The North, South and Middle Forks of the Smith River are about as close to Oregon as you can get and still be in California. Rugged mountains, smooth granite, clear rivers, warm weather but only about 5 hours from Portland, think of the Smiths as Cali-lite.
Our original goal for this trip was the Cal-Salmon. We were looking for redemption after a minor debacle 5-6 years ago. Unfortunately, a rock slide buried the road on the Cal-Salmon, making shuttle nearly impossible. Maybe it was the fates telling us to look elsewhere for our measure of redemption. We considered the Illinois River for a bit but with dropping flows and our inability to get motivated for the packing job necessary for an overnight rafting trip, we settled on the Smith River drainage for spring whitewater fix.
I shouldn’t say settled exactly as the Smith River deserves better than that. I’d only boated this area twice before this trip. Well, I boated on one trip but the other was a disaster and I actually never got in my boat. That last trip was at least 8 years ago so I was excited to get back down there even though my memories of the area were a bit faint.
For this trip we had a mixed group of kayakers and rafters totaling 10 people with a variety of experience. We decided to get on the NF Smith the first day. We arranged for shuttle with local Brad Camden (aka Bearfoot Brad; 707-457-3365) and piled as much stuff as possible into two vehicles for the long drive up and over the mountains to the put-in for the NF. Nate had mentioned the night before that the shuttle directions in Soggy Sneakers were wrong so I settled into the back of the van, pen in hand, to take some notes and hopefully correct any mistakes. I wasn’t too surprised that right from the beginning we weren’t even on the same road as described in Soggy. Talking with our shuttle driver later, I discovered we’d taken the “local” route which was much quicker and less confusing than described in the guidebook. All in all, in only took us about an hour to reach the put-in which was about half the time I was expecting. The road was in pretty good shape except right at the end where it was pretty rocky but still passable by our two-wheel drive mini-van. There are some great views of the NF Smith River canyon and surrounding mountains on the way to the put-in.
NF Smith
(Photo: Paul Bunce)
I was a bit surprised and disappointed to find pretty low water at the put-in. Judging from the flows on the main Smith River, I thought we’d have a medium water level on the NF Smith. As I found out from our shuttle driver Brad though, the NF doesn’t react the same way to snowmelt as the other forks so we were stuck with a rocky, but doable flow for rafts. I also found out that Brad posts flow for the NF on the Dreamflows site each day so next time we’ll check that as well as the flow on the main Smith River.
Still, it was a beautiful day and I don’t think anyone really cared that much about water levels as long as there was enough to get down the river. Just shortly down river, however, I was beginning to wonder about even that, as we were forced to take a very shallow, narrow channel through the bushes in order to avoid getting stuck on a gravel bar with one of our other boats. Pretty soon though, the river channelized and started dropping through some steep rapids that were fun but not too hard.
Ryan dropping in on the NF Smith
(Photo: Pete Giordano)
The scenery was excellent throughout the run with despite the residual effects from the Biscuit fire in 2002. The canyon is very rugged and very remote. We scouted a few of the steeper rapids to make sure they were o.k. for the rafts but generally moved pretty casually down river, enjoying the day. There is some flat water towards the end that was a drag with the low water, upstream wind and the rafts. But all in all, a nice section of river. With more water the NF would be tons of fun.
Brian guides the raft crew on the NF Smith
(Photo: Ryan Windsor)
After the NF, the plan was to camp and do the Oregon Hole Gorge and SF Smith River Gorge the following day. Paul, Sue and I got up early to scout some of the SF Gorge from the road and see if we wanted to take a raft down later in the afternoon. The Gorge isn’t easy to scout but there are some rough trails that lead down to the major rapids in the gorge. There is also a fair bit of poison oak in the area so keep an eye out.
From the lip of the gorge walls, there were a couple rapids that looked pretty big without a great chance to recover in between rapids if something went wrong. We left the scout less than enthusiastic about a raft run later in the day but figured we’d see how the Oregon Hole Gorge went before a final decision.
The Oregon Hole Gorge is a completely different beast than the NF Smith. We went from barely enough water to get down the river to powerful current and big, stompy holes. After a long scout of the biggest rapid in the gorge, we powered down through so hard that we overshot the move and ended up hitting the right wall and finishing the rapid backwards but upright. What a rush! Gary had a sweet run in his oar boat but also had an exciting finish getting to know the left wall and temporarily losing an oar. Ryan and Nate cleaned up in their kayaks.
Ryan lining up for the big one in the Oregon Hole Gorge as Nate finishes
(Photo: Pete Giordano)
After picking up Gary’s oar below the next rapid, we quickly finished the last drop in the Gorge and floated to the take-out. At the take-out we hung out in the warm sun and tried to decide whether we’d do the SF Gorge. It was already late afternoon and with the sun and warm weather, it was tempting just to hang out and have a nap. But, after some discussion, part of our group decided to hop on the SF.
I switched from a raft to a kayak while Brian and Chris took the raft and Ryan and Nate stayed in their kayaks. I was a bit nervous about doing the SF as the water level was at least twice as high as the last time I’d been down it years ago and I haven’t been boating very much lately. We decided to just take it slow and scout where we needed and see how it goes. After a very short warm-up, we were in the Gorge itself and quickly at the biggest rapid on the run. The rest of our group hiked into the gorge to take some pictures and watch.
Pete and Ryan near the beginning of the SF Smith Gorge
(Photo: Paul Bunce)
The biggest rapid was a steep drop with a funky left to right curling wave that dropped through a really big hole. At the bottom, there was a short moving pool that led into the next big rapid so very little chance for recovery if something went wrong for the raft. The trick was to start right and move strong left to miss the hole. I decided to portage while the raft fired it up right away and did pretty well despite a bit of a tip at the bottom. Nate and Ryan had sweet lines although Ryan spent some time underwater with his small playboat.
Nate in the SF Smith Gorge
(Photo: Pete Giordano)
Brian and Chris in the SF Smith Gorge
(Photo: Paul Bunce)
We all had good lines down the next big rapid and were really starting to get a good vibe going in this very cool place. After a quick scout of the last big drop in the Gorge, everyone except me fired it up with good results. I decided the hole didn’t look very good for me and decided to do what I thought would be an easy portage but turned into a 20-minute process. I should’ve just run the rapid and next time I will!
Brian scouting the last drop in the SF Smith Gorge
(Photo: Ryan Windsor)
The Smiths are a fantastic place to spend a few days boating. The scenery is just outstanding and the whitewater is fun and classy without being too hard.
Ryan going deep in the last drop of the SF Smith Gorge
(Photo: Paul Bunce)
If you go:
NF Smith Info–Check out the gauge updated by Bearfoot Brad on Dreamflows. We had a low level of 9′ 1″ or 1600cfs on April 24th, 2010. Twice the water would’ve been nice. I highly recommend using Brad’s shuttle service for the NF. He is very professional and cares deeply about the NF and the Smith River area. He and the other shuttle drivers have a wealth of info about the area. Support the local economy. The shuttle was 1 hour one-way for us.
Written by peteg - Visit Website