44 - 6/18/2010 - Lower Similkameen River

 Below the Ledge

We headed back to the US via Oroville and met a new boating friend (Brent) across the border. We all headed to the takeout, just a few minutes away, and then consolidated to go to the put-in.

Lee's description of this run was all over the map. There was supposedly a "portage from hell" followed by some class III rapids, but maybe a class IV rapid. Lee had done the run before at about 8000 cfs, and we had 8600 cfs, but that extra 7% could make a huge difference in the lower canyon.

The first half of the run was wide and slow, but a little pushy. The sides of the river still show signs of mining in the area. After a while, the river slowed into the lake above the dam. We pulled over and found the portage trail.

The portage wasn't really all that bad - mostly because it wasn't all that hot. It started with about 100 yards of carrying our boats on a road and a wide path. Then, Lee and I carried his boat down to the river, over some huge basalt boulders. While we did this, Brent found a slightly steeper, but easier, path that they could hand my boat down to me.

During the portage, we passed the dam - a 50-foot drop that lead into a smaller, but still nasty class V rapid. There is a possibility that the dam will be taken out, but the rapid will most likely still require a portage for most people.

We took a short break and then continued. The first rapid was a huge wave train, with several 10-foot waves. The next couple of rapids were also big class III drops, and the canyon began to narrow. We pulled over to scout the big ledge rapid. We could see most of the rapid from above, but there didn't seem to be a completely clean way through. We were going to have to trust that the route we planned would work. In the end, there was a route to the far right that made this rapid easier, but it was still a monster.

Below the ledge rapid, the canyon narrowed more and boils came up. Lee flipped when a boil turned into a whirlpool and tossed him around. The boils made going difficult and interesting. One moment you could be in a simple current, and the next a whirlpool could develop right in front of you.

After a couple more miles, we got to the takeout and loaded up. We ran the shuttle and then headed south. We eventually made it to the town of Winthrop, and then went up to camp by the Chewuch River, which was our potential next run. We went to Twisp to get dinner and meet the rest of our party. At dinner, we decided that the Chewuch was going to be too high for some of the group, so we switched to the Methow.