Late in the Washinton whitewater season, when everything else has dropped off, and there is no snow melt left, the White Salmon River continues flowing off Mt. Adams, fed by underground springs that keep it going year-round.

The Green Truss starts with an arduous drop down a rock cliff to the put in. This is one of the most dangerous parts of the run, and I wouldn't recommend doing it without lowering with a rope. There is a fixed line at the Green Truss bridge, but it is still really sketchy. I almost fell here and managed to grab the tree on the way down as I watched my boat go crashing down onto the rocks below.

The run begins with some Class IV warm up rapids. Each one ends in a pool with a bit of recovery and they are easily boat scoutable. At the lower flow, this upper section of the river is really boney and has a lot of places where you barely scrape by on the shallow rocks. One drop, Elbow Basher, is just that, as you fall beween narrow walls and get thrown into the right wall. Easily portageable/ scoutable on the left.

The first difficult drop, Meatball, can only be run on the left side at the lower flow. The enterance to meatball is a sticky hole with This is a spot where the river splits around a big boulder in the middle and then goes over another smaller ledge. We ran left although it can be run either side.

Right below Meatball is Bob's Falls. Bob's is a stout ledge drop with a strong recirculating hydraulic at the bottom, especially in the middle. At this level we ran boofing right off the right side. At lower flows the right side is better This is an easy scout, and a good place for safety.

One rapid down is Big Brother, a sometimes runable 25 footer with a cave and a very small landing zone. The left side has rocks down at the bottom, while the right side has a cave that a lot of boaters get pushed into. It's a pretty gnarly drop. We all portaged, but it is regularly run. Scout right or left and portage left.

Nick Miller and Todd Anderson contemplate Big Brother (different trip).

Brandon scouts Big Brother. The perfect line is off the flake in the middle of the picture.

Right below Big Brother is Little Brother. Also known as The Faucet, this drop is sweet and straightforward. At higher water you can boof in the middle of the rocks, but at the lower flow, the run is boofing off the left side with right angle. We did a few laps here.

Brandon sails over Little Brother.

Jonathan boofs over Little Brother.

Below The Faucet, there are a few smaller rapids leading up to Double Drop, a monstrous 18 foot double falls through two huge holes. The first drop is about 12 feet straight into a huge hole. This part is best run center with a delayed boof off the flake. Drive hard and get ready for the next hole. If you flip in the top hole, the water is pretty deep and tucking and waiting it out may be the best bet here.

Looking back up at Double Drop. The top drop is larger than the picture makes it look.

Alex seal launches around Double Drop.

After double drop, the river mellows out a bit and goes through the Spring Section of the run. The river nearly doubles in flow and gets a lot colder as glacier-fed springs pour in from all sides.

Alex and Brandon stop to enjoy on of the many springs.

Looking deep into Upper Zig Zag. The line is right down the seam in the middle, boof the rock/hole at the bottom of it, and then hug the left wall before cutting back right and then left at the bottom.

Right below Upper is Lower Zig Zag. This one is pretty straightforward, but the rapid feels a lot bigger than the first one. There is a fan rock in the middle that you need to dodge left of and then cut back hard right to avoid the monster hole in the middle.

The Orletta Creek Section comes in right below Lower Zig Zag. There are a few fun rapids such as Triple Drop, and The Flume before running into BZ Falls.

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