Joseph Creek

The following is a (rare) trip report by Ken Giles. Thanks very much for your beta, Ken!

JOSEPH CREEK, OREGON : From headwaters to its confluence with Grande Ronde River

LENGTH: 48 miles, (3 days / 2 nights)

RECOMMENDED BOAT TYPE: Kayaks and IK’s. Not suitable for rafts or even small catarafts.

DIFFICULTY OF RAPIDS: Continuous Class II increasing steadily to continuous Class III; several short Class III+ or Class IV- drops easily portaged.

HAZARDS: This run is not for novices; it contains many tree blockages, debris piles and sweepers, often located on blind tight turns in fast-moving Class III water. We portaged a number of river-wide tree jams and took sneak routes around and under at least a dozen other blockages that we would have had to portage if we were in IK’s. The waters are frigid on the upper section of the river. Much of the river’s banks are lined with brush or small trees whose low branches hang out over the water, at about the height of a kayaker’s head, often interfering with maneuvering and making it difficult to eddy out. Springtime high water undermines some of these small trees which then collapse across the stream and block it. The river frequently divides into channels around small trees growing in the streambed, splitting the river into shallow channels with one or both channels clogged with debris. At the beginning of the run, Joseph Creek is only about 10-15 feet wide and 12' deep (using my paddle blade as a measuring stick). It gradually grows in size from the half dozen small side streams coming in so that it is about 20-30 feet wide and about 24' deep at it’s confluence with the Grande Ronde. (See comments below for estimated depths at higher and lower flows.) The hydraulics don’t have enough punch to knock over an experienced kayaker; however, the river is so shallow that you are constantly bouncing off the bottom and it

...