Clear Creek

We put on at the Route 127 bridge on Saturday morning when the gauge at Lilly read 385 but it was raining very hard and by the next morning it had risen to ~700 and was falling again by Sunday evening when we took out at Lilly Bridge. The extra water was actually great and if it hadn't been raining it would have been a much more frustrating and slower time.

What a great trip! We knew it would be a bit of a long weekend because some of our group had kayaks and some were novice canoeists so we anticipated long slow flatwater. But actually the flatwater sections were pretty pleasant and there was current throughout. The first day we did ~12 miles and found a nice big overhang to camp under. Easy rapids, good scenery, 1 owl, 1 pig, and several deer. A couple of big trees we had to portage and 1 rapid that was too much for the beginner canoes because of a sharp turn in the middle (they portaged) but everyone else ran no problem. Portaging things is pretty challenging becuase the banks are steep and sandy and densely forested but it is easy to scout anything in this first part and everything is runnable even at the low water level.

Day 2 was longer. The first 4 miles were super quick and then there are some long flatwater sections. We had a couple of swims here and there because the river has these giant boulders and s-turns that are very hard for heavy slow canoes that don't know how to steer. The last 2 miles to Barnett Bridge were pretty endless and made me as a trip leader anxious because I knew there was one big rapid (class 3 or maybe 4 at high water) coming up right before the end and I went around every bend anticipating it and it just wasn't there. Eventually we found it very very suddenly. It's a blind corner and once you go around the turn left at the bottom of an easy little riffle there are no spots to eddy out for a big group of beginners to scout. Everyone ran it straight down the middle with no problems but I think at higher water this could be a very consequential drop.

From Barnett to Jett is super quick, even though our group was pretty tired at that point. There's quite a bit of flatwater but the rapids are wider and starting to get more volume. Very fun. And then the section from Jett to Lilly is the best, for sure. More continuous, more water, the end is in sight, everyone's happy.

Paddled this for the first (and last) time April 4-5, 2009, level at Lily was mid to high 500s, which felt low, but sufficient. I don't want to sound like a snob, but I feel that I should say something to those considering this run. 1) LOTS of FLAT water. This run re-defines flat water. Many long pools with pretty much zero current; if you don't paddle, you don't go anywhere. 2) We were attracked to this run because several people reported mind-blowing scenery. Yes, there are a good number of scenic spots, but they represent 10% of the run. Most other plateau runs way out-compete this run in the scenery dept. I'm never going back.

This is a trip report from Chota Canoe Clubs listserve about our trip last weekend:

The Mission: a route typically used for an overnighter

The Crew: Duckie Boy and The-One-Who-Needs-A-Real-Helmet

The Setting: Clear Creek from the 127 bridge to Barnett

The Level: 350 cfs at Lilly (consider it minumum for a day paddle). It had

peaked two days earlier

at around 750.

A beautiful Saturday dawned with a plan to meet at the Ranger Station in

Wartburg.

We knew there might be a little paddling involved (about 20 miles) so the

meeting time was set for 8am.

Put-on time: 9:23

The first several miles were very pretty although scrapy (lots of

wheelchair boating). The highlight

of that section was about 50 yards of the river where you ran under a wide

rock shelf (think of a taller

version of the cave on Island Creek)). Lots of scenic camping areas and

small waterfalls joined the

river, slowly raising the river level. Lots of dogwood still blooming and

the wild azaleas were thick

with white and pink blossoms. We had heard that the first few miles

dropped about 15 feet to

the mile, then went to about 40 before settling back down. The steepest

section had some pleasant

class 2 stuff.

A few areas had some portages. There were two rapids in

the first 8 miles that could

cause trouble with more water. Easily boat-scouted, but no obvious lines

at the low level we were using.

The toughest part was the '10 Mile Lake' in the middle. Although not much

more than one mile in

length, there is little as demoralizing as a long stretch of flatwater

followed by several more in

succession.

Around mile 16, we ran into 5 canoeists who had been on the river for two

nights and were going to

spend another night there. They were a little amazed at the distance we

had covered. Would have liked

to chat more, but we had a schedule to maintain. At this point, my

shoulders were starting to complain.

Around mile 19, we hit the only significant rapid on the stretch; Monte

Smith has a picture of it in

at least one of his books. A class 3, the biggest hazard is that you run

it blind. The river turns

to the left for about 30 yards and then turns back right. At that point,

you finally see the double

drop. Not a problem in a kayak, a loaded canoe should have everything tied

down. Plan on hitting

the line on the right if you can.

3/4 miles later, we were at Barnett bridge, a mere 6 and a half hours after

the put in.

The whole trip was like a wilderness hike where you could sit down the

entire time.

Recommended for strong paddlers who need a break from steep creeks, also

suitable for flat water

folks (easy portages except for the last rapid). If you do an overnight,

you can probably run it a lot lower

although the first four miles will take longer as you hike alongside your

boat.

Copied from Bill & Nancy on Boatertalk:

I am posting this because there is not much info available on this run.

Saturday Feb 5 2005

Overnight canoe camping trip. in an Old Town Discovery 15.6 float bags front and rear

Put on at 9:30 Jett bridge @ 3.1 feet don't know the cfs because some idiot got the gage taken off USGS UGH!

First six miles technical with a few bony spots. Very intimate , closed in cliffs, beautiful. One spot you paddle under a large rock house: COOL. Another spot a waterfall falls in over a rock house into the creek. You could camp inside the rockhouse behind the falls and it would be great because someone has built a fireplace complete with chimney in there. The morning sun shines through the waterfall creating an amazing display. YOu would probably need to make it a 2 night trip to use this site because it is only about 1 1/2 miles in. In this top stretch we had to carry once and had to get out of the boat about 3 more times and do a short slide over rocks due to some unrunnable(by us with a loaded canoe @ this water level) rock jumbles. I was beginning to get worried about making the trip in two days because we were not making good time and were getting tired. We flipped once the first day @ the bottom of a rapid. Made it 8 miles or so the first day. Very quiet. We heard only 2 small airplane engines on the whole trip and that was it for man noises. Water is swimming pool clear.

After the first 6 miles, the river opens up and takes on many small tributaries with the rapids becoming a little more powerful and getting a few waves. The second day went much faster. We did the last 12 or so miles in about 5-6 hours including one swim and one portage around a river wide tree, and a lunch break. With 5 more inches of H2O we could have blasted over this tree. The double drop at the end has been reported to be 1/2 mile from the end but my gps gave it as 0.74 miles. Be on guard. It looked runnable but the lead in is blind and appears to be just another class II wave train from right to left dissappearing on the left. eddy out on the right to scout/ portage. If you get on this wave train around the left you are comitted to running the rapid *about class III+ at this level- undercut bottom left! FOr some reason from upstream the noise of the rapid is muffled and it does not even sound louder that the many class I-II rapids on the run. We may have tried running it but we had had a good fright a few miles above. There are 2 or three rapids in the last 5 miles that have current blasting into large storage shed sized boulders. GOing by the rule that every rock in the Obed system is undercut, we assumed that they were undercut although this was not clearly visible. On one of these we missed our line and rammed head on into the rock. I went by the principle that if you are going to hit something, it is better to hit it head on. When it became clear that we would hit it, I just aimed for a head on collision. We rammed hard and broke the plastic nose piece of the boat. At least this stopped the momentum so that when we presently got pushed sideways into the rock we were able to lean in to the rock and hold the boat off with a heismanlike push to keep the boat from pinning. We lost both paddles and it was very dicey for a moment. Luckily we managed to hold the boat off long enough for us to eventually wash around the rock. One paddle was floating nearby and I grabbed it and retrieved the other paddle.

Summary:

\* 3.1 on jett is enough water. would be fun with less.

a lot more could get hairy for loaded canoe

\* Don't get discouraged by the first few miles. They are beautiful but rocky and full of pinning opportunities. the last half goes much faster.

\* This is a challenging trip with a loaded open canoe. I have been boating 10 years, kayak class IV nearly every weekend, raft guide in the summer, and canoe often, and this was a challenging trip for me. If you are not experianced, you will probably not die on this run, but you could end up hurt or with lost gear and a pinned boat and no 'reasonable' way to secure assistance. From our campsite there was no way within a short distance to hike out of the gorge unless you are a good rock climber with gear. Hwy 62 as about 1.5 to 3 miles North as the crow flies (river left). Hiking out would be very difficult.