East Canyon Creek

Really great after work adventure. I did this before the gate was open which opens after April 31 every year. Good practice for beginner kayakers to hoan their boat handling skills with how the creek meanders constantly. Really no rapids, just more obsticles and lots of winding bends in the creek. The obsticles include the culverts which I thought were really fun at 150cfs, barbed wire fence stretching across the river (more on that later), and the bramble on the river banks. The bramble is no joke and could really cause a straining hazard with the flows I experienced them at. You have to really be able to paddle hard out of the current to avoid them. A good handle on your boat is required. I recommend taking out at the large metal bridge at big bear hollow and not floating all the way to Mormon Flat Campground. Below here there was far more annoying bramble to deal with and it was tighter creek so harder to avoid it. Also the barbed wire is no joke. The barbed wire apears after the second bridge near Dry Hollow if I remember correctly. They are not that far apart from wire fence #1 to wire fence #2. Maybe 1000ft or approximately 5min float between. The first one at the flows I had was fine. Could easily just lean back under it in your boat, but the second went much lower in the water and required a very tricky portage if hopping the fence. Since these are navicable waters I don't think this barbed wire is legal and its extremely unsafe without the any curtious signage from the land owner given the lack of eddy out options near the fence. It is very annoying. Getting out at Mormong flat on these flows was also quite intense. Not a clear eddy out point and getting sucked under that bridge is bad news. The walk back from the main truss bridge is easy and fun. Would take about 45min. From Mormon Flats it's about 1hr - 1.5hr. Not really worth the driving shuttle if you have a packraft. It is really fun to practice your packrafting skills by packing everything up and walking back or biking back. Nice mini-adventure.