Paint Creek

We swung by Paint Creek following some very high water to check it out. Kelley Falls had a nasty wood fence just downstream, but the rest of the creek seemed relatively wood free compared to 2024. There is still some wood in there though, mostly between the rapids, so stay heads up! We did not end up paddling. Big Laurel was running 1.5 feet.

With Big Laurel running 15 inches or so we headed over to Paint Creek very late in the day. There was a bit too much wood to do the whole run in the time we had until dark, so we opted to skip the top part (sadly including Kelley Falls) and put in at a lower bridge with a cool ledge rapid under it. Neither of us had done Paint Creek before, but it was easy to figure out. Dudley Falls was a very fun rapid. We took out downstream at the Dog Hobble Trailhead just below a nice little sliding drop.