Clearwater, Little North Fork
Headwaters to Reservoir(LNFC)
| Difficulty | II-IV(V) |
| Length | 30.3 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 80 fpm |
| Gauge | Little North Fork Clearwater (estimated) |
| Flow Rate as of 1 hour | 1654 cfshigh runnable |
| Reach Info Last Updated | December 28, 2008 |
River Description
The following is taken from Gary Barker's article published in Idaho Rivers United.
Overview:
This remote run begins with primarily class II and III 'creekish' character. For flows above 600 cfs, you can start your trip at one of two bridges. The upper bridge is at the LNFC Campground near Flat Iron Knobs, on road 301. The lower bridge is near Jungle Cr, about three miles downstream, and has an unmaintained campsite. About a mile below the lower bridge, you will encounter a spruce swamp. If you stay right at the top of this, only a minor amount of time is spent in portage. If you go left, you will spend about a half hour dragging your boat through downfall. Watch out for the angry moose.
If flows are below 600 cfs, you will want to avoid all this by dragging your boat down to Montana Cr. (see put in directions). There are about five to ten log portages in the reach above Montana Cr, and only one or two below there for the entire run.
Beyond Montana Cr, the river is deeper and better channelized. General character is class II and III until Crescendo Cr, about five miles from the take-out. This is where things start to pick up. Fun class IV rapids follow for several miles to 'Slide Lake'. The 'lake' is formed by a huge shale rockslide that occurred in 1933 at this point. Where the river catches grade again at the end of the lake is 'Bodybag Rapid'. Pull out and scout or portage on river left, at the end of the lake.
About a mile below Bodybag is 'Eenie Meenie', a class IV+ boulder garden, where the river takes a turn to the left. In about another mile you will get a replay of Eenie Meenie with Minie Mo. Keep your eyes open through all this stuff, as logs tend to move around a lot in this section.
When you pass a washed-out log bridge, you are at Cedar Cr. Below this is one more class IV rapid in the class III section down to the takeout bridge.
Put-in:
Go to the small loggin
...River Features
Put In
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportRan the LNF 6/22 over two nights with 3100 falling to 2600 on the guage. There were several porrtages in the section above Canyon creek, most above Montana Creek. The level was fine once in the canyon below Canyon Creek, and the rapids were all clear. All portages were wood, Body Bag is wood free and was run by one member of the group.
Body Bag down is a fun collection of III-IV drops, very fun section of water. great run! Brian Vogt
At low levels, this river will feed you well.
If scouting the rapid doesn't put your boat on your shoulder, this will.
This photo is only about 10% of the rapid. It is very hard to do it justice with a photo. At low water, there are three crux moves, none of which should be missed. At high water, careful scouting will probably cause your boat to slink off down the portage trail all by itself.
Lower Put in
If you do a late season float on the LNF, check out road 301 from near Clarkia back to the headwaters of the LNF. This is a high elevation, primitive raod, and the views are stunning. It straddles the ridge between Floodwood Cr and Marble Cr.
This is exactly the way I remember this party.