Jarbidge, West Fork
Jarbidge NV to Idaho/ EF confluence
| Difficulty | III-IV |
| Length | 13.2 mi |
| Avg Gradient | n/a |
| Gauge | Jarbidge Rv Blw Jarbidge, Nv |
| Flow Rate as of 38 minutes | 33 cfsbelow recommended |
| Reach Info Last Updated | June 24, 2019 |
River Description
This river can be boated at high water, though great care must be taken to avoid downed trees and low-hanging branches. Most of it is continuous class 3, with some slightly harder and more distinct sections. The run is primarily roadside, and the most sensible way to boat here is to choose a wood free section and pre-scout the whole bit for hazards. This breaks the river into multiple small segments (maybe 1 mile long), any of which can be lapped if you're enthusiastic. Putting in at Jarbidge and running the whole thing would result in many sketchy portages and is not advised. Due to the narrow and continuous nature of this tiny river, eddies and pools are scarce at optimal flows. Without wood hazards it could be a real hoot!
River Features
Take Out
Put In
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportI ran some sections of the WF Jarbidge in early June 2019, when the Bruneau Gauge was around 4000 cfs. At those flows this little creek was extremely continuous, had holes and boofs, and was great fun. It moves fast at high water! Was dodging trees, willows, and branches the whole way -and made sure to pre-scout the sections I ran thoroughly. Without wood this whole thing would be very fun. Instead, running longer portions would be quite the pain and a little dangerous.
With a saw (and/or brush cutters) and a couple hours of time, some of the sections could be cleaned out and made substantially longer. Check this creek out if you're headed to a multi-day on the Bruneau. The Forks campsite (EF/WF confluence) is also a great spot to hang out, and is free. At higher flows a wave starts to form on the confluence.
There is definitely a run on the WF Jarbidge between the town of Jarbidge
and the EF Jarbidge. It's really no more than class 3-4 though. Not certain
of what lies above which is what you seem to be asking about. There is also
some decent potential on the EF Jarbidge (have done a backpack scouting trip
in there) but access would be very difficult at best due to snow i.e. once
hiking in without snowshoes becomes feasible, the water is gone