Calawah, S. Fork

Fantastic packraft run!

We hiked in from the Sitkum bridge closure. Ended up being just shy of 7 miles and about 1000 feet of up and down. Trail was in good shape. There were about a dozen blow downs of varying size. A few of which were mildly annoying to get around. Some really impressive old growth trees.

The river was fun! Rapids were clean. We only had to get out of our boat once to step over a small log. There were a couple massive 8' logs blocking the river that we were able to duck under. With more water you'd probably have to climb up the bank around them. Didn't look like a hard portage.

Flow was 2300' and felt low. We bumped a couple dozen rocks down the river, but never had to walk our boats. It took us about 3 hours to paddle the 8 miles down to the Hyas Creek takeout.

Photos from a trip on the Sitkum that uses the same access.

Out on a site assessment of the 29 Road (currently closed to the public) and the Sitkum Gorge Bridge (awaiting inspection before it can be reopened) on the 2900-070 Road.

We got an early start the day after Thanksgiving and were able to get an early start from the Rugged Ridge Trailhead. The group included Thomas O'Keefe, Omar Jepperson, and Mike Rausch. The hike in, which mostly involved dragging boats downhill, was longer than anticipated due to the trail being unmainted and in poor condition. We had to cross several drainages and there were downed trees across the trail. As our progress was slow Mike elected to hike back out given concern as to when we would reach the put-in. We continued on and ultimately reached the river. The first sequence of whitewater at West Virginia was a lot of fun. The whitewater tapered off after that but we enjoyed a trip through dramatic stands of old growth. We were efficient on the water and made it to the take-out with daylight to spare. It was a good water level with the Calwah gage dropping slightly over the course of the day.

Photos are video frame grabs.