Clear Creek

We ran this at the end of June in hardshells with around 170 cfs. It was low and scrapy at points, but pretty much everything was runable. We portaged Ski Jump since we aren't really class V boaters, and the essential rock in the upper drop was fully exposed so it would have been hard to get a clean line to the left for the second drop. Following the suggestion from ca creeks description, we used the Clear Creek Rd bridge takeout, which adds a couple miles and several more fun III/III+ rapids.

There are a couple shuttle options that all take about the same time, but are much different lengths. I drove Mule Town road from the take out to the put in just fine in a Subaru Forester, but would have struggled to make it the other direction because of a couple steep hills with deep ruts. Wouldn't want to try that route with a car without awd/4wd. The Placer Rd/Swazey Rd route is about 6 miles longer but just as quick since the road is in good shape.

A fantastic microcosm of California paddling. My first time, going along with Robin and Ted who'd done it before, and Greg, Andrew, and Eric who were fellow first-timers. We had some swims at Pinch Me and portaged Ski Jump. Discovered how difficult it is to dive deep for a lost paddle with a drysuit on!

I really enjoy this run and come the end of September, I'll make daily internet checks to see if the flow has come into runnable range. I wish it was a little closer to my house though. A friend of mine made a little video of a trip we did that shows all the bigger drops. Best Clear Creek video I've seen.
vimeo.com/15347356
very fun intro to creeking run and you can paddle it from late Sept to April