Sam's,

Sam's River

Sam's River
Photo of Eric Bessette by Thomas O'Keefe В© taken 1041310800

River Description

SEASON: Winter rain storms.

PUT-IN: 500 Bridge

TAKEOUT: Queets Campground

SHUTTLE: Because the connecting forest roads between the National Park and National Forest are gated, this is a long shuttle requiring you to go all the way back to Hwy 101. A good way to do this run is to camp at the takeout the night before. To reach the takeout, take the Queets Road which leaves Highway 101 at mile 144.6 and follow it 13 miles to the Queets Campground. To reach the put-in, back track to Highway 101, drive south, and at mile 137.5 take FR 21 east (this is also marked as West Boundary Road). Follow FR 21 to mile 8.2 and turn left onto FR 2180. Follow this road 9.3 miles to the temporary bridge that is blocked by a berm (as of Jan 2003 the Forest Service was at work decommissioning roads in the Upper Sam's watershed above this bridge. Eventually this temporary bridge will be removed and the roads beyond it will become trails). From the bridge (which will be the future road end), hike approximately 0.3 miles down the road, bear left at the Y, and head towards the river along the route of the old 500 spur road. The put-in bridge is approximately 0.7 miles down this road. To add another gorge, skip the spur road, and continue hiking along the old bed of FR 2180. Continue 2.5 miles from the Y and follow the creek down to the river. For current information on roads check the Olympic National Forest web site (check rec reports for Pacific Ranger District - South), or call the USFS/NPS Resource Information Center in Forks 360-374-7566 or the USFS Ranger District office in Quinault 360-288-2525.

DESCRIPTION:

The most difficult whitewater on this run comes right at the beginning. The river starts out with a class IV drop within sight of the put-in bridge. You then approach the entrance to the first, and most challenging, gorge called "Yosemite Sam". The class V+ entrance rapid, "Yosmite Sam Slam", is difficult to see as the river bends hard left (you'll catch a glimpse of it between the trees on the hike in). The safe portage route is to get out on river left about 100 yards from the point where the river disappears around the corner (and hike back up to the road). You can probe your way through a class III+ section that leads up to the edge of "Yosemite Sam Slam". There is an eddy behind a bedrock peninsula on river left, but the portage from here is challenging along a steep bank. "Yosemite Sam Slam" is a great S turn rapid where the river drops about 25 feet in two significant pitches. Although it's a big drop, there's a nice recovery pool at the bottom.

The rest of the "Yosemite Sam" gorge is IV/IV+ read and run. The last drop in the gorge deserves a careful scout and is a V-. It's an easy portage or scout on river left as long as you get out early enough--as you get closer the portaging gets more complicated. The drop itself is 70 yards long and drops a total of 15-20 ft. There are three 2-3'(Class III+) ledges followed by a 5-6' drop. Add all these moves together and you get a Class IV+ to V- drop.

After leaving the first gorge you'll encounter a massive series of log jams with BIG wood that stretches out for over 3/4 of a mile requiring a few portages. The channel is always migrating in this section so it's a bit of a pain, but not too bad.

The second gorge is called "Son of Sam" and is the shortest of the three. It starts out with some great rapids that are pretty easy to boat scout but then ends with a split falls called "Son of Sam Slam". This rapid is worthy of a careful scout and potential portage. It is a 6 ft falls that is easy to recognize because 3 ft diameter logs are suspended 10 ft above the drop--jammed between the gorge walls during a flood. It's best to eddy out early and way upstream due to the difficulty of portaging from the most proximate eddies on river left or right.

Between the second and third gorges there are some fun class III rapids. At lower flows this section is pretty boney, but fun at higher flows. You'll likely have another log portage or two.

The final gorge is called "Play it Again Sam" and the first ledge drop is called "Play it Again Sam Slam". This first drop can most likely be boat scouted, but it's got a couple holes lurking behind the boulders. This final gorge is longer than the first two and the whitewater is a notch lower in degree of difficulty. There are some great play spots as the river settles onto the Queets Valley. Once again you'll probably have a log portage or two.

lat/long approximated by Tiger map server

run description with contributions from Web Peirce and Omar Jepperson

for additional information see

• Korb, G. 1997. A paddlers guide to the Olympic Peninsula. third edition.
• local expert: Gary Korb & Carol Volk, 4930 Geiger Road, Port Orchard, WA 98366, 206-876-6780
• Olympic National Park web site
• Pacific Ranger District, South - USFS Olympic National Forest web site