White

posted on PDXkayaker by Mark Scantlebury on April 23, 2017: The Lower Columbia Canoe Club (www.l-ccc.org) ran the Wamic-White River Bridge to Tygh Valley section of the White this past Saturday and had to do four log portages. The first three are large-diameter logs and are easily spotted as you approach them. There are small eddies available for stopping and portaging.

The fourth log is smaller diameter and much harder to see. It comes after what is probably the longest and highest rated rapid. This rapid ends with a pourover rock on the right that has a wicked looking flake you’d hit if you boof it too far right. On the left side of this rapid are some logs. There’s a breaking wave on the front of the boof rock that can channel you left.

After you run this rapid, be on the watch over the next half mile for a straightaway rapid with a bit of gradient. The log stretches from bank to bank and was just a few inches above the water at 700cfs. There was a way for kayakers who are very accurate to dip under it on the far left side—but catch an eddy on the left and scout to find this spot. A better choice is the several small eddies on the right. I’d recommend catching an early one. If you did stumble into this spot with the log and found yourself past the eddies, there’s one last small right eddy just before the log and I mean just before the log.