Whitechuck
Bridge above Crystal Creek to Sauk River confluence
| Difficulty | IV |
| Length | 6.5 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 103 fpm |
| Gauge | Sauk River Ab White Chuck River Nr Darrington, Wa |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 1560 cfshigh runnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | January 7, 2020 |
River Description
This can be paddled as a run by itself, but more typically the last few hundred yards are paddled as an alternate put-in for the [Sauk River](http://
www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/2199/) run that starts at Whitechuck.
For the full run, the take-out is in Whitechuck Campground at the launch site for the Sauk. The put-in can be reached by taking FR 23 up along the river to a bridge which serves as a put-in. The first mile and the last couple hundred yards at the Sauk confluence are the most challenging although logs can form significant hazards anywhere along the run.
River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportWe ran this section in July 2020 with a Sauk flow of around 5k. In the first mile, there is a long class IV/IV+ rapid that appears after a sharp turn in the river. After scouting, we decided to portage on river right. It was a very hard portage, over several balance beam logs. The rapid it self had lines, but also wood was in play in every spot you didn't want it to be. Indeed, the rapid ends in most flow hitting a large log jam before flushing left.
If the run has not been run recently, or if it is your groups first time down in a while, expect a long run of scouting blind corners and horizon lines for wood. While we only had one portage due to exclusive wood, there was much wood in play to be avoided.
The last few miles were more open and provided continuous, if sometimes manky, class 3 rapids with some larger features sprinkled in. Our group agreed that the last rapid visible from the bridge over the Sauk river near the Whitechuck boat launch was the highest quality rapid on the run.
Ran this section in October 2017 after finding the access road to the North Fork Sauk closed. Great little section with no portages due to wood. A couple logs to duck or bump over and some possibility for wood, so it's good to stay alert.
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).
A view of the rapid just above the confluence with the Sauk with a good view of the bridge washout.