Deadwood River

This was a great run for a packrafting day trip during the Packraft Roundup that included a hike in of about 3 hours at a moderate pace followed by a break for lunch and inflating boats of about an hour, and then 2 hours on the water with only a few brief breaks in the eddies. This was a great flow with plenty of well-formed rapids and just a few exposed rocks and a swift and consistent current. We had enough time to navigate, and in one case portage, wood hazards.

We had a group of four (Tom, Megi, Dan, and Ernie) that was a good number for this run. It was a hot, sunny day when we began our hike shortly after 10:00 a.m. We made a couple of stops along the way to recharge and refuel, reaching the old Julie Creek Campground around 1:00 p.m. After spending about an hour eating lunch and inflating our boats, we launched at approximately 2:00 p.m.

A couple of us ran the top drop at Nellies Creek, while the others portaged and launched below it. From there we enjoyed several miles of fun, continuous Class IV that was easily boat-scouted throughout. Eddies were scarce, but we found a few large enough to hold all of our boats for short breaks. There were a handful of holes to avoid and some wood hazards to navigate, but everything was manageable for experienced boaters.

Approximately two-thirds of the way through this first section of continuous whitewater, just under an hour into the run, we encountered a riverside log hazard that required a portage. The portage itself was straightforward, but the small eddies above it required quick, decisive boat handling to catch and secure a boat. Below this hazard, the whitewater gradually eased into Class III before transitioning into the short flatwater section we had observed from the trail during the hike in.

The river then built back into one final stretch of enjoyable Class IV before gradually easing into Class III for the remainder of the run. When the Banks-Lowman Road bridge came into view, we took out on river left at Deadwood Campground at around 4:00 p.m. We were fortunate to catch a ride back to our vehicle at the Julie Creek Trailhead.