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.
Written by peteg - Visit Website