Jason, Dove and I decided to go hit Layng Creek on this sunny winter afternoon.  It had been raining really hard for weeks, Lake Creek had been running for days, and we were ready for a bit of change of pace.  Jason had run it before, and the levels were looking good, so we headed out to check it out.

My favorite thing about this run is its proximity to Eugene.  We arrived at the putin in less than an hour after scouting a few of the rapids along the road on the way up.

The largest rapids on the run are in the first half above Wildwood Falls.  The first rapid is 5ft Rujada Falls.  This can be easily scouted from the road as you approach the put in.  The boof on the right was good, but it could be run just about anyway you wanted.

About 1/2 mile down from Rujada Campground is The Plunger which drops off about 10 feet through the drop.  This comes up clearly as the river bends hard left and constricts through a small channel.  The move is right to left and many boaters have been 'plunged' in the hole below.  Scout left.

Below here there was a log that crossed the river.  It was not a problem at the low flow and we ducked under the far left side of it.  At higher flows this could become a hazard for a swimmer.  This will probably blow downstream in the next flood event, so keep an eye out.

There is one more good rapid before Wildwood Falls.  The rapid is obvious because there is a lot of wood parked on river right as the river bends left.  There is a riverwide hole that was pretty strong.  One paddler in our group was sucked into the hole and pushed into a pool on the side with logs overhead.  Approach this drop cautiously.  There was a lot of gravel and lose rock on the bank, so this will change in the next flood event.

The next big landmark is Wildwood Falls, which comes up after a longer, straight stretch of river.  This has been run before, and is a nice 15-20 foot punchbowl waterfall.  Wildwood Falls Recreation Area and Park is on the right side.  Portage along the left bank.  This is a great place to come and swim in the pool below on lazy summer days.

From Wildwood down was really mellow with some fun waves and smallish holes and ledges.  It would probably be more fun with lots more water. 

The final rapid before the covered bridge (takeout) is worth a good scout on the left before running.  The river splits left and right, and then the left channel splits again.  You can run any of the lines, but they were all pretty sketchy at the lower flow. 

Jason and I ran both sides, and both lines were okay.  Jason got spun above the drop on the right and pitoned backwards into a rock and then flipped over backwards onto his head and face... good thing for the facemask!  He's alright.  The left is really narrow and has some vicious looking undercuts. 

The takeout is under the white covered bridge below this rapid.  There is a trail before the covered bridge, but there is a better one right after the bridge on the left.  Beautiful day, beautiful river.

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