Spring Creek

Epic adventure going over, under and around logs.  Creek was great, but there was a lot more wood than last time I went a few years ago. Too many to specify rapids.  If it's a blind rapid, assume there is wood. The gorge is really beautiful with a wilderness feel you don't get many other places around here

Big Laurel was 1'5' on the way up.  Level was as low as I would go, and couple more inches would have been ideal.

Water level was 18' (possibly higher, we checked after the run). The normal put in at the bridge over spring creek at Bluff is under construction. There is a spot to park on the left side of the road further up 209 if you continue south.

Continue to watch for wood before the river picks up just before chutes and ladders. You will go under a small bridge for a private drive just before chutes and ladders. NOTE: The trail on river left to scout chutes and ladders may be private property.

Chutes and ladders should be scouted if possible on river left to check for wood. On 1st drop, boof towards left or right eddy (right is easier) and head down toward a large river left eddy before the second drop. Then ferry to river right and head down the second drop and stay right of center. You don't want to be too far right, as you will run into a cliff face, but if you're too far left there is an underwater rock (exposed at lower flows). If the rock is exposed, you want to be almost touching it. Water after the 1st drop is very pushy at higher flows. Route down this rapid after the first drop may be flow dependent, as the large rock in the second drop in river center/left that was covered up at 18'.

Cookie monster can be boat or shore scouted, watch for wood on each side. Left or right is fine depending on wood.

Mini vortex is difficult to shore scout. Rapid info has good description. Enter on river right, and head towards a large eddy in river center. It is a good spot to boat scout the second part of the rapid. From the the center eddy, ferry back to river right, then work quickly towards river left before the first big drop. (Note: you may be able to bleed out of the center eddy for an easier trip to the first drop on the left, but there was wood in this route when we ran it). You want to be on the left side of the first big drop. The river right drop could be run, but hole looks munchy. One of our boaters flipped and rolled back up going over this drop. The second drop is much easier. Main line is on river right for the second drop, but at higher flows, the left line can also be run. Watch for wood throughout the rapid.

Bannana split can be partially shore scouted on river right before the rapid. Main line is just barely to the left of the large rock before the drop in river center. Avoid the drop on far river right (right side of big rock). Not only is there a nasty hole at the bottom, but there is also a severly undercut ledge. It would be a tough rescue, at least at the level we ran it. The river left drop could potentially be run, but none of us were brave enough to try it, water pushes you into cliff face.

Surprise ledge has a good description with nothing extra to add. Boof in center. Watch for wood.

U-Turn has a good description with nothing extra to add. Watch for wood.

Unlike what the description says, there is quite a bit of active whitewater from U-Turn to the bridge. Pretty much constant class 2-3 read and run, at least at 18'. Perhaps it is different at lower flows, but it's certainly not flat water.

The takeout at the 209 bridge has a nice staircase up to the road, but the eddy at the takeout is very small.

~11inches

riverwide log at beginning of steep section was boofable at ~15inches 3/2/18. likely a portage as level drops

The Town Falls/Meat Cleaver rapid past the usual take-out. Estimated ~15inches or slightly higher that day

Friday, 3/2/18....quite a bit of wood on Spring Creek. One is all the way across the river at the top of the first rapid, Do Drop In. So, be careful.....Banana Split was clean, as clean can be...

Last rapid near town is called 'Meat Cleaver'.

@ 12 inches

This is toward the end of a very long rapid.

Right the middle. Left and right look bad.

This is halfway through the first rapid. 12 inches.

A decent hole that deserves attention.

Here are some correlations I have saved. Seems to be consistent. The ranges indicate the level at the beginning and end of the day.

(4/6/13

Spring Creek 9 inches

FB 8000->5000

Ivy 500 -> 400)

(1/12/14

Spring Creek 12-13 inches

FB 10,000 ->8000

Ivy 1000->500)

(2013-01-19

Spring Creek 18 inches

FB 13,000

Ivy 1100 -> 700 )

Lee Bruce if you don't mind could you contact me about this section. David Bazemore Strive2@ymail.com Thanks....

We have run this river at Zero ft and one foot on the downtown gage and had a lot of fun. Would like to try 1.5 ft sometime

At certain levels, a paddler can slide down the far left chute on the final class 4/5 drop, but beware of wood blocking or under the drop.

I had run this creek at 1.5ft and 1ft and was hesitant to try 0ft but it was fun.

I run this creek from 1.5 ft to minus .5ft.

Last few miles were probably too scrapy to be worth it for most, but the narrow section at the beginning and the ledges were still fun and runnable.

There is one more big drop if you continue on past the bridge that begins the hot springs town limits. It is about a ten foot double ledge. A rock splits the narrow channel. The left is tight, but doable, the right leads into a rock, so you better hug the rock splitting the river. The hole after the second drop looks rough. In the pool after the drops there is a submerged rock in the middle and some wood on the left. For a better description, this drop is in the Benner guidebook.

Banana Split is the last major rapid in the upper section of Spring Creek. After the intitial series of ledge-drops that begin almost immediately after the put-in, the river mellows out before reaching Banana Split about one mile down.

A sieres of small and often shallow ledges leads into a calm pool above Banana Split. There is a small beach on river right with a well-worn trail that leads around the rapid and provides both numerous vantage points as well as the option to portage.

The standard line starts left of center over the first ledge and then a hard move back to the middle for a nice boof just left of the rock in the center. What makes this rapid challenging is a strong current that moves very hard to the left and propells you over a nasty double stairstep ledge and into the hollowed-out river-left rock wall. This *is* a runnable line, but is not especially fun or advisable.

At one foot, the hole at the bottom of the ledge is unremarkable. However, as the water level rises to 1.5 feet and above, this hole gets quite sticky. Running far right is also a poor idea unless the water is high enough to cover the nasty rock jumble that fills the drop. This seems to be about the same level at which the hole below the main drop gets scary.
Julie Ross, professional ducker, gets crazy air at Banana Split!
A perfect example of the non-stop ledges on the first mile of Spring Creek.
A nice example of what lies between the big stuff in the first few miles of Spring Creek.
The first set of drops just below the put-in.
Jim running the left side of Second Drop.

It may look like he is squirt boating, but he is actually swimming. Good times.