Creeks That Get Easier (or Harder) at Low Levels

[Josh Sanford]

I have been corresponding with some of you off the Board about creeks that are easier/safer to run at lower levels. I am really interested in what the larger group thinks.

Here's a for-instance. Several weeks ago I wrote about a run on Jack Creek, and one or maybe more people pointed out that since I had run Jack a lower level, then I hadn't really been on Jack. Someone else told me that they think that Richland gets harder at lower levels.

Do you have an opinion? A list of creeks that really lose their teeth when they are near the bottom of their runnable level--and conversely a list of creeks that definitely do not get easier at lower levels, or maybe even get harder?

Let's hear it.

[Crane]

Richland kicks a$$ at most levels... so it's really relative to what level rivers you're competent to paddle. But, Big Piney is not the same river at 2.5' as it is at 4.5'... The same with the Cossatot at 3.2' or 4.8'... totally different experiences. Cossatot at 5' doesn't need me to be there at all... Totally different paddling skills needed to safely paddle them...

[Cowper]

Several different factors can come into play, but the one that gets my attention is the Wood Factor. Richland is mostly free of wood, so it gets padded up and a little bit easier at moderate levels than at low levels. Both Richland and the Cossatot, however, have enough gradient to develop some SERIOUS hydraulics as levels rise.

On Piney, gradient and wood both come into play but in opposite directions - the gradient does not support major hydraulics at high levels, making the river seem "easy" to some, but, that is deceptive, because the wood factor adds a danger factor that has drowned several people at higher levels. Some were inexperienced, but at least one, I think, was actually an experienced boater that had a moment of inattention and got his foot pinned in his folded boat.

In other words, at flood stage the Wood Factor can create life-threatening situations even on what is normally a Class 1 stream, much less our better WW streams.

[T Yamashita]

Hey,

I have also found out that in the harder creeks like the 'tot and richland that the rocks stick out more at lower levels but some of the drops will have significant water in 'em to hurt you. It was easy for me to think that low water = bouncing off of rocks, but what I learned was you're bouncing off of rocks into a hole or a sieve or a strainer that has some consequences. You may bust your elbow on a rock, then get pinned in a sieve below it with enough water to cause major problems. I think the machine on the 'tot with cannonball exposed at lower water is a good example. So every harder creek takes on a different personality with rising or lowering water level. HTH, ty

[Fish]

Every creek has different hazards at different levels, so I don't think that trying to generalize a rule of thumb here is going to work. Some say Richland is "harder" at lower water - what they mean is that it's harder to navigate down Richland without getting knocked around as more and more of the rocks are exposed and/or that if you do get upside down or swim, you're going to get beaten more. But at high water, you trade all that for pushy water and big holes and longer swims. Which level is harder depends on what you're used to running I guess. In my opinion, neither is "easier". Richland is an advanced whitewater run at any level you can get down it. EFLB feels like that too. So does Osage Cr. And numerous other Newton Co. creeks. Bobtail is much less pushy at low water, but I've seen just as much carnage when it's low as when it's high. All of these runs have healthy gradient and LOTS of boulders which make holes at higher water and sieves at lower water.

The runs like Sugar and Jack Cr., W. Fk. Cedar, Little Mill Cr. - those all lack the boulder-gardens-from-hell that so many of the Newton Co creeks seem to have. So at low water, you're just bouncing over small rocks and ledges with nothing much to get in your way. But at high water, with few big rocks to make good eddies and what eddies that do form up in the tree, those creeks get fast, big, and wild. All are good examples of creeks that are class 2-3 at lower water but that very quickly shift into class 3+ or 4 runs when the water is raging.

So what levels are harder seems to me to depend a lot on the creekbed and also on the experience and skills of the paddler. Good question!

- Fish

[Crane]

You asked for a list... Instead, I'll advise you to make friends with good, solid paddlers a step or two better than you... folks you would trust not to take you where you don't need to be. Then, tell them you want to go whenever they are going somewhere you would be relatively safe paddling... and where they can keep an eye on you. They have probably already been to streams you want to lear to paddle, and will probably return to them when conditions are right. Then, once you are in that circle of paddlers, realize there might be a time when you need to drive shuttle, since the plans got changed and you're with a group headed someplace you don't need to be... yet. Be prepared... learn to hike and invest in a good camera to take movies of your new friends as they set their hair on fire and bail off into water you can only watch!! You'll have a great time either way!!

[RomanLA]

what they mean is that it's harder to navigate down Richland without getting knocked around as more and more of the rocks are exposed and/or that if you do get upside down or swim, you're going to get beaten more.

I experienced that this weekend on the Mulberry. I had no problems with the rapids that had water. The ones with rocks just under the surface everywhere were giving me heck though. I got my boat snagged in a couple of bad spots and had my first swim in a long time.