Tilton

A couple buddies and I ran the Tilton last Sunday (5/1/2022) at around 1250cfs. Our group consisted of five kayakers and one packrafter. We put in at the Christmas Tree Farm access which according to some locals cuts off a decent portion of the flatwater class I-II section leading in.

We didn't find any significant wood on the entire run. The only piece that was really in play was the far left channel of Scary Gary (called 'last ledge' or something in the AW description). Don't take the left chute, it wraps around and under a log that is very difficult to see from above. Leap of Faith was great and fast and didn't seem to pose much more of a technical challenge than the rest of the run, although a swim in the top would be a bit of an event. The rapids mostly consist of steep chutes and fun wave trains with some holes here and there, mostly pool and drop. There are some really beautiful mossy gorges on this run, with dozens of waterfalls dropping into the river pretty much the whole way down. Scary Gary was a fun little ledge. The final rapid, the one described as being long and continuous does end in some meaty holes that flush out well. We floated for maybe a half mile or so on class I gravel bars before the river backed up into the reservoir. From here it was about 30-45 minutes out on flatwater, I was absolutely miserable in my packraft but the steep rapids and the epic gorge was well worth the battle at the end.

There was a cave in a sand wall during the lower class I section, I briefly checked it out but it is very unstable and could collapse at any time so use caution if you choose to approach it.