Hamma Hamma

We had a great day and beautiful weather on the Hamma Hamma with three packrafts. We were on the water at 11:30am. While the flow was low we had enough water for a great day (neaby SF Skokomish was at 600 cfs and Duckabush was at 260 cfs). The braided section near the start had some wood but was surprisingly clean and the one portage we had was just downstream of that (and easy landing on a gravel bar and step up onto the logs). Once Jefferson Creek came in we got a little more water and the pace started to pick up. We boat scouted U Turn which at this level was a series of three drops with small eddies in between. Even at lower flows the rapid had plenty of power. There's always a little apprehension as you approach the take-out on this run. It's about 10 minutes downstream of U Turn after a class III rapid and a short distance above what I would consider a fairly obvious horizon line into a deep gorge. We arrived there at about 1:00pm. Once we packed up our boats and found the old logging road it was about a 15 minute hike out to the main road. We had intended to hike back to the put-in but a pick up truck happened to be passing by and we caught a lift back upstream.

Had a nice time paddling the Hamma Hamma on a warm sunny day!

Flows were 260 cfs on the Duckabush gauge. Felt low but passable. There were a couple places where we had to get out and drag over cobble bars. U-turn still had plenty of water.

There was one easy log portage. Another section had a couple fun winding bends through newly cut channels that looks prone to collecting wood.

We broke down our packrafts on a sunny little cobble beach, then headed up towards the old decommissioned road. We were going to hike back to the put in via the active first road, but didn't make it more than 100 feet before a kind couple let us hitch in the back of their pickup.

Decommissioned Forest Road: 47.568559,-123.076818

Suggested Takeout Parking: 47.56339, -123.07783

Photos of the put-in and take-out.

There's no trace of the spur road to the take-out visible from FR2480. We drove past it 4 times and never guessed where it was. From the first left-hand turn off of 2480 (about 4 miles), we backtracked for probably less than half a mile to a pull-out that looked like it was in roughly the right place when we compared Google Maps and the shape of the river map, and cut across toward the river. In a couple hundred yards we did come across remnants of the spur road, and followed that to the river. But it vanishes into the landscape before it meets the road.

New Year's Eve trip with Thomas O'Keefe, Megi Morishita, and Guy Erb down the Hamma Hamma River with the nearby South Fork Skokmish at 1320 cfs. This was a good flow that was plenty of fun in the rapids but not too pushy as we approached wood hazards. We scouted U Turn which took a bit and found it clean. We took out shortly after the this gorge and hiked back up through a clear cut to the Forest Road.