Elwha

This is a fun packraft trip with easy logistics. The Madison Falls Trailhead was busy on a Thursday morning with people enjoying the river and hiking or biking up the road. We hiked up the road and took the bypass trail where the river has cut through the road on the approximately 4 mile hike up to the Glines Canyon Dam site. After checking out the overlook at footprint of the former reservoir, we backtracked to the river access located at the historic Glines Canyon Powerhouse.

It took a little over an hour to hike up to the Glines Canyon dam site, an hour to experience the place and then inflate our boats, and about an hour and a half to float back down to the access at the gage station.

It was a good flow for the run but we had to exercise caution as we approached the segment where the old campground was located and the river has cut through the road prism. We encountered several channel-spanning trees in this section that required a portage. These were the only major wood hazards on the run although there were several other places where caution is warrnted with wood along the sides and in some cases extending into the main current.