Belt Creek,

2. Monarch to Riceville

Into the Sluiceboxes

Into the Sluiceboxes
Photo of D-Man by Dave Amman taken 1119067200 @ about 450 cfs

River Description

Monarch to the sluice box takeout: No info on gauges, but if theres around 4-6 inches at the Monarch put-in, its do able. It'll take around 5-8 hrs, depending on flow and stops.

It's absolutely beautiful, a mini-Smith River. You should watch out for a few class 3's above the canyon (which starts about the last 3rd of the float), especially at the entrance but pretty much stay center. The canyon is awesome, swift pushy water could lead to a bunch of wall collisions, but not a serious danger at lower water. I would caution about higher flows because of the hydraulics, yet we did talk to someone today who did it and they went through it fine.

Also fairly close to Monarch there's a barbed-wire fence, and depending on flows you might have to portage but it's not blind. I also recommend doing the Neihart section; we did it today at real high flows in IK's and it's definitely a ride.