Sultan

We ran this section on 21OCT2003 after heavy rain (the Sky was up to 90k the evening before but the rain stopped and flows began dropping quickly). Hiking in took longer than expected due to a new major landslide across Jenny Ring Road. We estimated flow to be approximately 150 cfs at the start (no release from the dam). It was boney but enough to make good progress and flow continually increased as dozens of side creeks and waterfalls added flow (most of the big ones come in below the diversion dam). By the time we got to the Diversion Dam we estimated approximately 600 cfs and the drops started to fill in nicely. It was about 1000 cfs by the time we got down to the Powerhouse which was getting a little pushy in the drops, but there were still plenty of eddies and scouting was straightforward. The rapids were mostly clean (we had one log portage) but it did take some time to scout out lines on a few. Give yourself plenty of time. We ran out of light at Last Nasty and ended up hiking out on riverleft after paddling a short distance in the dark. This is is not recommended as the blackberries are extremely dense. Again, get an early start and if you're short of light consider the hike out at the Powerhouse. Great run! Would be a wonderful resource with more dependable water.