Tieton

August 22nd 2018.
725 CFS.

We ran about 3 miles of the Tieton River, from the access point at River Mile 5 (good place to leave a car), down to River Mile 2 where there’s an easy left takeout just before the foot bridge that spans the river and across from the Oak Creek Wildlife Recreation Area Headquarters.

The water is low at 725 CFS. In a one-seat Outlaw IK, the good maneuverability is an asset. Several sets of boulders sticking part way out of the water, close together is some stretches and needing paddle work to wend through.

About 3/4 mile before the end is the most challenging boulder segment. The fellow I ran with was in a one seat Sun Dolphin sit-on kayak; he overturned in this segment. The Sun Dophin had less maneuverability, in part due to having somehow absorbed a fair amount of water/weight inside the shell.

The bottom of my IK has more rub marks than before, but nothing serious. I only hung up a few times in low spots, which could have been avoided by paying less attention to the camera and more to the river. Total weight load in the IK, including equipment, was about 175 pounds.

Air quality was low today (about 55 ug/m3 of PM2.5 = “Unhealthy” per WA DOE) due to the forest fire up on White Pass. But for up here, for this week, it was a relatively good few hours of air quality.

In summary, a relatively easy run in an IK, lots of maneuvering to do, no hidden dangers or concerning challenges, you’re moving right along. It was good to get some water time, but I’m really looking forward to running it when there’s more like 1,500 cfs.

46.71662 -120.85975: put in
46.71779 -120.81693: Sun Dolphin kayak overturned in boulders
46.72585 -120.81190: take out
WGS84