Suiattle

This condition report from Devin Smith following the major floods of October 2003:

The flood aftermath on the the Suiattle was incredible to see... clearly the Suiattle (along with the Whitechuck) was a major driver of the recent flood downstream. At the Downey campground the river avulsed 300-400' towards the left bank side, (away from Downey Creek) and there were numerous other locations where the river avulsed and occupied new channels, and where large amounts of bank were eroded. The floodwaters easily reached ten feet or more above the channel and deposited silt and huge accumulations of old growth logs on benches out in the forest. The river channel widened substantially, taking out large tracts of forest and leaving huge bars of cobble/boulders and silt/sand. There were a tremendous amount of new logs and full spanning log jams in the main channel-- we walked our kayaks more than paddling them, portaging I think 10 jams in five miles and did not even make it as far as Buck Creek. As a whitewater resource on the Forest, I don't think anyone but hydrologists and masochists will want to paddle the Suiattle for some time! Rafting would be near impossible.