With all the rain we got last week lots of rivers were at good levels. However, low elevation snow made me concerned about being able to get to the put-in on Cascade and Gorge rivers so I started to look at Coastal options. Paul and I did the main Kilchis last year with some rafting folks and where surprised just how scenic the river was. We hadn’t been able to do the upper 2 miles where the guidebook said most of the whitewater located. We thought about trying the Trask River which I hadn’t done for about 17 years but in the end picked the Kilchis. We thought we’d knock off the main river and then poke around some of the other forks and see what was up.
Allen at the bottom of the big rapid on the main Kilchis River
The flow was a little lower than we wanted but still plenty of water in most places to get down. From the put-in bridge the river has some pleasant small rapids and nice scenery. Mostly Class 2 stuff. Just when I was wondering if this was going to be all the rapids on the upper section, I saw a bigger rapid just downstream. I ran the first drop and then caught a small eddy above a boulder-choked drop. It was really difficult to see the bottom of the drop so I moved around a bit but couldn’t get a good view. There was also no place to get out and look at the drop. I knew it wasn’t too big but still, it is always nice to know if there is any wood or something unexpected in the drop.
Just as I was thinking of committing to one of the slots between the boulders, Trev came barreling downstream and ran the middle slot. Right behind him came Jes. Aren’t probes wonderful? Having seen both of them come out at the bottom just fine through the middle, I thought I’d probe the left slot. I dropped into some swirly water, got spun backward and dropped into the pool at the bottom. Not my finest moment.
Below this rapid was another nice boulder garden and a rapid past some wood in the middle of the river. Soon enough we were at the confluence with the SF Kilchis which is where Paul and I put-in last year. We ran the fun rapid at the confluence and then a fun slide just downstream. These rapids where juicy last year with higher flows but with lower water they were pretty mellow fun.
Paul exits a fun boulder garden in the upper 2 miles
Jes and Paul watch as Allen runs the fun rapid below the SF confluence
Nice scenery on the main Kilchis River
The rest of the run is pretty flat with nice scenery and some rapids 2-3 miles below the SF confluence. We wanted to scout the SF Kilchis so we crammed 5 boats and people into Paul’s pickup and headed back upstream to the SF. After moving a few trees off the road, Paul was able to make it about 3/4 of a mile up the SF until the road ended at an old bridge site. I looked upstream and saw a small ledge and immediately knew I wanted to see what was upstream. Everyone else agreed so we paddled across the river and started hiking upstream. Along the way we could see down into a small gorge with what looked like a pretty stout rapid.
The big one (Chunky Monkey) on the SF Kilchis
I got briefly pinned in a small boulder garden near the put-in and knew I had to shift gears a bit and get a little more serious before the stuff downstream. Once we got out to look at the big rapid, we all realized it didn’t really have a good line. The right side lands in a pothole at this level and the left side has a very thin line to miss a rock in the landing. With more water I think the right side would be good but we all opted to walk around and put-in at the bottom.
Just downstream is a fun, tight boulder garden with a couple good lines. I did well on the first slot drop but got pitoned on the second drop and got pinned for a two-count before the boat moved downstream. Not my finest boating by a long shot. Everyone else came down with varying success.
Fun boulder garden just downstream of Chunky Monkey
Jes about to drop into the slots below Chunky Monkey
Just downstream of this rapid was the small ledge drop I saw from the old bridge site. Fun. Below the old bridge the river enters a very pretty gorge with some fun good quality rapids. Similar to Jordan Cr. in the Wilson drainage. Soon enough we were at the confluence with the main Kilchis and climbed up to the road just as it was starting to get a little dark.
View from the take-out bridge
The boys at the take-out
