Raquette

Starting at the base of the Colton Dam, this 60' drop is a continuous series of ledges, slots, and slides that ends with a mean river-wide hole at the bottom. There are short pools and a few eddies that make this easier than it may sound at levels below 900cfs. (At high flows, the bottom hole is a keeper!) Slots do have high pin potential. The river right channel avoids the bottom hole, but it is technical, shallow, and unforgiving if you flip. Scout this using the trails and on river right. Easy to portage using the trails on the right.

This horizon line is a couple hundred yards below Tannery. This 4' pourover ledge has a 'mushroom' water feature in the middle of the main flow which backs up a mean hole. The feature is created by either a rock or a pothole sieve that acts like a 'geyser' creating the mushroom. There are numerous options to run this drop. Scout river right. (At high levels, far left along the bank is a fun, safe line.)

Lat/longitude verified by GPS.

A 90-degree bend to the left as the river cuts through bedrock marks the start of the Narrows. An island separates the Left Channel (5.0) from the Middle (5.0) and Far Right channels (V+). The Middle channel rejoins the Left channel just above the Tub (5.1). The ledge-slide that forms the Tub marks the end of the Narrows.

The Left Channel is the most common route and starts with a technical ledge called 'Horseshoe Ledge', which has multiple lines. The easiest is to run the 'high' far right line next to the island boofing the far right part of the ledge. All other lines through this drop are more difficult and bring the The horseshoe hole into play. The hole is very sticky at levels above 500cfs.

Horseshoe ledge is followed by a fast moving pool, which funnels all water through 'The Slot' (IV). Fifty yards below the slot is the Tub, catch an eddy on river left 20-30 yards below the slot to scout The Tub.

The Middle Channel and far Right Channel are seldom run and should be extensively scouted from river right. Take out before the river bends to the left.

A MISHAP IN ANY CHANNEL IN THE NARROWS CAN BE TERMINAL. RESCUE IS VERY DIFFICULT, AS WAS SHOWN BY THE FATALITY DURING THE 2002 RELEASE. MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR YOU, HAVE A GOOD SAFETY PLAN FOR YOUR GROUP, AND ENJOY THIS AWESOME RAPID.

The horizon line 50yds below 'The Slot', marks the blind entrance to 'The Tub'. The 50yd CL II-III stretch above the tub has some sticky pourovers above 500cfs, but they are easy to miss. There are plenty of eddies; eddy left.

The Tub is a two-tiered drop separated by a very small/narrow 'pool'. The 'pool' is really a house sized pothole the river has carved out creating a 'Tub' between the two ramp/ledges.

The first ledge is a bit of a blind drop and being off line will either result in a piton or getting a beating in the Tub. (Sore ankles, broken paddles, and humble pie are regularly served at the Tub.)

The hole at the bottom of the second ramp/ledge is very sticky but is in a big pool. Run the second ledge far right or far left on the main flow. (Self rescue can be difficult if you have to swim, so make sure you have a plan or you will be walking for a while.)

The far left line avoids 'The Tub', but is filled with potholes and rocks that could pin a boat. The far left is normally only run at high levels...its pretty ugly even then. Scout the tub from river left. (You can scout from the Island right of the Tub, but this makes the entrance a bit more difficult.)

An island forms two channels.
'Da-Falls' (IV) are left of the Island, scout Left. (Not recommended below 500cfs)
'Particle Accelerator' (5.0) is right of the Island. A technical entrance and crankin' water are the characteristics of this drop. A clean line avoids being pushed into the river right wall and avoids being funneled into the slot left of the big rooster tail at the bottom. The slot is called '50:50'(5.1) and run by very very few and only at low flows. Not a recommended line. Flipping in any part if this rapid is ugly. Scout from the Island. (You can still portage this drop after scouting from the island.)

This 200yd rapid marks the end of the first mile which drops 200'. The entrance is a 100yd CL III boulder field which starts just below the big pool at the bottom of Island Falls. Rock ledges on river right, channel the main flow to river left. The crux of the rapid is a CL IV slot along the left bank. (The '200 Proof' slot is very similar to the left channel of 'Tannery Ledges,' though not as difficult). The river makes a 90-degree turn to the right just below the slot and the the rapid ends with 100-yd CL III runout called 'hangover ledges'. These ledges can be pretty sticky at about 900cfs. (Scout left about 50yds into the boulder field.)

The tree in the picture has been removed (20 August '04).

Lat/longitude verified by GPS.

The river's character drastically changes the last two miles of Stone Valley. There is one class III rapid, 'S-Turn', in the last two miles; the gradient is only 50'/mi; and the channel is wide and shallow at levels below 900cfs. Below 500cfs the river is 'boney'. I don't recommend paddling the last 1.5 miles below 180cfs so use the midway takeout.

The entrance of the S turn has a couple of sticky pourovers that are easy to manuever around. The meat of this rapid is a channel wide ledge- hole that is easy to punch below 800cfs. A nice foam pile forms about 10 yards below the pourover at flows above 500cfs (the hole is shallow at these flows.) At High Flows this is a great playspot and nice waves form just below this.