Nason,

1. Berne to Merritt (Upper)

Nason Creek

Nason Creek
Photo of Bryan Urakawa and Tao Berman by

Eric Link, Twitch, www.twitchtv.com

River Description

LOGISTICS: The put-in is at the pullout at Highway 2 mile 71 just east of Steven's Pass. If you continue down the road you'll be able to see the creek and The Slides along the north side of Highway 2. You can take out at mile 78.7 where the run comes along Highway 2 (the take-out listed in Bennett), but if you want to avoid the last two mile of braided channels and class 2 then use the alternate access at Whitepine (look for the Forest Service road at Highway 2 mile 78.3 which is marked for Whitepine.)

DESCRIPTION:

The river starts out with The Slides which is a set of class IV ledges. You can scout these drops before the run from Highway 2. If they make you nervous then you're best off heading someplace else, but if they look like fun you should be good to go. After the Slides, the creek passes through the railroad tunnel and then under Highway 2. It mellows for quite a bit before you hit a couple ledges. When you see the railroad grade on the right, get out for a scout. This is the start of the canyon which you can check out from the rim. You can walk the entire rim down to the railroad bridge (be sure to check the last ledge below the railroad bridge which has a bad spot on the left). Keep in mind the ledges are stickier than they look from above. Trivial Pursuit and Royal Flush are a class V combination. After you pass under the railroad bridge there are more fun ledges until you reach the confluence with Whitpine Creek where things start to mellow, eventually slowing down to class II.

for additional information see

• Bennett, J. and T. Bennett. 1997. A guide to the whitewater rivers of Washington, second edition. Swiftwater Publishing. Portland, OR.