The Pigeon Point run on the Trinity River is one of the most popular stretches of river in California. With proximity to Sacramento, Redding, and Arcata, the river fills up for weekends between June and Saptember with private and camercial boaters cooling off from the Cali Sun. Although the run is mostly washed out at flows above 2000, its still worth going up for, maybe even for a lap or two.

Bagdad River access, about 1/2 mile above Pigeon Point Campground.

The run itself can be done a few different ways. The traditional Pigeon Point Run begins at Pigeon Point Campground. For our run, we opted to start about 1/2 mile higher at the Bagdad River Access. The advantage of starting a bit higher is you get access to the best playspot in the area. The wave/ hole is on river right about 1/4 mile down from the put in. There was one older fellow playing there when we rolled in around 6:30 pm on a Tuesday. He was, well, tearing it up, throwing in all the old school paddle spins, grabs, and even a few ends. He was no doubt, a local, and was just out enjoying the river on a sunny afternoon. Running into guys like this out there always reminds me of why I love paddling. Here's a old guy, out on his own, no one to watch or see, but finding the experience out there. JR and I played for a bit in our long boats, before heading down the river canyon into the fading afternoon light.

Unknown paddler rips it up.

J.R. Weir gettin his surf on in the RPM

The first rapid past the Pigeon Point putin is called Z-Drop (Class III). At the higher flow we had, this rapid was more of a wash than anything. The move is to start left, head right behind the boulder, and then back left. At the high flow, all of the rocks were under water, and you could have gone just about anywhere.)

J.R. in Z-Drop

The next rapid was Pinball (Class III). This one is a rock garden with a few pourovers and no clear line. At lower summer flows, this can be a bit picky, and often wraps the unconcious rafter (unconcious from all the beer, no doubt).

The next horizon line you come to is Class III+ Hell Hole. This one is obviously marked with the large boulders on river left. At the higher flow, the river right channel becomes an option, but at lower flows the best bet is to stay left and go right through the gut of this one. As I approached the hole, I was thinking, "This doesn't look that big." As I hit the pile I knew I had misjudged it a bit, and I felt myself sliding off the pile backwards into the depths of the hole. For my first freestyle moves in my creek boat, I did a perfect back loop into some cartwheels. Then I got my sidesurf on before getting window shaded at least 3 times. Fortunatley the hole was deep and clean, so I wasn't getting slammed on rockes each time around. JR would later tell me that he's seen the hole run every which way, generally with good results.

Looking up at Hell Hole. Large rocks on river left mark this one.

In the Pigeon Point Valley.

A bit down from Hellhole is Fish Tail. This can be run right or left, but the right side generally has more water in it. The right channel also has a big fin rock near the bottom that is notorious for wrapping rafts. Ferry back to center to avoid this one.

Fish Tail Rapid has some larger holes at higher flows.

The rest of the run drifts pleasantly along till the takeout. You can continue the run from here down o the Cedar Flat Campground, but it is pretty much flat. For a late afternoon run, this was a ton of fun. Splashy rapids, low stress, nice canyon.

A good day on the river.

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