Cartecay

About a mile below Lower Cartecay Road you will see some houses on river right. These houses look out of place in the mountains because they have long green lawns leading down to the river. Here, a narrow chute on river right forms a small Class II rapid. Run it down the right and eddy out left or right at the bottom.

A quarter mile down river is 'Rock Garden', another Class II. Look for a narrow slot in the middle of the drop at the top of the rapid. Go over the drop with a left angle and immediately make a sharp turn back to the right. Follow the channel down the middle, but look out for a pinning rock about 1/3 of the way down. Eddy out at the bottom on the right or the left. There is a decent squirt spot on river left at the bottom. Large kayaks and canoes may have trouble navigating Rock Garden at levels below 1.4'.

After Rock Garden work your way through some shoals and pools until you come to a river wide ledge known as 'Surfing Rapid. Here is a good place for beginners to work on their surfing skills. It has a good recovery pool and a nice beach, but you should be prepared to roll or get rescued because it is easy to flip here. Run left of the island after Surfing Rapid to run 'S-Turn'.

An island in the middle of the river marks the entrance to 'S-Turn'. Run left of the island and stay far left to avoid getting stuck on rocks. Beginners will want to scout 'S-Turn'. Eddy out on river left to scout. The most distinguishing feature of this rapid is the sluice that forms at the top of the ledge on river left. The river makes a sharp right turn through the sluice, and then quickly turns back to the left. Most beginners will run this rapid by aggressively paddling through the sluice and turning left after the drop. Others will catch the large eddy on river right and continue the run from there. At levels above 2.0' you can skip the sluice and drop straight over the ledge. Either way, you need to paddle aggressively the rest of the way. Punch the hole at the bottom. Eddy out river right or river left. If you eddy left be aware of the undercut rock at the bottom of the eddy. 'S-Turn' is rated Class II at normal levels. At 4-6' it is a Class III.

'Whirlpool' gets its name from the large swirling eddy on river right at the bottom of the rapid. Beginners will want to avoid this and eddy left where there is a large pool. Be careful though, because the left eddy has a dynamic eddy line. For best results run 'Whirlpool' with a left angle and paddle hard for river left. WARNING: there is almost always wood/strainers or other debris in the river right eddy. If you take a swim here, keep your feet up and swim aggressively down stream or to river left to avoid the whirlpool. This rapid is rated Class II at normal levels. At levels above 4' it becomes a Class III/III+. At these levels a very large and sticky hole forms at the bottom of the rapid.

Note: One of the property owners has asked that we not loiter here. She seems to be ok with small quiet groups, but would prefer it if large groups and clinics limit their time at this spot. Please respect her wishes. Thank you.

The grand finale of the run is 'Blackberry Falls'. It looks intimidating to beginners but it is actually just a big ol' slide into a haystack and curl wave, which tend to stop and flip those who air-brace, rudder, or otherwise don't paddle. You know, beginners. The classic 'Blackberry' run is down the right with a slight left angle. Look for the green hump of water just below the top and split it with your boat. Paddle aggressively, punch through the haystack, and brace into or paddle through the curly wave at the bottom. Eddy left or right - preferably left for beginners. The other popular line is the diagonal line from left to right. 'Blackberry Falls' is Class II, Class III/III+ at levels above 4'.