Looking into the N.F. with the confluence of Green Point Creek.
Photo Keel Brightman
This year I've been checking quite a few runs off my list and this one just feel out of no where and it's only 10 minutes from my house. With that much gradient and getting a visual of the last 3 rapids, this one had to get checked out! We couldn't get anywhere close to the creek, 400 feet across or 1000 feet up, when Jason Schroeder and I scouted it so the decision was made to take boats and avoid hiking out no matter what we came to. Keel Brightman and I jumped a little early on this one, but now we know. It turned out to be a great exploratory run with very impressive gradient lose over many fun boulder gardens and a few ledges with only two portages (beleive it or not) on the N.F. The creek stayed very clean for the nature of the surrounding area. The put-in was a 1,200 feet descent down to water level from the trail above. Finding a good option for a put in was tough and I'm not sure if I can drop in on the same place on the creek again, but a little further upstream, 1/2 mile, holds a little more whitewater.
Keel searching for the game trails that lead us around the cliff bands on the hike in.
Our take out was 1/2 mile downstream of the big clear cut you see in this photo.
Looking downstream from our put-in.
The creek started dropping out from under us and we had just enough water to keep us going downstream and just enough exposed rocks to stop wherever we needed to. At twice the flow this run will be non stop action! We didn't see any flat water sections until after the confluence with Green Point Creek.
One of the two portages on the Noth Fork.
more clean, with water, rapids.
Just before this portage the creek pinched down and turned right with a man-made water intake on the left.
If you could locate this raod that comes down to the creek, this maybe a great take out (after you run the last series of drops) for this section and by pass the other portages on Green Point Creek.
We portaged a couple logs and Keel dropped in above this series of drops that ran under a foot bridge just before the confluence with Green Point Creek.
Keel checking the landing on the final drop.
The gradient came to a mild pace once we dropped into Green Point Creek. We found a few fun rapids likes these.
And a few more portages around logs like these.
Looking downstream from the take out bridge on Green Point Creek.
Over all this is a great exploratory creek if your into the hike in (down), and a long day in a small, steep run. We left no runnable rapid un-run. I take that back, there was one rapid that had a log in it that could be run at higher water. You would know the one I'm talking about if you see it.
2 comments:
looks like a fun time, sorry forgot to introduce myself at the clack the other day its matty, hope to see you at the lvm 22 thursday in pdx
Thanks Matty, It was a very fun day! We had a few moments where we almost called it a day before we hiked in. It seemed to be almost too much of an undertaking to make it through there. I should be at the LVM 22 in PDX, If not watch the intro for Todd Anderson firing up some awesome lines on the Little White Salmon and I'll catch up with you on the river soon!
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