Sandy

On April 29 the USGS finally applied the shifted rating table to the Marmot gauge, and the foot to CFS conversion is closer to what we knew pre-Dec25-flood. On the USGS page the shift was applied retroactively, so there's no visible jump, but on the AW gauge page the jump is visible, from 1300 to 875 CFS.

We ran the Gorge on May Day. The log jam was still passable on either side (we ran left), and you can scout from either side but most folks portage right.

At Boulder drop the RIGHT line is 100% clogged, no go, *death on a stick*. The old center left line is no good at this flow either because the new rock diverts 70% of the flow into the cave/sieve under the house sized boulder in the middle of the river. We snuck far left under the cliff. At this flow hardshells get stuck in the first pinch but monkey their way through, then the rest is boatable. The sneak feeds directly into a sieve and you must hit a tight eddy R to avoid it, then meander through a rocky eddy until you can peel out to run the bottom ledge, which is junkier than it used to be.

(The featured photo of Boulder drop with the blue wavesport kayak shows the right line without wood and the center left line without the new rock: pretty picture but not current.)

Rasp rock was GTG down the right.

Drainhole still has a large log stuffed in Door#2 with its root ball in the current. Swimming there might well be the end of you. We all ran the 'sneak' by driving Right off the main flow and into the shallows. Scout left, portage right.

At Revenue we ran the top 'bar fight' section in the center right slot, there's a new hole in there. You head toward the wall then break left and pick a side of the sharp rock to go on. It's manky and dangerous, but we all made it right side up. This top section is not visible from either shore: scouting doesn't help unless you have a drone. The portage is on the left. The bottom part has a clean line down the R edge, scout left.

This section used to be a total favorite of mine and really, it still is. That said it is NOT a good 'step up' run because it is sievy, undercut, and always seems to have dangerous wood. This run is for people with solid class IV or better skills that just want to play.

I just scanned the AW ratings of the rapids and based on yesterday's run the ratings are questionable. Revenue is certainly not a 4-, it's more like a 4+. Anyway, judge for yourself, don't trust a website or a guidebook, because this run is constantly changing.

Based on yesterday's run and a study of the Marmot gauge, I'd say old flow parameters are out the window: we're starting fresh. They just recalibrated the gauge so it's not going to go back to the way it was.

Yesterday's gauge reading of 660 used to be what I would consider too low, but yesterday we were able to complete the run without portages AND there were some great playspots.

The log jam goes on left or right, just don't screw up. The first class 3+ is different--going down the left is 4ish now, making a move to the far right after the hole keeps it at a 3. Boulder drop is passable for hardshells by going far left under the cliff, then cutting right before the sieve to get back in the main flow and run the bottom drop which has a stouter hole than before. There is no good option for inflatables. Rasp rock has eased up with a splash-free line down the right. Drainhole has multiple possible lines and a huge root ball stuck in Door #2 which would kill a swimmer. Door #3 is open and more fun than before.

Revenue Rapid at low water is still a steep, narrow, shallow luge ride down to the wall on the right, after which you must pick a side of the sharp rock. Again, there is no good option for an inflatable at low water: don't even try. The photo already posted here is of the bottom drop of Revenue which does not explain the situation in the top part. I will share a photo of the rock-infested top part.

For a paddler with the right skills this is a playground. For a boater in the wrong craft or without the requisite skills, this gorge deserves its reputation and should be avoided.

Boulder drop still blocked, our group managed to portage a raft over the boulders river left but it was a bit hair raising getting in there due to potential consequences, the process however was pretty straight forward and kayaks were able to make sneak on far left.

The Marmot gauge is currently wrong, it read about 370, but we found it had about twice as much water.  A better correlation right now is to subtract the Bull Run flow from the Sandy below Bull Run, at least until the rains come and side creeks start distorting that calculation.  As reported on social media previously, a large boulder has fallen into the normal left line at Boulder Rapid creating a serious hazard. At this flow, 80 to 90% of the flow deflects right off of this boulder and into the undercut.  I understand that at higher flows a few people have successfully negotiated this, but at lower flows it's unreasonable and possibly fatal to attempt.  The left slot on the right route is currently open, the narrow slot just to the right has wood in it that apparently is hidden by higher flows so keep that in mind.  The portage on the left seemed a little trickier than usual due to some extra rockfall.  If the portage gets blocked by wood - which has happened - and the right slot gets blocked by wood - which happens - you could find yourself with a serious dilemma.  Years ago, someone got cliffed out on the right bank after a swim and had to be rescued by ropes from above after a helicopter attempt knocked a rock down on top of him and broke some bones.

Ran this section 5/30/22 at 3000 cfs. Really fun section. Flipped the raft at boulder rapid and swam through rasp rock. Drainhole was super vicious looking, and we did the portage on the right bar. The team decided to portage Revenue, as they weren't ready for a repeat swim. Had a blast, and definitely going to do again.

We ran this yesterday at about 370 and had a great time, plenty of water still. There is a good sneak route down the left bank at '64 Logjam so no need to portage. The rapid about 1/4 mile above Boulder with the skinny chute on the far left next to the big overhang has changed so you don't have to pick-up your boat to get to it. Also, there are two clean routes if you run the main line, go figure. Boulder is fine, you just need to be assertive to stay on-line if you run left. Stay far left as you make the last drop as there is a rock in the middle of the landing off the boof ledge. There is some new wood at water level on the right line, will try to take a better look at it this week. Low water makes the right run less intimidating if the slot next to the big boulder is clear. Drain Hole was pretty friendly, water is not pushing into the center boulder like it has been and all the wood is gone. One of our group ran Upper Revenue and did well and there was a choice of routes left/right/center at Lower Revenue. A fine way to spend a warm summer day!

New Rocks in Revenue! A sharp rock has fallen off the cliff on the right and is in the main flow where the water runs along the wall at the exit of the top part of the rapid. At 950 cfs this rock is flush with the water's surface and hard to see. There is some new wood also. The new rock and wood require that the paddler be in control and make one more move to the left to successfully run the rapid. There is another new rock blocking the old 'Dog Leg' route. The hazard quotient of Revenue Rapid has increased another notch. This is a dangerous rapid, hard to scout but with a good portage on river left. Also, the wood in Drainhole is still there. It is runnable but many people are portaging due to the risk. Also, at 900cfs it took us 1 hour to float down to Dodge Park to takeout, and there is a fine route between Dodge and Marmot making the shuttle about the same length as shuttling to Revenue. Good option.

Hey yall, just wanted to share: a large tree was hung up in Drain hole as of a week ago. It extended from door #3 (see above beta) out into the main flow. Water that day was 2100. Hard saying if the drop in water would cause it to fall out, and if it did would it make it through the corner. We felt it was an obvious portage, with a high likelihood of getting pushed into the tree and low reward if you did avoid it. Give it a look from river right as left side scouting appeared 'possible'. We noted no other wood issues... well, of course the giant Log Jam ;-)

It is still advisable for groups to rendezvous in Sandy (at the Safeway or similar) to consolidate into the minimum number of vehicles and change into boating garb, in order to minimize time spent and nudity at the takeout parking area at the mouth of Kubitz road.

Ran it for the first time after last month's high-water event and found that the wood situation noted in August has changed generally for the better. The wood on the left-side of Boulder is gone, as is the wood at the top of the middle chute at Upper Revenue. The 'skinny chute' at the cave a few drops above Boulder may still have wood in it, but we couldn't tell for sure. However, there is now a very easy slot just to the right of it, which I would recommend unless you know for sure that far left is wood-free. At Drain Hole, there are a couple of logs criss-crossed vertically at 45 degree angles between the middle and right boulders. We had a swimmer here today, and at this flow, he was able to kick-off the bigger one that sits in the current running along the boulders but this could become very dangerous at higher flows, so take a good look at it before committing.

Ran this on August 19, 2017 and discovered multiple wood issues. They've obviously been there awhile but haven't seen them documented and they are significant. Rapid with the cave on the left a few drops above Boulder has wood solidly planted in the skinny left chute forcing a portage at low water. Wood is spanning the center chute at Boulder at the undercut, and the right chute looks worse than ever. Big chunk blocking the normal entrance to the regular middle run at Upper Revenue. Upper Revenue too low to run now anyway, and looks like some high water will likely move it along.

Site of the former Marmot Dam now managed by Bureau of Land Management.

Paddlers' right to take out here is embattled as of the end of 2016. Build friendly human connections when possible. The best takeout parking area is at the intersection of Kubitz and Ten Eyck. Please refrain from aggravating the situation. Change and urinate in private. Park closely to avoid the need to spread out down Kubitz Road. Avoid turning around in their driveways. Avoid worsening the mudhole on the uphill side of Kubitz Road (the takeout parking intersection). Do not park or load on Dusty Lane. If the water is high enough, consider taking out at Dodge Park instead.

Revenue Bridge was reconstructed by the County but with no accommodations for access to this Wild and Scenic River.

To find the put in take Hwy 26 west through Sandy. At the last traffic light in Sandy take a left down OR 211 (?) towards Bull Run. The take-out is at Revenue Bridge, however due to landowner issues it is best to park about 100 yds before the bridge on a road that turns off to the left. After a lovely discussion (mostly about the aforementioned barista), the 4 of us crammed into the cab of Mike’s pickup truck and headed off upstream. Our original plan was to put-in above Alder Creek, however after 20 minutes of drysuit stench in the cab of the truck and no-sign of a good put-in, with the guidebook locked in my car at the takeout, we decided to settle for the put-in at the Marmot Dam site. From Revenue Bridge continue on OR 211. The first right is Marmot Rd., take that until a dirt road takes off on the right with lots of big official signs. The road winds down to a locked gate. At this point we decided that the easiest way to the river was down. After some sliding on a muddy slope, the kind of place where it is far to easy to imagine serial killers dumping bodies off of the dirt bank. We just about dumped Dave, and his boat, off the bank, however a sort of sketchy belay later, and Dave had made it to the river. The other 3 of us decided that we did not in fact want to die by falling off of a dirt cliff on the Sandy River, so we made our way back up the road and continued walking down to just below the dam site where we found an easy put-in. The first couple miles of the river are easy class II with one woody class III that is worth scouting on the right, you can see giant logs sticking out of the river from upstream. Continuing downstream you head into a fun little gorge section with a few class III rapids and some lovely overhanging caves. We made it past Sasquatch and his cohorts and had fun through Boulder, the first class IV of the run. At the level we ran it at, the line was just to the left of the biggest boulder, winding down through some other rocks. Next was Rasp Rock where there’s a big hole that you might want to paddle hard into. Half the group went right, the other half went left, and we all survived so that just goes to show (?) We continued down to Drain Hole, a tight right turn with a big sieve on the left, a move that looks hard but actually has a huge pillow on the sieve. The final rapid is Revenue Bridge, a fun, but quite rocky rapid that is much bigger than it looks from the bridge. We ran far right down the top section, then left at the bottom, skirting (or getting chundered in) some quite large holes. The takeout is on the left at the bridge. more pictures can be found at http://cohophotography.com/sandygorge/

With an explosive charge at noon Marmot Dam removal was underway. The heavy equipment moved in a short time later to break up the concrete.

The American Whitewater Board held their annual spring board meeting in April and took a day to tour the Marmot Dam removal project and enjoy the Sandy River Gorge with local volunteers.

A run on the Sandy River with the Bull Run hydropower project and diverting flow out of the Sandy River at Marmot Dam.

A restored Sandy River following removal of Marmot Dam. Following removal of Marmot Dam, the temporary coffer dam will be naturally eroded as flows increase during the fall. To remove Marmot Dam a coffer dam will be constructed during 2007 that will divert the river around the dam structure. The dam can then be removed.