Little Wenatchee

The Little Wenatchee (WA) is one of those rivers you see in the guidebook and you just know it's going to be a jewel. Lots of Class 4 and some 5 in a technical, steep gorge in a remote area waaaaaay up in the mountains above Lake Wenatchee. In Jeff Bennett's guidebook, Gary Korb wrote the description and calls it'one of my favorite runs.' Must be a classic.

Here's the unfortunate reality:

Currently, there is bad wood in every major drop except Let's Make a Deal. We're talking total closeouts. There's also must-walk wood in other reaches of the gorge sections. Expect arduous portages around some fantastic rapids - it's a true heartbreak, really. Some of the sticks are tough to see from upriver and committing to an unrunnable, unportageable situation is a frighteningly real possibility. It's probably gonna need at least 15K to 20K on the Wenatchee gauge to clean it out. Maybe more.

BTW, we had plenty of water with the main Wenatchee flowing 4,100 cfs, but it would get scrapy with any less water. The road to the put-in is impassable about 1/2 mile short of the end. It's an easy but long hike to the end of the road and across the clearcut to the river.

Mike Arnold
6/12/01