Paddle late into the season with Rapid magazine’s top picks for summer creek runs.
BZ CORNER TO BUCK CREEK, White Salmon River, WA
Pacific Northwest paddlers know this to be among the best intermediate runs in the region. Continuous ac- tion offers opportunities to boof, run falls and negotiate boulders and fallen logs. The White Salmon is fed by snowmelt from Mt. Adams and boasts consistent icy- cold flows all season.
The run is about seven miles long, dropping at 45 feet per mile. Check flow levels at the USGS gauge near Underwood—ideal levels fall between 700 and 1,700 cfs.
YOUR RIDE
Esquif Taureau
SHUTTLE ROUTE
Travel north on Alt Hwy 141 off Hwy 14, just west of the Hood River Bridge over the Columbia. Turn west onto Northwestern Lake Rd. and follow it for a half-mile to the take-out at the park. To access the put-in, return to the 141 and head north to the Forest Service launch site
in the village of BZ Corner, just after the turn-off for Glenwood Rd.
RODGERS FLAT, North Fork of the Feather, CA
This section of the Feather flows between the Rock Creek dam and the Tobin Vista access. It’s runnable one weekend monthly, July to October, during sched- uled dam releases. Fun chutes, boofs and boulder heaps define this stretch of pool-drop rapids.
The Rodgers Flat section runs 3.3 miles, dropping an average of 35 feet per mile. Because of controlled releases, volume runs consistently between 1,000 and 1,600 cfs. This run has hairier section downstream so be sure you don’t miss the take-out.
YOUR RIDE
Dagger Mamba
SHUTTLE ROUTE
Take Hwy 70 north out of Sacramento for about 110 miles. Find the take-out along the 70 at the Tobin Vista parking lot past the double bridge. The put-in is up the road four miles at a pullout below Rock Creek dam.
ASHLU PLAY RUN, Ashlu River, BC
Despite its name, this short section of the Ashlu is all creek. It has the wildlife, scenery, punishing shuttle roads, milky jade water, continuous whitewater and boulder gardens of the rest of the Ashlu without the class V rapids.
The four-mile-long Play Run drops at 78 feet per mile. It’s runnable at levels of 100-plus cms on the Elaho gauge near Squamish. Walk down the trail at the take-out so you recognize it from the water—immediately below is the class V Mine Section.
YOUR RIDE
Bliss-Stick Mystic
SHUTTLE ROUTE
Travel north out of Squamish on Hwy 99 and turn left onto Squamish Valley Rd., which becomes Squamish River Rd. At mile 21, turn left onto the side road. At mile-marker 28, you’ll find parking
at the take-out trail. Travel another four miles beyond the take-out and park at the bridge that marks the put-in.
This article originally appeared in Rapid, Fall 2011. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.
