Icicle Creek

Ariel and I had a delightful day paddling Upper Upper Icicle Creek. The long boulder gardens at low flow made for an almost meditative experience as we were busy finding a clear path through. When we weren't looking for our line, we were enjoying all the granite mountain views. — It was 620 cfs (icicle abv snow lake) on a sunny Sunday, 6/9/26. We put on at Rock Island cg and took out at Johnny Creek cg. The run was pretty clean of wood aside from a small log jam blocking most of the channel at the bottom of a boulder garden. We snuck it to the right. — Flows were low, but the run was still enjoyable. We were always able to find a channel with enough water that we never had to get out of our boats and drag. The bedrock drops were getting a bit scrapy, and the boulder gardens a little bumpy. Fun nonetheless. I wouldn't want to go lower, but could probably see going as low as 500cfs. I'm guessing 700-1000 would be the easiest flow. I'd probably like to see it between 1000 and 1500 next. — We scouted icicle gorge (V) on our way to the put in to identify our exit point for the portage. The hiking trail that crosses and hugs the river is quite beautiful! — Rock Island was fun but a bit low. Decided to tackle the left channel as the right looked a bit squeezy at these flows. The little entrance ledge drop caught hold off my packraft and sent me down a bit askew. Had to throw a rocky brace to avoid swimming the rest of the shallow steep rapid. After that it was smooth sailing down to a fun little 4’ drop. Good times! Ran it again to see if I could clean up my line but the outcome was about the same. Looking forward to coming back here with a bit more water. Put in: (47.60784, -120.91715) — Shortly after leaving the campground and its spectators behind, I was delighted to enter the little gorge with some fun little bedrock rapids. Beautiful little section of river. From there on there was some fun easy class III boulder gardens. At the bottom of one was the only real wood in play for the day. Snuck it to the right. Wood: (47.61027, -120.90628) — More little boulder gardens followed. Saw a few harlequin ducks! There were also some calm meandering stretches with scenic mountain views. — Before we knew it, we arrived to the III+ headwall rapid we had hiked to during our portage scout. It was one of the best rapids on the run! The river bounces off the cliff face and pours over a few boulders. It can be scouted or portaged via a river left cobble bar. You could probably even hike up the hill to the river left trail if you wanted to start your icicle gorge (V) portage from there. Cobble bar scout: (47.60598, -120.88985) — After running the headwall rapid there was a 30 yard recovery stretch before our river right portage eddy. It was 10 yards above another drop that leads in to continuous class IV- before the class V drop. Portage Eddy: (47.60652, -120.88892) — The hike alongside the river is short and beautiful. When we got to the bridge we gawked at the river wide frothy ledge hole below. Hiked up to the road, downstream to the pit toilet, and followed the social trail to the river below. Maybe a 10 minute walk? Not bad. Portage Put in: (47.60659, -120.88444) — For the next couple miles the river mellowed and the views really opened up! Beautiful floating. A bit after Ida Creek Campground the river really picked up place. The boulder gardens felt longer and steeper than in the upper section. I agree with the write up that I could see it pushing class IV at certain flows. At 620 it still felt very friendly and playful to me. After a particularly boney, final boulder bar drop, we arrived to Johnny creek campground and find a nice place to tear tear down the boats. Take out: (47.59734, -120.81806) — I biked shuttle. The first couple miles were delightful - paved road and great views. The next few miles, were, meh. The pavement transitioned to washboard gravel, and there was a surprising amount of car traffic on the road kicking up dust. Would prefer to drive or run shuttle next time, but it worked just fine — All in all a great paddle. It was a fun way to mix it up from some surf runs on the Wenatchee! Hit up Dan's afterwards for some sandwiches and picnic’d by the river. Good times.