Wenatchee

June 25, 2021
Flow: 7,350
We put in at the headwaters, with a Raven II inflatable kayak, a Sea Eagle Raft, and a Body Glove inflatable SUP. We drifted down to the Plain access, where we took out. Upstream of the confluence with the Chiwawa was flat and fast, with a few strainers here and there, but all easily avoidable. After the confluence things picked up, and it was a proper class 2 most of the rest of the way. A couple downed trees straining the river at corners were easily avoided, as long as you were paying attention. The best series of rapids was just upstream of the bridge.

Literally the most difficult part of today's float was the takeout. We pulled out at the halfway point, just past the bridge to Plain. We had used the same takeout last year, and knew exactly where it was. But we had used it at substantially lower water, and even though we knew the concrete stairs are just twenty or so feet downstream from the big bridge, they weren't visible until we were right on top of them. And there wasn't a clean eddy next to the takeout right now: there was a decent current flowing right past it. Consequently, two out of our three boats actually missed the exit. The teen on the SUP wound up holding onto his SUP and some bushes about thirty feet downstream, and the raft wound up clinging to an overhead branch about ten feet past the takeout. With a little scrambling we got everyone back up to the takeout, with all the gear intact, but I can't say that it was fun, and I will be in the doghouse with my wife (she was in the raft with me) for several weeks.

At the current flow, I would strongly advise against trying to float this stretch unless you honestly know what you're doing. I've canoed/rafted dozens of rivers over the years, with and without guides, and I was pretty confident that we could handle it, but we still managed to get into a scrape at the takeout.