Thomas Creek

Be Careful About Trespassing

We were confronted by a property owner while portaging around Jordan Dam, so please be very mindful of private property in this area. “No Trespassing” signs have been posted along the road. The property owner seemed pretty angry and I imagine things could have escalated if we didn't paddle away.

At Jordan Dam, we followed the commonly used “portage trail” on river right, which does in fact cut across private property. After looking for alternatives, it seems you may be able to avoid trespassing by taking out farther upstream (approximately 200 feet above the dam), hiking up to the road from there, walking along the road until you’re downstream of the bridge, and then finding a route back down to the river.

Aside from the portage issue, the run itself was a good time. At a gauge height of 7 ft (about 900 CFS), the upper stretch was shallow in places and required careful line-picking to avoid getting hung up on rocks. There were several big wave hits and plenty of surfing opportunities. A bit more water would clean up some of the shallow features. We paddled it in packrafts.

There is a fair amount of wood throughout this stretch—mostly midstream logs with clean lines around them, plus numerous spots where the current pushes you toward brushy banks.

Flow: ~7 ft / 900 CFS.