The pioneers maintain their sense of humor despite the adversity of death.

Gauge Information

Min Sug. Level:

300 cfs

Max Sug. Level:

1500 cfs

River Description

This run is continuous class II with two or three class III- bolder gardens. The road runs along the river allowing alternate access and easy portage of the class IIIs. Do not go past the gauge as a class IV-V drop lies just around the corner.

Description:

The upper put-in is one half mile above the airport bridge. Do not put in above here; Class V Dead Horse rapid lies between the put-in and Ice Hole Campground one mile above. Portage the fish weir on the right. To avoid the portage, put in under the airport bridge. Look for a few easy playspots. Portage the class III- rapids if you must, but they are really easy. If you camp at Golden Gate or Yellow Pine you can take out at your camp. The boat ramp at the gauge is the lower take-out for this run.

Shuttle: Road Map

To get to the take-out: From the intersection of Yellow Pine Ave, Stibnite Road, and Johnson Creek Road go west (down hill) toward Krassel one half mile to a bridge over the East Fork South Fork Salmon. Back up one tenth of a mile and go down the steep access and look for the gauge. The take-out is the boat ramp at the gauge.

To get to the put-in: Go back to Johnson Creek Road. Turn right and go up the road 4.8 miles. Where the road and river part company and the road starts to climb, find a dirt road on the right and put in at the nice camp spot near the creek.