Rapid

Caught the Rapid low and ran the last mile. Very roadside Eastern-style class 3+ at that level (see photos). S Fk Sky gauge was at 2200 cfs, all snow fed. Main Sky gauge was below 5k, a poor correlation. We put in below some wood below the bridge and then very quickly ran into a downed tree not visible from the road that could barely be snuck on the right. Not far above the Beckler Rd bridge there's a nasty tree jam on the right that's visible from the road with water pushing into it. We were able to slip over a tree across the entire channel, but it's worth a good pre-run scout. Keep 'er in the middle, hit some boofs and then go get more laps, no shuttle required!

Ran this on 1/13/2018. Rapid: 1000cfs (AW Virtual), Beckler: 2300cfs (AW virtual), SF Sky at Skykomish: 2500cfs and dropping. Skykomish at goldbar 11000cfs (Rain fed, not snow melt). This was certainly a below recommended level (especially at the top), but we were able to get down from 3rd bridge to the beckler with out too much boat abuse. There were 2 log jams on the outside of river bends that were avoidable if you were in control of your boat and stay out of the main channel. There was also one down tree that even at this low flow we were able to boat over. Given the low flow our group opted to skip a 2nd lap on the rapid and instead do a run down the beckler, which was a bit low as well, but not nearly as bad as the rapid. Small side note, we scouted the take out of the Miller and it seemed to have plenty of water compared to a run the previous spring (a medium flow if not high). A good alternative if you find yourself at the Rapid when it is too low to run.

A run down the Rapid River at the lower end of the range (but still fun).

I paddled the Rapid around 14,000 skykomish guage on June 3rd, the river was 'bankfull'. We heard it was clean of wood, however, we found we had to portage a riverwide log near the bottom of the 1st (biggest) rapid below the campground, the wood was not visible from the road and could pose a threat if someone didnt see it. We also found there to be a number of riverwide logs from after the 1st rapid to the 1st bridge you come to, most we could get over, barely, I suspect at lower flows you would be portaging. Scout your put-in carefully!

Post Flood Update: I got in a quick run on the lower section from the 3rd bridge down on 11/9. I didn't go past the 3rd bridge to check out the upper part of the run, but the lower, continuous section was good to go. There is some wood, but nothing that had to be portaged and you can see the wood from the road. Most of it is the same old wood from before with one exception. There is a big ol' log in the ledge on river right a few hundred yards upstream from the takeout. Easy to get around on the left. It's just a bummer because that slot is the most 'ledgy' spot in the lower part of the run and you need to miss it now.

Ran the rapid 6/3/06, the road is completely repaired and you can drive all the way to the put-in. There are two log portages, one near the beginning and the other about halfway through.

I made several runs this year on the Rapid both during winter rain and spring snowmelt. It seems that it takes a higher level on the Goldbar gage for rain than for snowmelt. During winter rain runs, we had medium water level at 12,000 and low water (but runnable) at 9,000. However, during snowmelt in June we had a medium level with 7,000 cfs at Goldbar. In fact, 7,000 snowmelt was about the same as 12,000 rain. You can get a good look at the level at the bridge over the Rapid at the mouth. If you don't like what you see, big deal... it's a short drive to the Foss, Miller, Tye and Money Crk.

As of spring 2004, there is a massive landslide/washout across the road about 2 miles up from the Beckler confluence. Looks like it has been there all winter and will be quite a project to repair. You can still put in just above the third bridge and run laps on that last mile+ section which is where most of the good stuff.

Willie, Charles, Mike, Taber, Chris, and myself had a fun run on the Rapid with the Skykmoish at Goldbar at 6600 cfs. This was really the lower limit on the Rapid, but it was still very enjoyable. We next ventured over to the Foss.

With the Skykomish at Goldbar at 9500 cfs, Russ and I had a great day with a run on the Rapid followed by the Foss.

We boated the Rapid at a slightly lower level than our trip a week earlier with the Skykomish at Goldbar at 7180 cfs. It was a little boney but not quite as pushy.

This small tributary of the Skykomish was at a perfect level with the Skykomish at Goldbar at 11,500 cfs. The creek had plenty of micro eddies but enough water to keep most of the rocks covered. It was possible to scout the entire run from the road except for in a few of the easier stretches. There were a few sweepers to deal with, three of them requiring portages. Claudio, Everett, and James put on about 3 miles up from the confluence with the Beckler and a stretch that was borderline class V. Everett flipped at the end of the rapid and nearly had a nasty encounter with a rather large log. Steve, Dave, and I put in at the end of this rapid. For the next mile or so the river was class IV but mellowed out to easy class III. The gradient picked up again at the first of three bridges. A nasty hole forms just upstream of the first bridge. Successful runs included either going left, right, or punching through the center. Just below this bridge is a deceptively difficult rapid with heavy hydraulics and some nasty rocks that will pound those unfortunate enough to flip—the hydraulics were strong enough to break Steve’s paddle mid-shaft. We had two swimmers here—Steve and James. Everett and I bombed the last mile of continuous class IV to the confluence of the Beckler in pursuit of Steve’s boat. I plopped into a hole just above the last bridge before the confluence of the Beckler and was worked for about a minute before clawing my way out. Luckily the boat—which had the shuttle keys inside—came to a stop at the confluence with the Beckler. Steve and Dave didn’t boat after their swims, but Claudio and James finished out their runs. If you swim on this run you stand a good chance of loosing your boat.