40 - 6/14/2010 - Upper and Lower Spokane

In the Bowl & Pitcher

When we arrived the previous night, we took a look at the major rapids on the Lower Spokane - The Bowl & Pitcher and The Devil's Toenail. These are class III rapids, but the river was running over 12,000 cfs, which looked very big. The B&P has a wave at the top that could flip and IK, sending the boat and swimmer towards a logjam on the left. I was admittedly nervous, and I asked Lee why we were doing this run.

In the morning, we drove by Spokane Falls, which separates the Upper and Lower runs. This is a monster set of waterfalls that would be nasty to try to run. If the upper falls doesn't kill you, the lower falls certainly will.

We headed up to run the Upper Spokane. This is a class II run through farmlands and neighborhoods. The river is wide, and the rapids are easy, but a little pushy at the higher flow. Incidentally, the flow had dropped about 800 cfs overnight.

After finishing the run, we loaded the inflated boats on top of my SUV and headed to the Lower Spokane. This involves driving through the city - this section of the river goes right through downtown Spokane, even though it feels relatively remote. In fact, the put-in is under a highway bridge in a small neighborhood.

Before we got on the river, I checked the flow online and found that it had dropped to around 10,500. While this helped me with my nervousness, it was still a high flow.

The first 8 miles of the run were pretty easy. We had to work to get to the biggest waves and holes we wanted to run. When we got to the Bowl & Pitcher, it sounded huge. Lee pulled into the final eddy and took pictures before taking off. I followed him and tried to remember what the rapid looked like from the scout. In the end, it was easy - avoid the entrance hole, move right, and run the easy line. No problem. The Devil's Toenail was similarly straightforward.

Overall, I'd say that these runs were worth doing. I wouldn't make the effort to drive to Spokane and back home just to do them, but the lower run especially makes a good practice run for the locals.

After the run, we had dinner and then headed to the town of Republic. It was a late drive, and at one point I had to take a short nap to avoid falling asleep at the wheel.