Chewuch

A couple weeks back I made my way to Winthrop and took some town laps before camping upriver and running the Methow the next day. My brother and I had to come back and float the whole section while the flows were still nice. We put in at the five mile bridge, we found the easiest access to the river was on the upstream side of the bridge on river right.

After plopping in we were treated with fairly continuous II+ rapids with some great waves and a few decent sized holes. This section tapered off relatively quickly and settled down to class II gravel bars intermixed with logjams and short flatwater sections. None of the wood was impassible at these flows but as the river drops the lines might get a lot tighter or disappear altogether requiring portaging. We stopped at a few spots along the way and noticed lots of beaver activity the entire way, possibly why there is so much wood on this section.

This class II section is really remote feeling, the forests remain intact along the riverbank and there was tons of wildlife to be seen. Just as we were noting how wild the run was feeling we began to see rich peoples cabins scattered along both sides of the river. This section once we reached the houses settled down to class I-II. We noticed a lot of sit on top kayaks and flatwater crafts along the banks and couldn't help feeling a little upset that these folks are presented with amazing access to the river only to not utilize the rivers whitewater potential.

Just as you're starting to wonder if there is anything else on the run the canopy around the river opens up and there is a distinct horizon line ahead. This marks the Fulton Diversion Rapid, a fun class III rapid that has a few more options at these higher flows than when I was on it a few weeks back. Hey diddle diddle down the middle works great, there are also options along the side that offer technical lines through scattered holes. The section from here down to Trapid has a lot less surf waves at this flow than at 1350 and just flushes through a bit faster. Trapid is fun to run middle right over the largest ledge where a fun boof awaits. Don't worry about swimming here because it's all pretty much swift flatwater and class I until the takeout. Takeout at Heckendorn Park on the river left side not long after passing over the highway 20 bridge over the Methow just south of Winthrop.

This is truly an awesome little in town lap if you don't have the time for a full float after work or if you're riding solo. I parked myself at Heckendorn Park where the takeout is just through the gate on the backside of the field. From here I walked up through downtown Winthrop and crossed over the footbridge that leads to the Interperative trail along the river right bank. There is a nifty little put in just above the Fulton Diversion Dam in a massive flat section of the river. From here you can paddle upriver a bit to line up for the dam.

I'm not quite sure where the 'class IV' part of this rapid comes from, at least at these flows. At lower flows it could become pretty technical with boulders everywhere and at higher flows I feel like it'd just wash out into a huge wave train. I'd give this rapid a class III rating as far as technical skills required to navigate and potential danger (unless there's some rebar or some other metal hazards in the dam site that the AW page doesn't specify.). The main line through is hey diddle diddle straight down the middle. The wave train is steep and fast and you'll be at the bottom of the rapid cheering before you even realize it.

After the diversion dam, there are a few fun little holes and waves here and there. The most significant rapid from here to Trapid being just upriver of the footbridge where the river rounds the corner and creates a beautiful 20 foot wide standing wave that has excellent eddy access for surfing.

As you pass under the highway bridge, Trapid lies just below. This is a fun little single move ledge with a variety of lines. Far right and far left are clean, middle left has some waves, middle is a chute between the features but at lower flows a hole opens up toward the bottom of the center chute. Middle right is the preferred line and drops you over a good little ledge hole with a great auto boof off of a small rock flake. I took out just below the footbridge over the Methow and took three laps on this, each lap round trip was roughly 45m to an hour and well worth it. Not sure why local paddlers don't take more advantage of this awesome in town lap.

The takeout at Heckendorn Park can be hard to identify on the river, just stay left after the highway bridge and if you pass the concrete structures on the right bank you've gone too far.

The largest two rapids are in the last mile of this run: The Fulton Diversion Dam (you can walk to it on Town trails) and the Trapid (which can be seen from HWY 20 bridge over the Chewuch) mind the screw trap.