Big Creek (Tributary of Middle Fork Salmon River)

A rain-on-snow event in early 2014 created multiple avalanches that delivered hundreds of logs into the channel in the upper reaches between Smith Creek and Beaver Creek. The past jams are visible in Google Earth but were remobilized in early 2017, currently channel-spanning at the Beaver Creek confluence. Though the wood poses a hazard in this reach at this time, the pulse of wood will continue to mobilize downstream (potentially reforming jams or single spanners) in the next few years. The good news is that portaging these sections is easily done using the riverside trail. Be careful.

Also, note that in the lower reaches of Big Creek downstream of Cabin Creek, just below Rush Creek there is a large pontoon-based fish screw located in the center of the channel. There are warning signs as you approach. --Ben Crosby