June 9, 2015
| Reporter | Andrew Michel |
My friend and I usually make it to this river every year and there are actually three or four different runs of varying difficulty.
There are put-ins at Elba, Arlburg, and Lute Mtn Rd. which will give you great runs of varying lengths all the way to the Hwy 9/16 bridge in Shirley. The best water is between Arlburg the Shirley Train bridge (local landmark).
From hard experience, we have discovered this river is best between 8.2 and 8.5 feet. This year, we started in Arlburg, Wednesday (6/2/2015) at 10:15 AM and the water was at 8.2 feet. We exited about 6:15 pm and the water measured 8.0 feet. We agreed, however, it was easily the best run we've had on the river in a few years. Several fun chutes, and fast water that gave us a nice challenging float between several long pools.
The fourth run on this river is, from the Shirley bridge down to Greers Ferry Lake - take out at Sandiff point - this is Class I-II and fun enough for introducing kids to canoeing or kayaking.
No matter which run you choose, the land on both sides of the river are private property, so take caution when stopping and be sure to get permission from land owners for camping. Most people will remain friendly enough if you respect their property and pack out your trash.