, and Brice Creek were the first ones on my radar, and I would soon journey down most of them thanks to the help of the flourishing Eugene boating community, who were informally led at the time by people such as Steve Stuckmeyer, Jeremiah Sullenger, Gabe Flock, Galen Griffin (Griff), and Shawn Haggin (from Roseburg). These were also the same people that I had seen in a lot of the trip reports, so I felt secure on the river with them. A couple of the runs that I read about which intrigued me the most (and at the same time frightened me), were the classics, such as The Miracle Mile, The Green Truss, and the “crown jewel” of the PNW, The Little White Salmon (LW). It’s funny how times and perspectives change. I remember telling Emily (my wife), that she didn’t need to worry, I would never run a waterfall taller than 15’, and I would never run the LW, which seemed way too dangerous. The first commitment fell pretty quickly, as I started to run drops more in the 20’ range. The second would hold until a couple of weeks ago…

It was now 2010, and I had made up my mind that I did in fact want to finally tackle the Little White. I remember having the same anxious feeling come over me that I had for both the Miracle Mile and Green Truss when I decided to run those. When I finally did complete those runs it felt like climbing another rung on the ladder, and setting a new baseline.

I had just received an email from my buddy Chris which read:“I think the LW has about 2-3 weeks left for the summer. If you are interested, I think next week or the following will be an ideal level.” Along with that, I was also getting some encouragement from my other buddy Shawn who reinforced that I was ready and needed to get on it. With that, I felt it was time…

A couple of quick notes:
1. For reference, this trip report is from the perspective of class IV+ / part-time V boater going down the LW for the first time.
2. Most of the pictures in this report are from when I did the run at a slightly lower level the following week (~3'). The reason for this is that I wanted to focus strictly on the river the first time.

The time had come:
My final decision came on Friday night when I called Shawn and asked “When are you picking me up?”, for which he replied “That’s what I like to hear!”. After a good night’s sleep, I met up with Shawn at the Best Buy parking lot in Springfield. From there we drove up to the Corvallis exit on I5 and picked up Eric Emerson who would also be joining us for his first time down. Once all the gear was loaded, we made our way north to meet Chris Arnold and Eric Arlington on the north end of the "Bridge of the Gods" (not as impressive as the name would suggest). Now that we had assembled our crew for the day, we headed toward Willard Fish Hatchery, the put-in for the Little White.

Once at the put-in, we hiked down to the gauge to see what the level was. I had been told that the best first-time flow was between 2.9 and 3.1, and that inches make a huge difference on this run. That said, it was reading ~3.2, on the high end of what I was planning to run it at. I turned to Chris and asked what he thought. After a quick pause, he said "Let's run the river". I have boated with Chris on many occasions (including a few Cali trips), and completely trust his judgment as a conservative boater. I also have complete trust and respect for the rest of my boating companions that I would be running down with. Even though it can feel like you're alone on the river sometimes, I truly believe that it takes good group dynamics to ensure a safe trip down the river, especially for one like this.

The put-in for the Little White. Willard Fish
Hatchery can be seen in the background.

The stick gauge at the put-in (~3.2')

For reference, here is what Pat Welch's correlation was
reading (~490cfs on 6/26). This gauge can be found here.

After the shuttle was run, we geared up and put on. The first 1/4 mile (or so) consists of splashy class III that serves as a good warm-up before the bottom drops out. All too soon, a log jam appears blocking the right side of the river. This signals Getting Busy, a very steep 1/2 mile long boulder garden.

The view looking down from the bridge
gives no indication of what lies below
(taken the following week at ~3')

The crew makes the portage around the entrance to Getting Busy.
The right side was blocked with wood, and the left was very pinny.
(taken the following week at ~3')

Looking downstream at the start of Getting Busy
(taken the following week at ~3')

Many consider this to be one of the toughest section of the run, but this is actually the environment that I feel the most comfortable with. I believe this can be in part attributed to the countless laps I’ve done on The Miracle Mile, which has helped train me for just this type of boating. This along with Chris giving excellent beta got me through with only one slip up. Basically, I missed an eddy and flushed out the back of it. Having no other options I spun around and faced what was in front of me, the steepest section of Getting Busy! It quickly turned into reactionary boating at its finest, and after busting through a couple of laterals and turning a couple of corners, I eddied out in the middle of the river. For a moment, I felt very alone and was hoping I wasn't about to drop through a sieve or into a log jam, since it would have been almost impossible to stop. Chris, who had been in hot pursuit, appeared in an eddy on river right where I was able to give him the head tap letting him know I was good to go.

Looking upstream at one of the mellower stretches of Getting Busy
(taken the following week at ~3')

More of Getting Busy
(taken the following week at ~3')

Eric drops over a ledge and under a log in Getting Busy
(taken the following week at ~3')

We soon finished up with Getting Busy and were now sitting above Boulder Sluice, which we hopped out to scout. After discussing the line of this ramping monster-boof (~10') we all fired it off. I had the most colorful line, flipping on impact and getting surfed upside down for a brief moment. Luckily, I was able to snap off a quick roll above the following boulder garden and eddy out downstream. I was a little bummed that I fumbled the line a bit, since this is one of the most classic boofs anywhere.

Looking back upstream at Getting Busy
from the lip of Boulder Sluice. Steep Stuff!
(photo by Eric Emerson)

An upstream view of the lead-in to Boulder Sluice
(taken the following week at ~3')

Ryan digs in at Boulder Sluice
(taken the following week at ~3')

Ryan touches down after a nice boof at Boulder Sluice
(taken the following week at ~3')

Chris mid-flight at Boulder Sluice
(taken the following week at ~3')

The author comes off the lip at Boulder Sluice
(photo by Eric Arlington)

After a couple of more boulder gardens, (one fairly trashy) we came to Island Drop, the next big horizon line of the run. None of us felt like running this beast, partially due to some wood that was blocking the right side of the entrance. With that, we all made the lengthy portage down the right side of the island. My next time down we portaged on river left from the lip of the drop, a much easier carry.

Now that we were below Island, it became far less continuous and contained more pool-drops over a series of well-defined ledges that the lower half is known for. To be more clear, pool-drop probably isn't the best way to describe this section, since the stuff between the ledges is more class III/IV boogie water than pools. The first ledge you come to is Sacrilege, which I was a little nervous about since we weren't going to be scouting it, and is described as having an extremely powerful hole. Essentially, when we got to the lead-in I was told "it's just a ledge" and "run it hard left off an obvious flake". The beta was spot on and I was able to pull a nice boof, landing in the pool below. This ended up being one of my favorite drops of the run.

Sacrilege

Next up was Double Drop, which also had some holes that could send you into rodeo mode. After an easy scout along the right bank, I was considering the equally easy portage. However, after some words of encouragement I decided to give it a go. As suggested, I ran the first ledge center-left off the nose, and then headed back right for the second. Everything went well and I was sitting in the pool below the drop happy to have made it past another.

Chris runs the top tier at Double Drop
(taken the following week at ~3')

Chris powers through the bottom hole at Double Drop
(taken the following week at ~3')

Ryan between the 2 ledges of Double Drop
(taken the following week at ~3')

Ryan runs the preferred right line on the bottom tier
of Double Drop (taken the following week at ~3')

Looking downstream from the base of Double Drop
(taken the following week at ~3')

Below Double Drop were a couple of really fun boulder gardens. One I particularly liked was on the right side of an island; it reminded me a lot of the stuff on The Miracle Mile down in our neck of the woods. Soon after that section we were sitting in a river left eddy above a beautiful double ledge/waterfall known as S-Turn Falls. Unfortunately, there are a couple new pieces of wood in the drop. The first lays vertically on the left side of the first tier, but luckily it’s not really in play if you hit your boof over the top of it. The other is in the second tier, also on the river left side. The problem with this one is that it blocks/backs-up the hole a bit, and could cause problems with a missed line. Not wanting to deal with the lower wood, Shawn and I made the easy portage on river left; the rest in the group ran the first falls and eddied out left to walk around the lower wood. We all rejoined on the gravel bar below, and took a quick snack break with an amazing setting created by the waterfalls. On my second trip down the LW, I ended up running the first tier, getting a good boof and landing nicely below; I also eddied out and portaged the lower drop. I’ll most likely continue to run the first since I think the huge boof is worth the extra trouble of portaging from below.

A view of S-Turn Falls showing the
two pieces of wood described above
(taken the following week at ~3')



Eric fires off the top tier of S-Turn Falls
(photo by Shawn Haggin)

Chris does some spelunking behind
the first tier of S-Turn Falls
(photo by Eric Emerson)

The crew relaxing below S-Turn Falls
(taken the following week at ~3')

We now had a few smaller drops before reaching one referred to as Nasal Douche (by Chris). I followed everyone else’s line which consisted of running down a ramp on the right side into a small right-side eddy above the main ledge. From here, the tougher line is to ferry to river center across the lip of the drop to another small eddy, which you then peel out of and over the ledge behind you. My line from the right-side eddy was simply to ferry into the main current and run the right side of the ledge. This produced a nice mystery move, followed by a big back-ender, followed by a quick roll. After clearing out my sinuses, we headed further downstream.

Soon, we were in an eddy above the lead-in to Bowey Hotel. I had been particularly concerned about this drop due to a horror story of a paddler that got stuck in the hole, flushed out and over Wishbone, and had to be resuscitated and airlifted out. One of the guys in our crew was actually on that trip and is partially responsible for saving the boaters life; he still has strong memories of the unfortunate events that unfolded. Chris told me that the drop wouldn’t be much of an issue since we planned to sneak it on hard river right away from the hole. That said, you do have to run a long class 3 lead-in while working right. This ended up being much easier than I had pictured in my head, and we all came through without issue.

Bowey Hotel from below. We ran it hard right
avoiding the nasty hole (and cave) on the left.
(taken the following week at ~3')

Directly below Bowey is the lead-in to Wishbone Falls, a super sweet 20 footer. Since it was Eric's and my first time down, Chris suggested that we take a look so he could point out the line. Getting out above Wishbone is not an easy task, and requires you to catch one of a few small eddies on river left. We went down in pairs of two, as not to create a traffic jam, and all were able to make it on shore safely. Next, we scrambled down the bank of the river and peered over the edge of the falls, and what a view it was! As Chris pointed out, you have a couple of options for running the lead-in, but the best line off the falls itself is just off the left wall over the auto-boof, which will send you airborne. Supposedly, even if you blow the line it’s pretty friendly; you’ll probably go deep, but will most likely be spit out without a thrashin’. After scouting, we all hiked back up and fired it off one by one with everyone getting a huge boof.

Eric Arlington lines up the boof at Wishbone
(taken the following week at ~3')

Ryan airs it out at Wishbone
(taken the following week at ~3')

Chis throws in an "Oregon Tuck"
for good measure at Wishbone
(taken the following week at ~3')

Looking back up at Wishbone
from the lip of The Squeezes.
(photo by Eric Emerson)

Chris and Eric relax in the pool
between Wishbone and The Squeezes
(taken the following week at ~3')

I was now standing on shore looking down into what I had guessed would be the mental crux of the run for me, The Squeezes and Horseshoe. The reason for my concern (and many others) is that they are both stacked on top of each other in a tight gorge, with only a small moving pool between them and Stovepipe. The Squeezes is really just a class 4 mini gorge with three distinct ledges, and the last having the largest hole. The line that I was shown was starting left over the first one, and finding your own line through the others, since it all pretty much goes. After standing onshore and watching the others have clean lines, it was now my turn. I got in my boat, took a deep breath, and dropped in. It all went well (and pretty fast) with the only real excitement coming when I stern-squirted out of the last ledge. Luckily I was able to brace out of it and catch the small eddy on river right with the others. With Horseshoe sitting just below me, I took a moment to make my decision. After some time, I decided that I was not feeling the tricky entrance that day, and instead made the hike around on river right. The people that I had talked to prior to the run had said they weren’t sure how you could portage if you were so inclined. However, from my experience, I didn’t find it too tough, and it only required a short hike up and over a small hill that lined the bank. I wish I would have made the same decision on my second trip down, which would have avoided an epic beatdown which I won’t soon forget. More on this later…

Chris enters The Squeezes. Horseshoe
can barely be seen in the distance.
(taken the following week at ~3')

Eric drops in behind Chris at The Squeezes
(taken the following week at ~3')

Now in the river right eddy below Horseshoe, another group of boaters came down and asked to play through. One paddled up to me and asked how I was doing and if it was my first time down. After replying yes, he congratulated me while giving a big smile and went on his way. I can only assume he remembered how it felt to be in such a magical place for your first time down. It was kind of nice that we had let them go by, for they showed us how easy it would be to sneak Stovepipe on the left through a narrow chute of water that eventually plunged 6’ into the left eddy below. No one in our group seriously considered running Stovepipe since it has some fairly significant consequence and the line is somewhat tricky to run clean. That said, we did see another group fly down through, running a variety of lines as we sat in the pool below. One guy who had a particularly clean line off the center pulled up beside us and asked how our day was going. It took me a moment to realize that it was Tyler Bradt who had just recently set the world record for running the tallest waterfall at 186’ - Palouse Falls.

Next, we weaved through a couple of logs, and down some more fun drops before we were sitting at the lip of one of the most classic waterfalls run by kayakers, Spirit Falls. This 33’ beast gives off amazing energy and creates one of the most spectacular boils/pillows that I’ve ever seen at the base of it. I did not or probably never will have any real desire to run it. Although I love running waterfalls, the many broken backs it has to its name, as well as having Chaos (a fearsome hole) lying just below, my better judgment has convinced me to make the labored hike around instead. You never know however, I did tell myself at one point I would never even be on this run…

Taking in the view of Spirit Falls from the lip
(photo by Shawn Haggin)

A view of the river left side of Spirit Falls.
The part you run is directly behind Eric
Emerson who took this photo from the lip.

There was another group in front of us that was in the middle of portaging Spirit, so instead of getting in line we decided to sit at the lip of the falls and take another break in another unbelievable setting. Once we were done taking in the view, we made the portage around the falls. As we came to the spot where you lower your boats by rope, Chris pointed out the location where Ryan Morgan had lost his life in a strainer on river left just below the portage route. Even though I never got to meet Ryan I was still grief stricken as I lowered my boat down the rocky cliff to the base of Chaos, truly a tragedy.

Once we had all made the portage and ran the next couple of drops, Chris informed me that I still had a task to do that is considered a rite of passage for anyone venturing down the Little White. Not knowing what to think, I made my way to a river left eddy above a nice sized ledge pour-over and awaited instructions. Since I'm not sure if this is supposed to be kept secret I won't disclose the details, but I can say it adds some fun excitement to the trip...

Below this is one more significant drop before the river starts to mellow out, which is called Master Blaster. We did a quick scout from river right where I was told to run down the center left side, and bust through a small hole before going over the last part of the drop, a fun 6' or so plunge between a midstream boulder and the cliff wall on the left. After watching the others have a variety of lines but coming through OK, I followed in similar fashion. As I hit the first hole, I was a little taken aback at its punch, which left me in complete whiteout. Now blinded, I dropped over the left side of the bottom ledge and was drug along the left wall on the way down. Luckily, I was able to keep 'er upright and joined the rest below the drop.

From here to the takeout our only real obstacles were small man-made dams. They were pretty fun to run but were somewhat anticlimactic after venturing down what lay upstream. Soon enough we hit the flat water of Drano Lake and made the short paddle to our awaiting vehicles, where we were greeted by Captain, Chris's giant yellow lab.

I felt great having finished the run I had been so intrigued by for many years. Huge thanks to Chris, Eric, and Shawn for showin' us down. In retrospect, and from a part-time class IV-V boater's perspective, I would say that the drops on the Little White are definitely manageable but a good guide was invaluable. I also would say, for a boater at my level, you have to really want it and check any apprehension you might have at the door; basically have a "let's do this" attitude. Luckily for me, on this day I had both a great guide and the right mind-set, which allowed us to get down the river with absolutely no carnage. It was truly my most memorable day of boating!

The crew after a successful run down the LW!
From left to right: Chris Arnold, Shawn Haggin,
Eric Arlington, Nate Pfeifer (me), and Eric Emerson.

Follow-up:
The following week (4th of July weekend) I again got on the LW, this time at ~3'. Another great time was had with the exception of a severe beat-down I was handed for blowing the line at Horseshoe. Once again, thanks to my crew for being there and ensuring that I didn't swim over Stovepipe, which is something I'd rather not think about. This just served as a reminder that you always have to respect the power of the river and learn how to use it rather than fight against it. Instead of describing how I screwed up the line, I'll just let you see it from my perspective (see video below):

Beatdown on the Little White Salmon from Nate Pfeifer on Vimeo.

Here is the head-cam footage for the rest of the run (up to Horseshoe where I didn't feel link filming anymore =)):

Little White - Head-Cam Footage from Nate Pfeifer on Vimeo.