NW(1)

2006 NW Trip

Finally got to make a trip to the Pacific Northwest. It wasn’t the prime time for whitewater, but it was much better than the drought back home!

I flew out on Friday and met Mark Cumnock in Seattle. It was Mark’s first paddling trip west of Arkansas (with the exception of the Tulsa Wave). The next morning we headed to Seattle Raft and Kayak to pick up our rental boats, two Pyranha M3s. These guys have a great shop and excellent service and are located on Lake Washington so you can take a boat out the front door and demo.

Next stop was up in Bellingham, WA to pick up the camper van from NW Campers. Another great shop with excellent service. Van rental for the week was cheaper than renting a SUV or truck, plus was much nicer than setting up a tent in the rain and snow. Here are a few shots of our home on wheels.

Photo by Lance Jones Photo by Mark Cumnock

Then we headed over to the Sauk River, arriving at dark and camping next to the river and flood ravished bridge leading to the closed campground. In the morning, we outfitted the boats as we waited for new Washington resident ‘Texas’ Dave Riess to join us. Riverbed was large with capacity to carry lots of water, the gauge was showing ~2500 cfs and it looked a lot less than the ~1200 cfs that should be in this section of river based on the guide. But as most western rivers, the looks are deceiving. Once we launched we found there was plenty of water and it was some good class III-IV creekin’ inside the large river bed. The views of the snow covered peaks around were awesome and hard to turn away from as you entered a rapid.

Lance outfitting the rental boat. Photo by Mark Cumnock

A scenic view at the Sauk. Photo by Lance Jones Dave entering a rapid on the Sauk. Photo by Lance Jones

We sent Dave back to his new job and we headed over to the Skykomish drainage to find some more boating, arriving after dark again and finding a camp spot on a Forest road on the N.F. of the Skykomish River. Being Monday, we decided to head back to town where we noticed a outdoor shop the evening before to see if we could find a shuttle. The shop turned out to be a bust, but then we noticed a small Werner Paddles sign on the entrance to a warehouse looking building. We decided to check it out and ended up talking to a couple of Mark’s friends who are working there at the factory. They invited us on run later that afternoon and suggested we make a morning run on the main section of the Skykomish River although it was a low 1800 cfs.

The Sky, as the locals call it, is a NW classic which contains multiple sections and tributaries from Class V+ to Class I and incredible scenery. We opted for the shorter run of the Hwy 2 bridge to the Railroad Bridge to help make thumbing a shuttle on the hwy easier. Like the Sauk, the Sky is a large river bed and the 1800 cfs looked low but ample from the road. It was more than ample flow and again had the feel of a creek inside the large riverbed, but much more push than the Sauk had the day before. Boulder Drop was the main attraction with multiple routes through the large rocks with several holes and sieves to avoid.

Scenic View on the Skykomish River. Photo by Lance Jones Mark entering the top portion of Boulder Drop. Photo by Lance Jones

We took a lunch break and headed back to the Werner to meet Tracy and Andy and then headed to the lower Sultan River. This 2-mile dam release section runs almost year round and Andy lives near the take-out, talk about a dream. The upper section of the river is normally dewatered except after heavy rain, but the dam is currently undergoing relicensing and hopefully releases will be provided in the near future. The upper section is also where a spectacular landslide was caught on film and featured in Issue #16 of LVM. As for the creek, it starts off with a good class IV then mellows to continuous class III, all within a tight gorge which makes you forget you are only mile from town.

Mark entering a drop on the Sultan (unaware of the hole at the bottom). Photo by Lance Jones

More of the NW trip

Cali 2003

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