Buffalo Fork, North Fork
Hike In
June 4, 2022
| Reporter | Thomas Martins |
| Gauge Reading | 0.45 r.c. |
We hiked in and ran North Buffalo fork down to Turpin Meadows campground on 6/04/2022. This is horse packing country, so the trail was pretty wet, muddy and chewed up, which was a shame as it took away from what otherwise would have been a gorgeous and mellow hike. Was flowing at 1600 CFS on the gauge below the campground, so about 7 miles down from the north and south fork confluence.
Water was at a great level, lots of fun and busy class III on the upper north fork. There was a downed tree spanning the river about 3 miles into the run from 2021. At this flow we were just barely able to squirt over it, but probably should have portaged.
The lower section past the confluence has changed in the past few years. A land slide about 2-3 miles down has pinched the river into a nasty Class IV rapid with fresh jagged boulders. We were able to scout and eventually decided to portage on river left. This is where the landslide occurred so it was a real PITA. Lots of loose boulders, downed trees and wash outs.
Overall a great run, 5 miles of hiking for 10 miles of paddling. Exited on a nice sandy beach 200 yards from our campsite. Great view of the Tetons hiking in, followed some big old bear tracks on the trail, and got barked at by Elk at the put in when inflating our boats in THEIR meadow.