After such a nice day, it was completely unexpected to have a rainstorm, so we hadn't packed away our gear before going to bed. At 4:30AM, I heard the tap-tap-tap of rain on the roof of my SUV, and I got up to deal with it. Luckily, I had a big tarp with me, so I just grabbed the clothes on the line, added them to the gear pile, and covered it all up.
In the morning, it was still raining, but it slowed to a drizzle as everyone got up. We hit the road at 9AM and headed for the Lower Entiat, about an hour away. We dropped off my SUV at the takeout and headed up to the put-in. On the way up, we checked for hazards. There was a fish trap at the hatchery, and we made sure we could recognize the area from the river.
It took us a while to find the put-in, though the owners have made it a lot easier to access the river. We still had to deal with the owners and neighbors, who have had problems with some people trashing the area next to the river. They graciously allowed us to use their access, and we got ready quickly.
The Lower Entiat at 1170 cfs is a lot faster and more active than I expected. There are long nonstop sections of class II+ with some places bordering on class III. If there were logs in this run, they could be very troublesome, but luckily for us this wasn't a problem. The Mad River comes in a couple of miles from the start, adding to the flow and to the excitement.
When we got near the hatchery, there were signs warning us and advising us to exit the river. I recognized the area, and we were able to easily get around the fish trap. A few miles later, I didn't do as good of a job. There are several weirs on the river, built a long time ago by ranchers and farmers in the area. At one point, the river splits at a bridge. The left side is blind, but the right side had a log-choked weir. I chose the right side because I thought we needed to be on that side for the takeout.
We had plenty of time to go back if we needed to, so I continued down and found that there was a clear slot in the middle of the weir. That part was easy, but just below it there was a jumble of rocks that made the route more challenging. In the end, nobody had any problems, but I still think that the left side is the better route.
The takeout on this run is also a bit challenging. We had to stage at a big eddy, and then go across a fast-moving channel to a small takeout eddy next to a steep path on the bank. This proved to be easy for us, but it was still important for us to handle it this way.
After the shuttle, it was time to say goodbye and head home. I had 9 new runs under my belt, and great memories of the Whirlwind IK Tour 2010.
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