Elk

Robert Farmer---I took a group down this @June 2009, for my third trip down. Some of the boaters were around the Class 4/4+ level. The logs in the first drop are gone now, and it's 4+/5-, a fairly easy move, with some consequences on the left for unimaginable screw-ups. This is possibly the best collection of Class 4 slides anywhere!!! Only 2 drops really approach Class 5, and they are portageable. There is one really big slide that many people portaged, but it's not really hard, just intimidating, as long as you're on the right line. Thrilling, but without much cost. There is one rapid where we did the in-boat portage; with more water, you can 'wheelchair' across, but on this trip, to speed things up, I got out and dragged the other boaters across the rock, so they didn't have to get out, dropping off the ledge into a slide. There are a lot of blind horizon lines; it's great to just bomb down on your second run, but the first run requires a lot of scouting. The price that you pay is the horrendous portage. It was a lot more overgrown than I remembered (different time of year, maybe?). We cleared it out a bit, but you need to have a sense of adventure, and start your day early. You can take about 3 different variations, depending on whether you want to run the last 45-foot waterfall; I ran it on my second trip, accidentally boofed, and had a very painful paddle out and couple of weeks after. It is so beautiful, though. There is a rope hanging next to this falls, I noticed, too late. I don't know if it's for portaging, though---it's probably for cliff divers in warmer weather, but it hangs into the water, so it would be hard to use, probably. One of our boats got dropped about 60+ or so feet. If you're portaging the falls, stay high and left, or there was a lower way, too, but it was pretty airy, as well. Anyway, this is a 5-star run, a great classic, with esthetic quality comparable to Linville Gorge or the Blackwater, or Tallulah Gorge. Sure the portage is bad, but you can do it once, right? Bring a saw and do a little volunteer trailwork, and for crying out loud, don't be one of those boaters who doesn't carry a throwrope, ok? You need to do this one at least once in your life.