Slate,

01. Beaver Ponds to Oh Be Joyful CG

Usual Difficulty	V (may vary with level)
Length	2 Miles
Avg. Gradient	85 fpm
Max Gradient	127 fpm

Gauge Information

Name	Range	Difficulty	Updated	Level
SLATE RIVER NEAR CRESTED BUTTE, CO
usgs-09111500	400 - 2000 cfs	V		cfs

River Description

The Slate has a challenging 1-mile stretch of Class 5, but it's not as "quality" as nearby Daisy and OBJ creeks so it's not run nearly as often. The first rapid, located at the upper end of the campground, is one of the hardest. Look carefully for the shallow shelf in the landing zone on the right, it's going to hit you in the side and is hard to miss. Be heads up for wood, almost the entire length of the reach has avalanche paths coming right down to the river. 1/2 way throught the run you will come upon a river wide log jam. Ambitious boaters managed to get a "technical" channel open through it in 2001, but portage river right and launch off the backside of the log jam if it looks too "iffy". On the drive up make sure to scout the location of Wicked Wanda, it is the last major rapid. "Wicked" does this rapid justice, it funnels down into a narrow twisting entrapment that is almost always clogged with wood. Make sure you know where to eddy out above for the portage.

The Quadruple Crown: Because of the short length and proximity of the Crested Butte creeks all 4 of them can be run in the same day. The East River is the best to start out with; it has the largest flow and the least gradient of the four. Next in line is Daisy Creek. Just continue downstream after Daisy to the confluence with the Slate River; there will be about 1/2 mile of slack water until the first rapid. The takeout for the Slate River is the same as Oh Be Joyful Creek so just walk or drive up to the OBJ put-in from there.