Kalama

The Kalama is a great whitewater run that comes to life with the fall rains and holds its water better than many nearby rivers, making it a reliable option through the winter and into spring. The Kalama is a rain-dominated basin below the snowline, with a noteworthy amount of groundwater input relative to other area watersheds. This helps sustain flows even when rainfall is limited, resulting in less dramatic seasonal swings than many nearby runs. Combined with easy logistics, it’s a solid choice for a half-day trip.

The standard run begins at the fisherman’s trail that descends to the river below Lower Kalama Falls. Expect a 5–10 minute walk down to the water, where a gravel bar—exposed at moderate flows—provides a good staging area to get organized before launching.

The first couple of rapids are III but can push to class IV at higher flows. After a short warmup stretch, the river bends left about a quarter mile from the put-in and drops into the first and largest rapid on the run, Barnyard. This long, steep boulder garden can be scouted from the fisherman’s trail on river right, and a good recovery pool waits at the bottom.

About another quarter mile downstream is the second major rapid, Haystack. It is similarly steep but shorter, comes up quickly, and is scoutable from river left.

After these two rapids the intensity begins to taper, but stay alert for Piggly Wiggly less than a mile downstream. Here, a sequence of two ledges forms a fun rapid with boof opportunities. It can be scouted from the left, and the top ledge is easy to lap for practice.

Once the road comes into view on river right, you are nearing the first—and most common—take-out at Red Barn, marked by a large red barn visible from the river at the confluence with Indian Creek. The short run to this point (about 3 miles) is commonly called the Red Barn section, though drift boaters sometimes use the name for the stretch that begins here and continues downstream to Mod

...