Rapid

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.