Skookum Creek, WA

Hale just above Pouchie's Palace

Hale just above Pouchie's Palace
Photo of Hale Hanaway by Keith Robinson taken 4/12/03

Gauge Information

River Description

Whatcom County produces another diamond in the rough!

After an incomplete pre scout mission the day before, Hale Hanaway, Ryan Bradley (Pouchy), Drew Braugh (Queen B), Wade Pruett, and I (Keith Robinson) teamed up on 4/ 12/03 for what we think was the first Descent of Skookum Creek. After a short but sweaty hike up the logging road (road is gated and mangaing agency has no vehicle access policy), we got to where we assumed we'd be above the gorge. Then we took an old over-grown logging road to the right. After following that for a couple hunderd yards, we bush wacked down to the river. There could be better access by hiking up further (on either one of the roads), but we have yet to check this out.

Once on the river, we had zero warm up before a trashy class IV that lead right into an eight foot class V shoot. Ryan Barkley was the only one to run this one. I guess the mandatory log pin didn't look that bad to him. From here on, the run begins to gorge up and the rapids get cleaner. Expect to make some wood carries in the beginning. To sum up the run, it has four big ledges spread throughout. They all vary in difficulty. The first one described above only Ryan ran, the second one was good fun, except one of our party split his forehead open on it, the third was big and runnable, but we all walked it, and the fourth had issues, but we all ran it. In between were lots of class III and IV boulder gardens, that rounded out the run nicely. The run ends at the South Fork Nooksack. We are all pumped on the run, and can't wait to see it with a litte more water.

Lat/Long very approximate