Sauk

We had a pleasant day on the Sauk today! Good side of low. All 5 of our group were able to go right of the log in Whirlpool but it was very much in play with current and features driving toward it. Worth a scout any lower and also from the shuttle road. Perfect flow for a first time down and a gorgeous side hike up Clear Creek after!

We had a good group of different craft types: kayaks, packrafts, and a cataraft with the water slowly rising with rain comng down. We took a look at the wood at Whirpool on the drive up.

With flows over 4000 and rising two of us ran the right line at Whirpool and were able to get around the right side of the massive log that extends out from the left bank and partially blocks the right channel. Others scouted and elected to run the left side which had enough water to get down.

7 of us put in at Whitechuck and paddled down to Backman County Park. 4 hardshell kayaks, 1 IK, and 1 R2. The water was unusually clear but very cold. The only notable wood hazard is the previously-reported log in Whirlpool. When you look at it from the road, it looks like there's room to get by it, but the current is pushing you straight into it, so it's much safer to take the left channel. The raft hung up once in that left channel at this flow, but it was easily un-stuck.

As reported by Candice Larson:

Whirlpool rapid has a river-wide log midway down the rapid. The log is located on the river left side and pretty much blocks the whole channel.

This is new, and right next to the old log that’s been there for years. It’s stuck up against rock and not going anywhere anytime soon. It’s buried within the huge log pile.

We ran the left channel. At higher flows, possible to stay further right in main channel.

There is a log near the end of the Jaws rapid, on the right side where most people run. Over 4000 cfs, we could go over, but barely. In the photo, as I knew it was there from the previous day's trip, could pass on the left. The day before, about 4200 cfs, I could float over it. It will be more dangerous at lower flows.

Thomas O'Keefe and Cyn Taylor on a Sauk River Trip.

The left side of the island at Whirlpool has a fun ledge.

Highly enjoyed the water on this run. Some fun Class III rapids along the way.

We ran this for the first time this week. 2 one man 10ft pontoons and a 2 man 12 footer. River is starting to get low and lots of rocks showing but still fairly easy to pick a good line. We did not stop to scout at all and one of our guys picked a bad route left of the second island. Way to skinny and lots of wood. He needed help getting out of that but no harm done. There were a few stucks on shallow rocks with poor choice of line, but self recovery was easy. Still really fun at this level especially the top couple miles which have nonstop action. No significant hazards and the car is still there.

Summer river trip on the Sauk River with several members of the community out for the day.

We ran the Sauk the other day at a reasonable flow. We had a small group, one kayaker and one packrafter. The upper gauge was reading around 1200 while the lower gauge read 4000. The Whitechuck was basically a creek so the beginning of the run wasn't super juicy, we took the left line around the island as usual. After a few rapids we picked our way through Alligator, then Gumball. Both were a little bouldery but we found clean lines down both. Jaws was fun, slowly intensifying as you approach the wall, not sure if it's just me but Boneyard just below Jaws felt a lot cleaner than last year, maybe some rocks moved in the flood last November? Whirlpool was the best rapid on the run, big waves and fast water. The left channel appears to have cleared out a bit more and could be a cleaner sneak route at higher flows. There was a massive bald eagle chilling on the log here.

Continuing down to Clear Creek, there is a rapid not too long after Whirlpool where the river splits and most of the water goes left. This is Popeye, not a lot of info about it on the site but there is a hole in the middle of the river that backs up against this huge rock dubbed 'Popeye'. At higher flows this rock creates a massive hole and at lower flows a wave train wraps around the right side. When the river makes a slight left bend and opens up again, there is another similar rapid, a huge rock called 'Skeleton' lies in the middle of the channel, lines to the left or right avoid the massive hole at higher flows, this one is a bit friendlier than Popeye. As the river hits the highway again, there is a nice hole on river right where another river channel flows over some steep cobblebars and back into the main channel. This one is called 'The Game Show' and at higher flows creates some interesting waves. More water over the river right side would be a lot of fun. The rapid at Clear creek is shallow but has a few lines, the river right side is clean but uneventful and the left side has a few gravel bar chutes but most fan out and become too shallow. There is a small stump with some bushes growing out of it, the clean line is roughly 20-30 feet river right of said stump.

Down to Backmans County Park there are tons of little catch on the fly surf waves and little class II boulder gardens. As you approach Backmans Park, the rapid that flows by the park appears to have changed a bit and no longer flows through the huge ledgy boulders on the right. At the bottom of this rapid, we saw what we had come out there for. Some drunken dingus decided it would be a hilarious idea to drive his silver Ford sedan into the river. The car was facing upstream with its windshield into the current with the tail end out of the water. The windshield was busted out and so was the drivers side door. My buddy in his kayak splatted up on the roof of the car an I was pretty sick. Unfortunately the angle of the car as the direction of the flow made this move pretty sketchy on my packraft, especially with the potential for sharp glass in the vicinity. The car is also horrendously undercut on the right side the way it has been propped up, use extreme caution if you decide to approach it.

We had heard the car was downstream of Backmans County Park, so we had committed to running down to the mill. Sure we could've spotted the car from the takeout at Backmans but what fun is that? We wanted to float by it! Directly below Backmans Park is a fun little boulder garden but the action fades significantly as you make your way down river. There is a small split in the river not too far downstream where the right channel has no rapids and pushes into some navigable wood, the river left channel is clear and has two small gravel bar chutes, it's pretty obvious which line is preferred. After a short stretch of flatwater, the riverbed opens up again and bends right through a fun class II-III boulder garden. At the top of this rapid, look for a horrendous log choked channel splitting off to the left, this means you are at the right spot and the run will be ending soon. The river will bend to the left and split again, we took the left channel and it had a fun little chute toward the bottom. The right side is navigable but a little spooky cause the entire right bank is loaded with wood. We took out below the bridge at the Darrington Mill. If the tweakers who keep stealing the solar panels off the gauge here could stop so we can get a more accurate flow reading on this section of river, that would be really nice.

A trip to the Sauk River in the early days of the pandemic. We ran a bike shuttle. Participants on the trip included the father-daughter teams of Cassia and Jan Tackett and Leanna and James Girton. Tom O'Keefe and Cyn Taylor were also out for the day. This was a great flow and quite a few folks were out. The run was mostly clean with a few pieces of wood in play.

The recent high water has cleaned up the Sauk. As of 2/8/2020 the wood from the previous comment is mostly gone. There are a couple logs far right at the bottom of Jaws but they don’t seem to be significantly in play.

1/19/2020 Multiple near river wide trees have fallen across the river after the recent snowfall in Darington. most can be easily boat scouted and all have a line around them, but several of them are considerable. The most hazardous is found at the bottom of jaws, on the river right side of the large rock at the bottom. scouting jaws is recommended for rafters, as the move to make could be difficult, and the strainer is particularly nasty. continuing on through the white mile there are several trees across above whirlpool, but these shouldn't pose huge risks to attentive rafters.

After the major flood on October 22nd, all notable wood has been cleared away. The tree below Alligator Rapid that spanned the entire width of the river is completely gone. update as of (10/26/19)

A tree fell on the Sauk Saturday night (6/8/2019) or Sunday (6/9/2019) morning on the flat water section between '6 of 1' and '1/2 dozen of the other.' It spans most of the channel with about a meter of space to get through on the left when it's at 3600 cfs on the lower gauge, soon to be across the whole channel as level drops. Probably an easy portage on the left too ... the embankment on the right is not very stable for a portage because, you know, that 's where the tree fell from. Have fun and be safe!

Approximately 9,000 cfs at the DARRINGTON gauge. AW says 'runnable' but that's based on the gauge below the confluence of the Suiattle. This flow was heavy and were many holes. First rapid, really, is the one called 'gumdrop' or 'gums', and it has large hole in center where the big white rock usually is. Second rapid, called Jaws, has a very interesting set of problems at the bottom right. It's read and run but complex and there's some significant consequences. Scouting jaws is easy from the right side but you have to wade the channel. If you run the Sauk at high flows there is a left sneak in Jaws which is quite easy... At the bottom you'll go between or to the left of two harmless rocks. The right run is still there but the consequences of running the 'demon seed' hole could be severe.

By the way, there is no longer wood in Whirlpool at any flow level. It is gone.

July 2015

2015 Video: https://youtu.be/oxBipOOYbbE

Got these Photos from the Archeologist at Mt. Baker NF.

Got these Photos from the Archeologist at Mt. Baker NF.

I got these photos from the Archeologist at the Mt. Baker NF.

Video from July 2015

https://youtu.be/oxBipOOYbbE

2015 Video

https://youtu.be/oxBipOOYbbE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxBipOOYbbE

2015 Video
https://youtu.be/oxBipOOYbbE

600cfs

POV looking down from the top of Half Dozen Rapid

Ran this in Early January '14. Flow was 10,000 at Sauk at Sauk guage. 2,400 on Sauk AB Whitechuck. I would call this flow medium. Some big holes form that are easily avoidable, or fun for more advanced guys not worried about a little beatdown. Boat scouted Jaws, and didnt have any issues. Pretty straight forward and obvious line. That being said, if you don't trust your eddy catching skills, you'll want to scout for wood. Not much wood in play, and everything is avoidable. Great flow but if your just getting into class 3, 5k may be less intimidating.

Improvements to access site at Backman County Park as a result of advocacy by American Whitewater to improve this access site.

We ran a paddle raft down the Sauk River with some friends and family.

Short trip on the river with community members and conservation colleagues.

Note that there is now a USGS gauge at the bridge at the mill in Darrington. This gauge hasn't been thoroughly calibrated yet, but it still gives a more accurate flow reading for the Middle Sauk. Also, it will be possible to create virtual gauges for the Whitechuck and Suiattle by using all 3 of the available gauges.

Old put in on river right is accessible again via new bridge. Sweet!

3 12\' Rapid Cats.
Great River.

The access at the bridge is available on downstream river left.
Be sure to park on the upstream river left side of the bridge.

There have been some changes to the river since the Oct 2003 floods. The Whitechuck put-in on river right is no longer accessible due to major channel migration of the Whitechuck River which took out the bridge. Sections of the road (upstream and downstream of the parking area) are also gone. For kayakers, the best access is the Beaver Lake trailhead. Hike up about 100 yards to a good eddy on river right. The rapid below the Whitechuck confluence has changed a bit and most of the flow now goes far river left. Whirpool has changed a bit and the island is a bit smaller. More of the flow now goes river right. The lunch spot downstream has been reconfigured and is mostly gone. The little surf wave there is no longer present. As of 25OCT2003 there was one river-wide log near the end of the run that you could duck under in a kayak or slide over depending on flows (approach with caution--you can portage on the right). Otherwise many logs that were previously extending into the channel are now gone.

This bridge washed out during the
floods that occured the week of
19OCT2003. The road to the
Whitechuck put-in on the Sauk River
has also washed into the river in two
places (upstream and downstream).
flow for Sauk at Sauk gauge

Cruising past Demon Seed and Jaws. At higher flows its an easy move down center left.
The whirpool is a fun place for stern squirts at higher flows.

Scouting the main drop of Jaws. Demon Seed is the large rock exposed downstream on river right. Run is right of demon seed. (Note: Demon Seed is NOT the exposed rock in the foreground. It is the rock behind -- downstream -- of it.)

Whirpool rapid. Doesn't look like much, but a good size drop. Headwall on the bottom left, with creek coming in behind the picture-taker, which can cause quite a whirpool here at higher water.

Typical rapid on the Sauk. View with
Quicktime available at
http://www.quicktime.com