My girlfriend and I are going to road tripping out to Seattle for work this summer and we want to hit up a bunch of river on the way out.
I am looking for information and/or c-boaters that paddle in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, that might want to paddle this summer. I am a class III-IV paddler and she is a Class II+ paddler.
We need rivers that have easy shuttles that we can bike.
I enjoy in-town play holes too!
Book, and websites to find info please. Please help us out....
Thanks,
John LaGow
Western Rivers
Moderators: kenneth, sbroam, TheKrikkitWars, Mike W., Sir Adam, KNeal, PAC, adamin
John,
If you're in Idaho, check out the Payette Rivers, forty minutes north of Boise. Together you two might enjoy the Main section of the Payette, and if you're a III-IV boater, you might enjoy the South Fork of the Payette (there are even two different sections).
One section of the South and both sections of the Main Payettes have roadside shuttles, are located in beautiful areas, and have water all summer. There's also a great natural hotsprings right there.
(Also, it doesn't include some of the states you mentioned, but check out the guidebook "Whitewater of the Southern Rockies.")
Alden
If you're in Idaho, check out the Payette Rivers, forty minutes north of Boise. Together you two might enjoy the Main section of the Payette, and if you're a III-IV boater, you might enjoy the South Fork of the Payette (there are even two different sections).
One section of the South and both sections of the Main Payettes have roadside shuttles, are located in beautiful areas, and have water all summer. There's also a great natural hotsprings right there.
(Also, it doesn't include some of the states you mentioned, but check out the guidebook "Whitewater of the Southern Rockies.")
Alden
For rivers in Oregon and SW Washington, the book to get is Soggy Sneakers.
When you're in Oregon, you can check with me to see what trips our club currently has going. We'd be glad to have you along. We do runs usually both days of every weekend. See http://www.l-ccc.org
In the summer, we run the Clackamas, North Santiam and White Salmon a lot.
When you're in Oregon, you can check with me to see what trips our club currently has going. We'd be glad to have you along. We do runs usually both days of every weekend. See http://www.l-ccc.org
In the summer, we run the Clackamas, North Santiam and White Salmon a lot.
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Marc Evans
- C Guru
- Posts: 241
- Joined: Wed May 11, 2005 6:01 pm
- Location: Pullman, Washington
John:
June 1 is typically the peak of run-off in northern Idaho for the big rivers (Salmon, Lochsa, Payette and Snake). The Salmon at Riggins has an in-town play wave (Race Creek wave that comes in at 24,000 - 50,000 cfs). I haven't been on it, but friends have said it is a good play spot. I'm not sure about the Payette at those levels. The PlayBoater's Guide to Idaho, by Rick Fernald and Colby Blewett, is the best source for Idaho play spots. For rivers and creeks, see if you can find a copy of Idaho, the White Water State by Grant Amaral. It is out of print, but if you are interested you might find one on Amazon. Western Whitewater, by Cassady, Cross and Calhoun, is another possible source of info.
Depending on your route and how long you are in the area, the St. Maries has a 15 mile class 2-3 run and the St. Joe has several sections (a class two section and several class 3-4 sections). Both of these rivers are south of Cour d'Alene by about 40 miles. The St. Maries is a lower elevation river and is usually spent by June, but worth a check. Also, the Spokane river above Spokane WA is class 2 and is class 3 below.
If you think that you will be passing through the Moscow, Idaho/Pullman Washington area you might PM me. I'd be happy to let you know what is running and would enjoy some river company.
Marc
June 1 is typically the peak of run-off in northern Idaho for the big rivers (Salmon, Lochsa, Payette and Snake). The Salmon at Riggins has an in-town play wave (Race Creek wave that comes in at 24,000 - 50,000 cfs). I haven't been on it, but friends have said it is a good play spot. I'm not sure about the Payette at those levels. The PlayBoater's Guide to Idaho, by Rick Fernald and Colby Blewett, is the best source for Idaho play spots. For rivers and creeks, see if you can find a copy of Idaho, the White Water State by Grant Amaral. It is out of print, but if you are interested you might find one on Amazon. Western Whitewater, by Cassady, Cross and Calhoun, is another possible source of info.
Depending on your route and how long you are in the area, the St. Maries has a 15 mile class 2-3 run and the St. Joe has several sections (a class two section and several class 3-4 sections). Both of these rivers are south of Cour d'Alene by about 40 miles. The St. Maries is a lower elevation river and is usually spent by June, but worth a check. Also, the Spokane river above Spokane WA is class 2 and is class 3 below.
If you think that you will be passing through the Moscow, Idaho/Pullman Washington area you might PM me. I'd be happy to let you know what is running and would enjoy some river company.
Marc
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yarnellboat
- C Maven
- Posts: 1331
- Joined: Wed Apr 06, 2005 8:54 pm
- Location: Winnipeg
- Contact:
Seems you're in pretty good hands with Milkman & Marc.
For Seattle try contacting the canoe club there:
http://ptccweb.com/
If you want to come a bit further north to BC, your timing would be great - the Chilliwack is usually coming back down to primo canoeing levels about then. It's got class II - IV sections, playspots, lots of access for bike shuttles.
More info here, but feel free to get in touch directly:
http://www.beavercanoeclub.org/
http://picasaweb.google.com/Beaver.Cano ... Chilliwack#
Pat.
For Seattle try contacting the canoe club there:
http://ptccweb.com/
If you want to come a bit further north to BC, your timing would be great - the Chilliwack is usually coming back down to primo canoeing levels about then. It's got class II - IV sections, playspots, lots of access for bike shuttles.
More info here, but feel free to get in touch directly:
http://www.beavercanoeclub.org/
http://picasaweb.google.com/Beaver.Cano ... Chilliwack#
Pat.
This looks usefull for long distance road trips and should be current:
http://www.brushymountainpublishing.com ... guide.html
http://www.brushymountainpublishing.com ... guide.html
Thanks for all the help everyone. We are getting super stoked for a change in river scenery, from what we are use to up on the south and north shore of lake superior.
Cadster that book looks awesome! Thats for the lead man.
Milkman and mark, I will get in contact with you when it gets closer to summer.
Thanks again,
John
Cadster that book looks awesome! Thats for the lead man.
Milkman and mark, I will get in contact with you when it gets closer to summer.
Thanks again,
John
I asked for a class breakdown for The River Gypsies' Guide to North America. Here's the response that I got:
86 runs class III to III+
104 runs class IV to IV+
84 runs class V to V+
19 Park and play destinations
These numbers are approximate, but give you a basic idea of the distribution.
The idea was to be able to do a week long trip of any difficulty in any of the regions. Obviously some regions will be better for class III boaters than others, and some will be better for class V boaters than others. We will have tables in the back of the book that show the runs broken down by region and difficulty, so that you can pick your level and easily see which areas have more of the level of whitewater you're looking for.
We will also have a breakdown by season. So if you know when your vacation is going to be, you can easily look and see which area will have the most things running at that time.
Hopefully we're going to make planning a paddling road trip a lot easier for everyone.
Leland
86 runs class III to III+
104 runs class IV to IV+
84 runs class V to V+
19 Park and play destinations
These numbers are approximate, but give you a basic idea of the distribution.
The idea was to be able to do a week long trip of any difficulty in any of the regions. Obviously some regions will be better for class III boaters than others, and some will be better for class V boaters than others. We will have tables in the back of the book that show the runs broken down by region and difficulty, so that you can pick your level and easily see which areas have more of the level of whitewater you're looking for.
We will also have a breakdown by season. So if you know when your vacation is going to be, you can easily look and see which area will have the most things running at that time.
Hopefully we're going to make planning a paddling road trip a lot easier for everyone.
Leland
Gallatin in MT
Lots of water to paddle here in June, the Gallatin is good, some 2-3, and a good 4 section, easy shuttle, easy to hitch a ride, very accessable, and not far out of your way. When you go through the first mountain pass, you're in the neighborhood.