Pack

The Grottos section of the Pack contains serious, high gradient, Class V-V+ steep creeking. If you’re up for it, this one of the most exciting and challenging sections of navigable water in the region. Its three main rapids are long complex combinations of waterfalls, rock slides and boulder drops. Each series of rapids is demanding and committing, containing multiple hazards and requiring extensive scouting. The canyon walls are only 10-30 feet high, but there is no easy way out from the river.

The first grotto begins with a very straightforward 20-foot waterfall. Immediately after the first waterfall is a 10-foot drop requiring a precise boof in order to avoid a huge old growth log lodged at the base. Just beyond this log hazard lies a 3-foot, 10-foot ledge combo. The final drop of the first grotto is a 17-foot right to left slanted chute that looks like it plummets under the river left wall. Although this drop has been run forwards and backwards with out incident, this would be a bad place to swim because the entrance to the gnarly second grotto lies just below.

The second grotto is full of places you don’t want to be. The entire section is essentially one long, steep undercut filled boulder drop leading into a 30-foot slide. Most people portage this section because of the multiple hazards.

The third and final grotto is called super slide. The super slide is about 45 feet high and about 200 feet long, with a 90-degree turn at the bottom. Starting out wide with lots of lines to choose from, it increases in intensity as one picks up speed and negotiates the sharp corner while attempting to avoid piton rocks. The super slide is the last hairy drop on the grottos section, and the whitewater becomes less hazardous and committing and one approaches the Slides.

Directions:

The Upper Pack is easy to find. Drive North from Sandpoint towa

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