The NF Clackamas is one of my favorite runs. It is only about 10 minutes away from my house, runs often during the winter, and is just hard enough to be exciting but not hard enough that I’m uncomfortable taking some solo trips. The NF Clack is a small river (only about 15 miles from headwaters to end) so it is tough to tell what the water level will be any given day. Big storms can easily bring up the river too high, but it also comes down fast when the rain stops. Finding that perfect medium level can be a real art.
Today I awoke to hard rain falling on my roof and immediately started wondering if it was enough rain to bring the rivers up. By 9am it was still raining really hard and I began to think maybe the elusive NF Clack would come in. When the Clackams gauge at 10am showed the river was rising, I decided to make the move and try an afternoon run. Yesterday our group got stuck in the snow trying to access the Table Rock Fork of the Molalla and ended up doing an easy run on the Copper Cr. section of the Molalla. I was itching to get on something a bit harder and the NF Clack would fit that bill.
I stopped for a quick check of the level at the take-out and it looked good. Water is brown, check. Rocks covered, check. Sediment plume in the lake, check. All the makings of a healthy flow on the NF Clack. On the drive up to the put-in I start wondering if it will be high. Last time I did the NF Clack at high water I was by myself and almost got worked in a hole right above a tricky drop in the crux of one of the steep sections. That experience totally blew my confidence for the rest of the run and I felt like my tail was still between my legs as I finished the run. I didn’t really want to repeat that performance.
There is plenty of time to think about these kinds of things on the 1/2 mile hike down to the river. My first glimpse of the river looked good with water covering the shallow section at the put-in. Shortly downstream I’m was still thinking it was a good medium level. The first big rapid starts on the left, drops fast through a flume in the middle, and then drops 5 feet into a turbulent gorge with a couple big holes. I was reasonably sure it was clear of wood since I’d scouted it last week so I plunged down the first drop and took a quick look at the runout to make sure it was clear before hitting a sweet boof and blasting down through the holes. Great stuff!
I was now starting to think the level was a bit higher than I first thought. It certainly seemed to have some juice but was manageable. There are about 6 sections of the creek that I worry about screwing up. Usually I mentally check each one off as I run them and also check how my boating is going. First rapid check is the S-turn which I just passed pretty well. Next up is a narrow plunge just downstream which also goes well. By this point I’m sure that the level is high; maybe just below the highest level I’ve ever done it. Hopefully I can stay on my game.
Next up on my mental list is a super fun set of ledges that ends in a short gorge and a 5 foot river-wide ledge. I got pushed around these a bit but nothing too bad. At this point there is nothing big until the big portage. I took my time on the portage; stopping to hang out at the Off-Ramp, drink some water and catch my breath a bit. Off-ramp was really stomping. I’m not sure I’d run it even with other people with me but I’m sure not interested when I’m by myself.
Below Off-Ramp the creek changes from the ledge drops in the upper section to steep, congested boulder gardens. The trees close in on either side giving some parts a very claustrophobic feel. Right off the bat is a steep drop through a big hole at the bottom. Then there is a long boulder garden that ends with a zig-zag through 3 off-set ledges. Then the bottom drops out with a wild ride through multiple ledges and holes and cross-currents that end in a riverwide hole right above Piledriver; a fast flume that piles straight into a big rock with a hole on either side. This is the section that got me last time at high water.
I took a big breath, started the plunge and hoped things weren’t bigger than I expected. I got pushed too far right after landing the first ledge which put me in uncharted territory. I made a quick attempt to get back to the middle of the creek, didn’t get there and got pushed up against a rock sideways. I spun and went through the next ledge backwards, hanging onto a high brace knowing I really didn’t want to get upside down. I continued to high brace as I surfed the hole at the bottom of the ledge but was able to pull out of it and get pointed downstream just in time to punch a hole right above the last ledge. I was in good position to boof the last ledge but landed a little crooked and got stopped briefly before I was able to paddle out and catch an eddy just downstream and above Piledriver.
After all the excitement I decided to get out and scout Piledriver. More than anything just to take some time to let the adrenaline subside a bit. It was exactly this point last time that I lost my nerve and started to get a little bit freaked out so I wanted to just calm down and see if I could get my nerves together again. I knew I only had two more significant spots to get by and they were just downstream a bit. I decided to sneak Piledriver down a small channel on the left which turned out to be really rocky with some overhanging branches. Bouncing down this didn’t exactly get my confidence back up.
Not too much further downstream lies Storm Drain; a nasty ledge backed up by a rock and a log with a shallow landing and a stomping hole. When I caught the portage eddy above it I knew I just had one more rapid to check off and I was home free. After Storm Drain the river careens down through some fast current with holes and rocks all over the place. After getting a bit sideways and backwards I got it together to boof the biggest hole. Now all I had to do was catch the scouting eddy just above the last big drop; Double Blind Date. At DBD the creek drops through a fast chute and then squeezes through a narrow slot, bounces off a vertical log and then drops through several holes before dropping over a final rocky plunge. Last time at high water I did a gruesome portage around DBD because I was too freaked out to run it. This time I was determined to run and deal with whatever happened.
I took a couple deep breathes to relax, looked around at the scenery and pulled out of the eddy into the fast current and down into DBD. I got pushed too far left in the first drop, scrambled back to the middle, but was too far right going through the slot. This pushed me up on a wave which pushed me back to the left so that I had to paddle back to the middle to avoid the vertical log. I punched the next couple holes trying to get to the right for the last rocky drop. I was just barely able to get there and when I did, I knew I’d made it. I didn’t start celebrating until the bottom. Oh it’s nice to be alive and in one piece!
After this it was a fun ride to the bottom and the lake where my moped shuttle was waiting. All in all, a great day on a great creek.
Written by peteg - Visit Website