Trinity, Stuart Fork

With good flows in June from the 180% snowpack from winter 2022-2023, a group of 15 packrafters hiked in to run the lower 2.5 miles of the Upper Stuart Fork Run plus the full lower run. It was the Saturday of the American Packraft Association's 2023 Roundup which was based out of Junction City along the Trinity River.

The hike was easy and straightforward. We put in at the first place where the trail dropped to river level and provided an easy entry (a 2.1-mile hike from the trailhead, just upstream of Lightning Creek). There's a lot more whitewater upstream of this for sure.

The river was a good level for packrafting, even good for kayaking, and was slightly padded out without being pushy. There were holes that could eat packrafts but options for going around, over, or through them too. Flows on the Trinity River above Coffee Creek gage were about 1,200 cfs on the diurnal swing. Not surprisingly, the Stuart Fork bears similarities to other central Klamath Mountain hike-in runs like the Upper NF Salmon, Upper New, and the middle gorge of Wooley Creek.

About a mile below out put-in, we came across two sets of rapids we all portaged. The first rapid comes on a lefthand bend not far downstream from the confluence of Monday Creek (which comes in on river left and is not very noticable).

About a mile in, we reached a gorge with larger rapids which were actually a bit menacing for packrafts and even a bit stout for kayaks. The prelude rapid that's one bend in the river above above the gorge had a boat-eating hole that would devour any craft, much less our inflatable beach balls. Everyone portaged; river right is best. At the sight of the horizon line for the gorge below, half the group exited and hiked back out. The rest of us continued, portaged the gorge and its double drop, and paddled through a bunch of other fun rapids before reaching the put-in for the lower run at Bridge Camp Campground.

The next 2.5 miles down to Trinity Alps Resort was quick and mostly constant gradient rapids on boulders. There was a portage around full tree blockage at the campground and a bedrock ledge drop that stood out from the others and broadend so wide that it was shallow and sharp. We took out at the second footbridge at the resort, rolled up the boats and walked, as packrafters do, up the the road to the resort store and got some ice cream.

This exploratory trip just makes me want to return and go higher up the Stuart Fork to get a longer hike-in river experience in the wilderness.