Upper Twin Creek

When the Flathead National Forest released their Draft Forest Plan, Upper Twin Creek was a glaring omission in the list of streams that are eligible for Wild and Scenic designation. We knew this stream had some special values that made it worthy of protection, but lacked significant evidence. In 2016 we hiked in to document the karst features, whitewater paddling, and scenery of the creek. It worked! The final forest plan recognizes Upper Twin Creek as eligible for WSR designation.

We thought the flow this day was pretty ideal. We had a pretty smooth descent, largely lacking any issues with strainers. Spotting the falls and figuring out to portage right was the crux of the day. Mostly, we were just really impressed with the unique scenery and fun paddling. It was remarkably chill whitewater for the nature of the gorge, but one poorly placed log could trigger a misdventure.