Yellow Creek,

Pretty Hate Machine

Pretty Hate Machine
Photo of John Guthrie by Kemper Begley taken 1196139600 @ .9ft

Gauge Information

River Description

This run is smaller than Island, pretty similar in size to Little Clear Creek. It is not as quality as either, but is still a pristine and tiny plateau creek worth checking out.

The run starts with some easy 2-3 bedrock and then goes off a nice 6 foot sliding drop. After this is a set of crappy drops with wood and undercuts, With Teeth. Be on guard, especially at levels abouve 1 foot. After a tight bend to the right in this set, quickly get out and scout the next one for wood. This is the big rapid on the run, Pretty Hate Machine. It is a class 4 rapid with a nasty sieve on the right and a tight undercut passage on the left. You'll want to understeer this one on the left, lest you end to end in the slot. 2/3 of the time it is choked full of wood and getting out above it can be risky for the less than competent, or for anyone in there at high water. For the most part this drop sucks.

After this, the quality steps back up with plenty of read and run class 3 microcreeking. A hundred yards or more below the big one is Downward Spiral, a cool drop that needs to be entered on a channel on the left by ducking through some brush. Once into the groove, a nice shoulder boof high on the right will prevent an unpleasant pocket beat down on the left. Set safety here if at all in doubt.

Next is Broken, a fun drop where you boof right off a center rock into an eddy, then ferry in behind the boof with all the flow, which slams into an undercut on the river left wall. You are heading towards the undercut, but if you drive right to soon or angle too hard right, you will hit a fan rock that will most likely deflect you hard into the undercut. Patience grasshopper!

The problem with this run you will see, is its not long enough. After downward spiral there is a little more boogie, with a neat slot against the right wall and another with a cool undercut cave on river right. This marks the end of the goods and the beginning of the class 2 paddle out.

This run is cool, but really is just a better putin option for Daddys anytime it is going. Like most plateau microcreeks, the scenery is beyond description. Beautiful evergreen mixed with hardwood and pine, beautiful clear and green water, and intimacy make up for any lack of rapids quality or consistency.

One more thing to remember is you will be dumped into Daddy's half a mile above the canyon. If Daddy's is between 1.5 and 2.5 this will not be a problem, but if above 2.5-3 feet, be ready for continuous class 4 and dangerous conditions. If daddys is above 4 feet, yellow would likely be too high anyway, but consider other options if not up for class 5 big water. I have run the combo when Yellow was 1.2 and Daddy's was 1.5. I have also done it when Yellow was 0.5 and Daddy's was 2.7. Bottom line is find out where the rain fell. Streamflow gauges tell but one side of the story