Trinity, East Fork of North Fork

We estimated the flow at 130cfs, subtracting the Helena guage from the Burnt Ranch gauge, taking 50% of that for the area of the North Trinity watershed, and 15% for the EFNF within the NF drainage.

On the drop just upstream of the bridge listed as the put-in on this page, a log now blocks the entire right line. The left line is slightly undercut but was not really in play at our flow. The position is very close to 40.8237, -123.1253.

There are a number of wood pieces in play, but eddy-hopping and boat-scouting allowed us to avoid portaging the entire run. Halfway through the run, there is a fresh, new river-wide log with all it's branches and foliage intact at the time of this writing. We were able to duck under it on our run, but at higher flows it will pose a significant hazard until it moves. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to coordinates for its position, keep an eye out for it.

Me (packraft), Diana (hardshell), and Wilder (hardshell) paddled the EFNF on the MLK holiday. Flows were definitely higher than I had done it before (285 cfs). We put-in at the bridge at Barney Gulch, and encountered a river-wide log about 6' above the water around the first bend in the river. We portaged through some brambles on river right. There wasn't an eddy on the otherside so it was straight into the flow. The river makes a sharp left, then a rapid appears with wood strainers on the right side of the entrance. We got out to scount since it was hard to see the end of the rapid. There was some wood at the bottom, which was easy to avoid but would be dangerous for a swimmer. We noticed a footpath on river right leading down from the road. So if you park a couple bends in the river before the bridge, you could walk down and avoid the worst wood hazards of the run. One of the bigger rapids in the middle of the run had a log in the water at the end, which again was easy to avoid but would be hazardous to a swimmer. The run is rated III+ at these flows, which I agree with. Although the whitewater isn't particularly difficult, the swift flows make it harder to boat scout the corners and being able to quickly catch small eddies is important. Overall we had a great day!

Packrafting EFNF Trinity at 285 cfs

A few of us Bay area packrafters ended up free and in the area during some rains and Sara Gallagher suggested this local favorite. It was snowing at the put-in but we had a super fun day, taking our time down the frigid, clear waters. Mostly Class II with maybe some III maneuvers here and there.