Escanaba, M.Br. - A) White City Falls to 1.2 mile above CR565 (9.3 miles+1.6 miles for lower)


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Escanaba, M.Br.,

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A) White City Falls to 1.2 mile above CR565 (9.3 miles+1.6 miles for lower)

Usual Difficulty II-IV+ (may vary with level)
Length 9.3 Miles
Avg. Gradient 18 fpm
Max Gradient 50 fpm

Gauge Information

Name Range Difficulty Updated Level
Escanaba, M.Br. Upper
virtual-10535 200 - 550 cfs II-IV+ 01h18m 75.06 cfs (rc= -0.4 )


River Description

More like 'drop/lake' than 'drop/pool'. (Much flatwater between drops, but the drops are good!) The first three drops (while not overly complex) can be the most troublesome (I.E., most likely to be portaged, or cause major thrashings). With high water, almost all of the drops on the run will be plenty intense!

Since this is a rather long run, with extended flatwater between drops (one stretch of nearly 3 miles, another nearly 2 miles, and two others over a mile each, as shown in the table below), boaters feelings about this run tend to divide into two categories. Many boaters will 'pass', or do it once or twice and say "Never again!" Others will consider the flatwater a reasonable price to pay for the variety and challenge of drops it contains, and will keep it on their list of favorites to hit each year. This is especially true since this river tends to have a longer 'season' (run a bit later or more often) than most of the U.P. creeks.


The resolution on Google Maps for this area is quite good. We highly recommended going to the 'Map' tab, clicking 'USGS Aerial', double-clicking the put-in, zooming in to the maximum resolution available, and doing a 'virtual walk' of this reach!


This table details the full run (I.E., includes both this section and the Lower section).

River Mile Feature followed by flatwater miles
0.1 White City Falls 0.6
0.7 "Second City Falls" 0.6 (interrupted by a couple small ledge drops)
1.3 Half-dome/Granite Canyon 2.9 (interrupted only by a couple minor rips)
4.2 Squeeze/Rock Island/Play Waves 1.0 (interrupted only by a couple minor rips)
5.2 Jumblewood Sluice 1.8 (interrupted only by a minor rip)
7.0 Warmup & Farmstead Falls 1.2
8.2 Middle Finger 1.1 (interrupted only by a couple minor rips)
9.3 Put-in for Lower Run 0.3
9.6 Rock Hump 0.4
10.1 Logjam Island minor
10.4 Boulder Garden minor
10.5 Five-Sixty-Five Rapids minor
10.6 Lower 5-6-5 minor
10.8 Island Falls ("Homme Side"/"Sweet Side") minor, back upstream to take-out


Shuttle Information: Distance (each way): 14.7 miles, Approximate Time (each way): 37 minutes

Put-in is on a gated, dead-end road. Park in one of the few wide spots to allow other vehicles to be able to pass. While it is unlikely you will encounter the owners, please be respectful of the private property here.

Take-out is at a dead-end road which branches west from CR565 about a mile north of the river. Land at take-out is privately held, but owners have been 'boater friendly' on all occasions I have encountered them. Please be respectful of the private property and leave no trace of your passing, so we may continue in their good graces to use this access.
Or, most boaters who do this run will wish to continue to the Lower M.Br.Escanaba. Alternately, boaters looking for a quick run with little flatwater (and mostly boat-scoutable drops) should consider that run instead.

Regardless which take-out is used, it's a long run, and a correspondingly long shuttle.
If at all possible, plan to meet at the take-out. Change and leave dry clothes and 'drop vehicle(s)' there (if possible, with enough space for all boaters, and rack space (and straps!) to handle all boats.) Put all boats/boaters on/in other vehicle(s) and drive to the put-in. This will save time by avoiding the need to leave people sitting and waiting (well over an hour for the round-trip!) while shuttle drivers run vehicles down and back before the run. (Obviously, some vehicle(s) will need to make the trip back to the put-in to pick up the vehicle(s) left there, but the point is, that is done after boating rather than delaying boating.)


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Additional description and images on Midwest River Inventory


StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2009-02-03 15:42:34

'Half Dome'

Detail Trip Report Edit  'Half Dome'  M.Br.Escanaba, MI(1.52MB .avi)

'Second City Falls'

Detail Trip Report Edit  'Second City Falls'  M.Br.Escanaba, MI(2.15MB .avi)

First drop on the Escanaba

Detail Trip Report Edit  First drop on the Escanaba  Escanaba, M. Br., MI(442.18KB .mov)

Various drops

Detail Trip Report Edit  Various drops  Escanaba, M. Br., MI(2.10MB .mov)

Various drops

Detail Trip Report Edit  Various drops  Escanaba, M.Br., MI(4.84MB .wmv)

Pete Meyer runs Second City Falls

Detail Trip Report Edit  Pete Meyer runs Second City Falls  Middle Branch Escanaba, WI(3.73MB .mov)

Boris runs White City Falls

Detail Trip Report Edit  Boris runs White City Falls  Middle Branch Escanaba, WI(3.37MB .mov)

Pete Bellande runs Second City Falls

Detail Trip Report Edit  Pete Bellande runs Second City Falls  Middle Branch Escanaba, WI(3.64MB .mov)


Gauge Information

Gauge Description:

*Gauge cited is 'virtual gauge' based on a USGS gauge located far upstream. Drainage area at the put-in for this reach is nearly three times (actually 2.78x) the drainage area at the gauge. It should be obvious that actual flow in this reach will not 100% correlate with this virtual gauge (due to time lag and various other factors). The virtual gauge should, however, be reasonably reliable as an indicator of likely runnability for this reach.

It is a good idea to go to the 565 bridge for a good visual check on the water level and difficulty. If the bridge rapid looks good to you, go for it!

This river is paddleable at virtually all flows, since it is 'lakes' connected by drops. Some drops will be constricted enough to paddle at quite low flows.

'Minimum' flow value indicates likely runnablity of a majority of the drops.
'Maximum' flow value indicates a level at which many rapids on this run will become very mean and scary for many boaters.

Note: Be aware that indication of a 'runnable' level does not mean that the river is necessarily runnable. In winter, readings may be 'ice affected', and/or sections of the river may be impassable due to ice. This is especially true for this reach of this river, since there are such long, flat stretches of river which may not flush free of ice as early as other rivers with more continuous gradient. The relatively compact lower reach may not be as troublesome in this regard.

Based on statistical analysis of historical data, the following list shows months in decending order of the liklihood of this reach being runnable. In parenthesis are the percentage, and the average number of days in the month it is runnable.
May (44%, 14), April (31%, 9), June (18%, 5), November (12%, 4), October (9%, 3), March (8%, 2).

Gauge Information

Name Range Difficulty Updated Level
Escanaba, M.Br. Upper
virtual-10535 200 - 550 cfs II-IV+ 01h18m 75.06 cfs (rc= -0.4 )

RangeWater LevelDifficultyComment
200 - 550 cfs barely runnable-high runnable II-IV+

Report - Reports of Escanaba, M.Br. A) White City Falls to 1.2 mile above CR565 (9.3 miles+1.6 miles for lower) and related gauges

Reports give the public a chance to report on river conditions throughout the country as well as log the history of a river.

Reports

When River/Gauge Subject Level Reporter
Escanaba, M. Br. [MI] First drop on the Escanaba n/a Mark Mastalski
M.Br.Escanaba [MI] 'Half Dome' high Rob Smage
3y221d13h16m Middle Branch Escanaba [WI] Boris runs White City Falls 150 cfs Mike Croak
7y188d13h16m Escanaba, M.Br. [MI] Various drops 176 cfs on gauge Mark Mastalski
> 10 years Escanaba, M. Br. [MI] Various drops n/a Mark Mastalski

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Rapid Summary

Mile Rapid Name Class Features (Legend)
0.1White City FallsIII+Waterfall
0.7Second City FallsIVWaterfall
1.0Island LedgesIIPlayspot
1.3Half-DomeIVWaterfall
1.3Granite CanyonIV
4.2Squeeze, Rock Island, Play WavesIII+Playspot
5.2Jumblewood SluiceIIIPlayspot
7.0Farmstead FallsIIIWaterfall Playspot
8.2Middle FIngerIVWaterfall

Rapid Descriptions

White City Falls (Class III+, Mile 0.1)

Definitely worth scouting (best from river-right, due to private property on river-left), this falls is just around the corner from the put-in. The lead-in is pretty straight-forward. The lip of the falls is seriously 'notched' on river left, up against a wall of rock at left shore. A significant hole and boil will exist at medium-to-high flows. The right wall downstream in the pool is undercut, and there is a bit of a 'room-of-doom' in the eddy near the falls, so you really want to drive out through the boil and downstream.



Second City Falls (Class IV, Mile 0.7)

In some ways a bit like a bigger, meaner version of the first falls. There are a few good diagonal waves in the lead-in (to trip you up if you aren't careful). The lip of this falls has a big boulder left-of-center. There may be a (theoretical) line to one side or the other near this boulder, but most runs are more center-to-right, to come off a bit of a tongue of water. The landing seldom seems too 'keepy', but again, there is an undercut wall downstream right.



Island Ledges (Class II, Mile 1.0)

As the river encounters an island, the left channel spills across a couple of ledges. They are generally quite straight-forward, and could ofer some play (other than generally we have never been in a 'play' mode on this long run).



Half-Dome (Class IV, Mile 1.3)

A 'guard rock'/'guard ledge' confuses the setup for a half-dome hump of rock. The sweet line (usually) appears to be trying to ride the top of the hump (to avoid the aggressive holes left and right), but that is more easily said than done.



Granite Canyon (Class IV, Mile 1.3)

A brief pool separates this drop from the preceding drop (Half Dome). A line of rocks splits the flow into a number of pourovers. More rock downstream left tends to funnel more of the flow to river-right, through a short series of waves and holes, before it smooths out to a swift runout into a good pool.



Squeeze, Rock Island, Play Waves (Class III+, Mile 4.2)

After a long (2.9 miles) flat stretch with only one minor rapids interrupting, you finally get to a significant narrowing of the river. A (sometimes) quite juicy pourover/ledge lies in the narrows. Flow heads toward a large rock island, and is diverted to the right, into a large pool. Out of the pool, the flow trips across numerous waves and holes, some of which can be pretty sweet looking. Play may be possible on a few of them, though (again) we've typically been more intent on continuing downriver on this long run.



Jumblewood Sluice (Class III, Mile 5.2)

A few different routes are available/viable here, so some may opt to carry up to try more than one. To extreme river-left, a small pourover drops into a 'sluice' between shore and a line of rock parallel to it. To extreme right, a wider channel (or sluice) leads to an often grungy exit. Partway down this route, one can veer left to head to center stream. Down the middle there is generally considerable less flow (obviously at low-to-moderate flows for the river). Overall, generally not too difficult, but you can find/make some more technical or interesting lines. The runout often has a small surfable wave. Scouting is advised (particularly for river-right lines) as this area has been known to accumulate jumble piles of wood (hence the rapids name).



Farmstead Falls (Class III, Mile 7.0)

After nearly 1.8 miles of flatwater, some minor boulderbed rapids are encountered. The river takes a right-angle bend (to the right) and a horizon line awaits. This is a sweet sliding drop, into what can be a rather sticky hole (at some flows). Generally best just right down the center, but occasionally boaters may try a line more to the left, to avoid the 'meat' of the hole, and drop a little bit of a 'boof' which can exist off the end of the slide to that side.

 

The hole can (at times) look really sweet for play, however, the right side of the outflow pool has much rock, generally fairly smooth but also generally fairly shallow, which will hamper access and generally inhibit most interest in risking much play. A LARGE pool (almost a lake!) follows, before the river twists left to continue.

 

(Note: Rating this rapids is a bit tricky. It is such a simple smooth slide (with no complexity to the approach, and a huge pool below) that it could be called barely class II. However, good boaters have gotten 'worked' by the hole at the base of the slide, which would suggest that it can deserve the class III or higher rating. YMMV.)



Middle FInger (Class IV, Mile 8.2)

Just beyond a good jig-jog right and then left, the final rapids/falls of the 'upper' reach is encountered. A short pourover/wave/hole traverses center-to-right, causing boiling swirly water preceding the main action here. A huge rock lies just left-of-center below. Water flowing between the sloping bedrock of the left shore and this 'middle finger' tends to funnel into a really aerated boil below. Best outflow is tight to the left wall, since a ledge of shallow rock lies immediately behind the 'middle finger'. To the right of the 'middle finger', flow drops across a couple smaller ledges/rocks (possible hole or two) before meeting the pool below. Often the sweet/semi-gutsy line (to avoid the potentially tricky boiling pourover at the top of this drop) is to start at river-left shore above the drop, drive powerfully toward the right, on smooth flow (which heads toward the 'middle finger' and drops down the left line), keeping your boat upstream of the rock, to drive into the right channel as previously described.





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 NWRI - Escanaba, M.Br. A) White City Falls to 1.2 mile above CR565 (9.3 miles+1.6 miles for lower) (mobile)