White Salmon River, Farmlands, WA
By Jonathan Blum
  Class:  IV+ (V)
Trip date:  6/9/2006
River flow:  3.75 feet on Husom gauge
Length:  5.1 miles

People:  Jonathan Blum, Chris Morin
Boat:  Bliss Stick Mystic Creeker
 

Chris and I got on around noon after waiting for Alex and Dan for way too long. Wankers. We got to the putin and there was a big log in the drop above. This will probably become a problem after the next flood brings it downstream.

 
Lowering to the putin. Log in drop above.

The first rapid, Sidewinder, looked good to go, but we both decided to portage.  The undercut on the left isn’t even a problem at this level, and there isn’t really a hole at the top that will stop you. Wish I had run in hindsight.

 
Looking back up at Sidewinder.

Below this there are a number of fun rapids as it gorges up and goes into the canyon.  There are lots of big holes and big waves, but they are almost all run right down the middle. 

 
One of the fluffy drops in the middle of the run.

The one exception to this is the ledge where there is a log on the left side, Little Lava Dam.  On this rapid you want to boof hard left.

 
Jonathan runs Little Lava Dam

There are a number of rapids below this that have narrow chutes with powerful hydraulics and whitewater.  In general, running to the right was better than the left.  It would be hard to portage any of the rapids down in the canyon because the walls are so narrow.

Chris had a near miss above Lava Dam, rolling in the hole right above the drop, and almost going over it. It wasn't too close, but it is lucky that he didn't miss his roll. The rapid directly below Lava Dam had a HUGE hole in the middle of it.  It was river wide and unavoidable. There are three ledges, and the second one is the biggest. 

A ways down from this is the last rapid of note, Off Ramp.  At 3.75 the rocks at the bottom were visible and looked pretty nasty. The crossing wave coming off the wall was really powerful and all poured down into the gut of the hole. We portaged.

 
Chris looks on at Off Ramp

The rest of the run is fun and is all boat scoutable. The last hole as the Green Truss bridge comes into view is a big one. The far right side is the easiest, but you can run the gut of this one right down the middle.

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