Sat. I headed to the Breitenbush River with 7 other paddlers to teach a beginning creeking clinic. My goal was to offer some tips and hints on the mental and logistical aspects of making the step from Class 3 rivers to Class 3/4 creeks. We spent time talking about scouting new rapids, setting safety, communicating with fellow paddlers, and other topics. Everyone did really well and I think took home some good things to think about. Very positive day!

Sunday was time for some personal fun time on the river. Despite being tired and expecting cold weather, I was able to convince Trev and his brother Jes to head over to the Upper Wind. Jes lives in Belize most of the year (warm!) and hadn’t been paddling for the last few months. He wasn’t so sold on boating in the cold weather and on a Class 4/4+ river that he’d never seen before. Never the less, he came out with his usual good cheer and gave it a shot. Oh, and did I mention he was in a borrowed boat?

As expected we had some snow at the put-in but it wasn’t too bad. The water level was higher than I thought it would be. I really nice medium-medium/low flow. I haven’t been on the Wind for a few years and as we boofed our way through Initiation I discovered I was really excited to be back on this great river. We worked our way through the first sets of rapids with no problems although I think Jes was a little nervous about the fast pace. We eddied out above Ram’s Horn which is the biggest rapid on the run. Jes and Trev got out to scout and take some pics. Trev had only been down the Wind once before. As I approached the lip of Ram’s Horn I remembered how exciting this rapid is; the steep ramp down through a big wave and then into a huge hole. I hit the standard left line, was blinded by water and before I knew it was at the bottom. Great fun. Jes and Trev had good lines too.

Jes drops into Ram’s Horn

The river begins to ease a bit below Ram’s Horn but at the level we had there are still plenty of rocks to mess with your line. Jes chose a tricky line at the next rapid and flipped at the top. After one missed roll he came up on top of a rock but was able to get it together and finish the rapid fine. Good thing since it’s not recommended to swim any of the rapids on the Wind!

Next up was Balls to the Wall Right; really fun with no problems. Next up is Balls to the Wall Left. Jes had a bit of trouble in the last wave and flipped and started to head downstream with some speed. After several rolls, hitting rocks, getting re-flipped by Trev, he finally made it upright just above the next rapid and we all charged down it. One more flip for Jes at the bottom and I could tell he was getting cold and tired. Thankfully we caught an eddy and he got a good rest. He told us that his hips had come out of the boat when he was first trying to roll which is why it took him so long (remember the borrowed boat?). Anyway, we headed down through Climax with no worries and cruised the last 3 miles of Class 3 with no worries.

Overall a great day on a great river.

After a great high water run down Rock Cr. on Wed., we had a group ready to fire up Hagen Creek on Thursday. Hagen is a fickle little creek that joins the NWF of the Washougal River about a mile or so below the regular put-in. In order to get good flows on Hagen you have to show up the day after a rain or while it’s raining. I’d heard it was pretty high on Monday but figured that it would drop by the time we got on it. No worries though, it’s still a fun run at low
flow.

Hagen Creek

After a a bit of stomping through the woods trying to find the put-in. We got rolling; bashing our way down the shallow first section of the creek. After a 1/2 mile or so there is a large log-jam to portage and then the creek turns to bedrock and the fun stuff begins. The creek was pretty low which made it a little harder on my boat than I’d like but eventually we made it to the first waterfall; Hagen Daze. This is a fun 15′ waterfall that is usually run right down the middle. Joe fired it up without getting out of his boat, followed by everyone else. Good stuff!

Hagen Daze Falls

Just downstream a bit is the gem of the run; Euphoria Falls. Euphoria is a fast 20′ slide followed by a vertical 10′ waterfall. It’s a bit mankier at low water but still good fun. This was my 3rd run down Euphoria and the biggest thing I’ve run since knee surgery last year so I was a bit nervous. But, Euphoria is pretty forgiving and I was happy with a good line.

Euphoria Falls

Immediately at the confluence with the NWF Washougal is Teakettle Falls. Really more of a rapid than a falls, Teakettle has been know to hand out some beatings lately. After a long scout, Joe fired it up followed by everyone else but me. I’ve run Teakettle a bunch at a lot of different flows but haven’t really felt a good vibe the last couple times I’ve been up there. Plus, the portage is pretty easy. I was happy just taking some photos.

Teakettle Falls

Next up is the big 20′ slot falls that doesn’t have a name for some reason. There was just barely enough water to get to the preferred boof flake and everyone except me (wimpy again) fired it up with good clean lines.

No Name Falls

After the big falls we put the cameras away and blasted down the main NWF Washougal run. Pretty good water level for all the awesome Class 4 drops all the way to the Fish Hatchery. In the end it was a pretty long day but everyone had a great time. Next up, high water Opal Cr. run.