C-Forum

I've been in Seattle for a conference this week and despite all I heard about how nobody c-boats out here I saw, in the space of two days, two. First a mango MR Outrage on a sedan cross Pike Street and then a converted Liquid Logic Scooter (?) on a Ford Aerostart with two other indeterminate boats up near Lake Union. The guy who rented me a sea kayak (no canoes!) said that was like lightning striking twice!

And if you think there is no adrenalin on a lake, come try the "Montlake Cut" in an unfamilar craft when a big boat comes through. It's a narrow, concrete walled channel, maybe 150' wide (? I'm terrible at that) and 300 yards long(?) that connects two lakes right near UW. When power boats come through they kick even more wake because it is shallow, then you get these tremendous confused reflections bouncing back and forth between the walls. Might have been fun in my C-1, instead it was a white knuckle ride... The waves from a yacht that overtook me were as high as my shoulders and the peaks were less than the length of my boat apart (18').

If you've got time to paddle, check out what Paddle Trails Canoe Club has going on for this weekend.

Pat. (North of C-attle).

Scott,

Are you staying thru the weekend?

Randy

Actually I hope I am not here through the weekend - I've been here a week now and am currently in limbo with regards to my return due to a stubborn ear infection... I'm ready to be home with my wife and kids I'd love to live here, but I don't think this is how I would plan a relocation!

Randy

Do you have any water up there this time of year?

Hi Larry,

C-attle and area is great paddling - there is usually something running for every season. Around Vancouver anyway, there's a few big, glacial rivers that are too high during freshet and through lots of the summer, so are best at this season (at least for open boats). And then the fall rains come to light up just about everything else that runs dry in Aug & Sept. In short, there's always something.

I know some people were on the Skykomish this weekend. A trip on the Upper Middle Snoqualmie was cancelled for lack of water, but according to the "river info" on the American Whitewater site, there's lots of water all over now.

Pat.

There are four or five reliable runs within two hours of Olympia, year round. The N. Fork of the Nooksak, the Sky as mentioned by Pat, and the White Salmon all tend to have good water even when it is dry. The powerhouse run on the Snoqualmie is almost always runnable, although it is more of a training stretch just outside of C-attle. South of Oly, the Toutle can be good when other rivers are too low.

With just an inch or so of rain in a given week, many runs spike up and have good whitewater for the weekend. The Snoqualmie has several great runs that spike up with a little rain. This time of year we start to get a constant drizzle that can last for the next 6 months or more. During the next six months you could paddle a different stretch every weekend and not run out of river. When one river is flooding, another one is just right.

I'm a class II-III junkie, and there is plenty to paddle. The guys that paddle harder stuff take more than a season to make all the runs that are on their list. Western WA is a whitewater mecca - and that is not counting western Canada, which is just a few hours away...

Randy,

We will have to get together sometime! I haven't done much in WA, but I have a few friends who are curious, and I've starting paying some attention to the Paddletrails schedule. This season I joined them on a class II stretch of the Sauk and class II-III on the Methow.

I'm keen to get on the Nooksack (closed for salmon conservation?), Sky, Stilly, Sauk, Skagit, which are all fairly close to the border. And it sounds like you've got some great II-III runs on the penninsla too. Do you paddle with any PTCC members, they have a few C-1ers, or join their trips near Olympia, I think they just had a weekend on the Wynoochee?

I'll track you down if I've got any paddling planned down your way. And feel free to do the same if you're interested in Vancouver's runs. Hooking up with Scott would've been a good excuse if he doesn't mind us "low class" boaters.

Cheers, Pat.

yarnellboat wrote: Hooking up with Scott would've been a good excuse if he doesn't mind us "low class" boaters.

"Low class boaters"?! Just cuz I post a lot doesn't mean I'm some kinda high class boater! It just means I goof off at work a lot! I, too, am at home on II/III, the occasional IV, and haven't seen a V in a long time (and I think those have been downgraded in the guide books already). It would have been a privilege to paddle with y'all, though I'd had to have bummed a boat. And paddle. And PFD. And just about everything but polypro!

I'd LOVE to make it back up there again under better circumstances and with more time to spare. Even so, I shot about 10 rolls of film, drank too much good coffee, ate wonderful salmon, and managed to get on the water twice (sail boat and kayak). And I made it home with my ear drums intact.

I'm so jealous, I checked out the AWA site...WOW, you have got some whitewater!
There is absolutely nothing running around here!
I may have to do a road trip to pick up my wheelboy.

If you do, be sure to leave enough time to do some runs in Oregon en route to and from Washington. It has rained off and on for the last two days, so creek season is here! Check out www.kayaking.peak.org for information on Oregon (and nearby) runs.

Matt

Hi Scott,
Compared to other canoeing forums, I rely on C-boats for specific/high-end advice, like paddles I can't afford and boats I can't paddle. Sorry, I kinda assume that all the regulars are class IV+ C1ers.

I'm sure we could've geared you up under different circumstances. Maybe next time! As we've said, there's lots of water to choose from - we've got everything but warm !

Pat.

Pfftt... Washington water isn't cold, it just never gets really warm, least not compared to down here in Colorado.

Man, I was doing such a good job of ignoring all the water I was missing out on up in washington, then you all had to go and remind me about how drought stricken CO is compared to back home. (starts to mumble something about skykomish... 4000... )

I envy you all

Pat & Matt,
Thanks for the guide info.
Can you guys get out mid-week to play? I would love to see some of your favorites.
Speaking of play...What about playspots? (Especially near Monroe.)

Near Monroe (within 30 minutes drive) is the mighty Skykomish. Local favorite on this run is the rapid called Boulder Drop, which is actually a series of three or four features that combine to become a popular class IV stretch. I still haven't paddled this rapid, myself, but it looks to be really fun and definitely lives up to a good local reputation. Just below Boulder Drop is an exceptional standing wave called Last Wave (at Split Rock.) Really nice surf wave/eddy combination.

I don't know about parking and river access at the current time, but if you can get to a section of the South Fork of the Skykomish just a few miles upstream from Boulder Drop, you can happily spend a day on one rapid complex called Powerline Rapid. I watched the local Skyfest Rodeo there on a Saturday a couple of years ago, and then went back and ran/played the rapid in my Rival on Sunday. It rates as one of the best play spots I have paddled so far. The AWA streamkeeper for the Sky is Tom OKeefe - kind of a local superman champion of whitewater, and a very accessible guy. He may know of the latest regarding access to this stretch. He is a friend of a friend to me. His email is okeefe@u.washington.edu.

Putting in at Powerline and running to the takeout below Boulder Drop is a fine day on a river loaded with play spots. Watch the Sky on http://www.americanwhitewater.org/rivers/state/WA for flow info. This website's opinion about runnable flows is consistent with the opinion of paddlers that I know.

While your surfing online, consider the Green River southeast of Seattle. 1.5 hours max south of Monroe, both of the upper Green River stretches describe on awa's website are great. The upper is easy class II/III with some standing waves and plenty of features throughout. For an easy run, it has some outstanding drops. The gorge section below is one that I have not run, but my more experienced paddling friends rate it as a favorite. It is the only run that will lure one of my freinds down from Bellingham for a day on the river. Just below the actual gorge stretch, a playspot called Paradise Ledge that has a huge local reputation. The takeout is a bitch unless you stay on the river down to Flaming Geyser State Park. This option offers a longer run on some fun water, and a parking lot right on the river.

Finally, don't overlook the North Fork of the Nooksak. I have paddled one short stretch one time, and it got my attention as a place to return to...

Hmm, what about the middle middle run of the Sno, or the Sauk, or the Stilli....

So many rivers!

Enjoy,