Our Organization
About AW
Outdoor Alliance
News
Stewardship
Safety
Events
Contact
Support AW
Join or Renew
Donate
Become a Volunteer
AW Store
Industry Partner Program
Advertising Information
Community
Forums
Clubs
Gear, Guides, Services
Industry Partners
Ambassadors
River Info
National River Database
Stream Team
Permit Information
Release Information
Books & Videos
Library
Photo/Video
AW Journal
Logos
Search
Login
New Account
Verify Email
Send this Comment to Author Only
Indicate Type
explain field>>
Warnings will appear more prominently to other users. Complaints will be forwarded to site administrators.
hide<<
Friendly Comment
Warning/Hazard
Complaint/Abuse
comments
Robert Farmer---I just ran this the other day when the Davis gauge was around 350---probably the minimum good level (some people would disagree about the "good"); all of the major drops were well-padded, although the boulder gardens were a bit rocky, but doable. It was a relatively laid-back day on the North Fork. I noticed at the 15-or-so-foot drop below the big slide-that's-next-to-the-trail (the second drop below the Big Slide) that there is a log near the landing zone on the left pointing out of the water toward upstream---kind of disconcerting. Running far right avoided the problem, but there might be more of a hole on the right at higher levels. There was just barely enough water to run Gluteal Mash, although the entrance was too scrapy, and control was difficult. World's Ugliest Rapid is no more!!! At least, not compared to 11 years ago, the last time that I ran it. The scary undercut is gone. Now it's just a fun boof, at least on this day. Eye of the Needle is also a lot easier than it was; now it should be called "Eye of the big fat squishy doughnut hole" or something. It was a perfect day, except that I hiked back to the top---Ugh! I scouted almost every drop (@13 times) and the whole trip took just under 3 hours---a splendid enterprise for a hot summer evening. Oh, and at Double Indemnity, it was too shallow to get right above the first ledge, and I got pulled into the notch in the first ledge---very frightening, but I was able to get far right to the correct launch site for the second, main, ledge. Just a note to say that the big, second drop of D. I. is incredibly easy and trivial IF you are on-line, BUT, the first drop can seriously mess you up, making you miss your line at the second drop, and then the big drop will hurt or kill you. Be super-careful of that first ledge of Double Indemnity---in fact, you might want to portage the first drop and just do the second drop if conditions are not ideal. It's necessary to recognize it from well-upstream, so you don't accidentally become committed. Scouting on the left works best, although scouting right is much easier, but semi-useless, in my opinion. In summation, this is just a freaking amazing run, and now it's easier than I've ever seen it. Any time when you stop to look around on this run, you see a procession of beautiful waterfalls upstream and it's just super-thrilling to think, "Hey, I just ran all of those, and man, it's great to be here!" Yes, a couple or three or so drops are pretty dangerous, but there are a lot of fun, easy and sometimes big drops here, too. And you can always portage (I'm pretty sure). I hope y'all have found this to be helpful! Have fun, be safe!