DO NOT SPEED ON HWY 2 or ANYWHERE AROUND WENATCHEE ($183 later...)

Tumwater Canyon on the Wenatchee River holds a special place in my heart.  It was the first real Class V I ran, and it was the first place I ever terrified on the river.  This is an epic run.  In the summer, cars, R.V.'s and tourists line the bank along Hwy 2 en route to Leavenworth to catch a glimpse of the funny colored plastic things doing ridiculous things down the river.  However, in the middle of winter, snow on the ground with more coming down every minute, its a different story.  The Outdoor Adventure Center in Redmond had hooked Gabe up with a Bliss Stick MAC1 for this run, and others used creekers, but I think Tumwater is playboatable at levels up to 2000ish.

One of my favorite things about Tumwater Canyon is that it is totally roadside, but it is still epic whitewater.  If you had a problem in the Canyon, the road is never more than a 50 foot scramble away.  It also makes portaging easy, and gives an easy out for intermediates who realize they are in over their heads.  It also makes it possible to road scout everything before doing the run, providing a good opportunity to acquaint first timers.

Paddlers below first riffle at put-in.

Tumwater Canyon is usually started at the roadside pullout above 1/4 mile Rapid (The Wall).  Paddlers get a few small riffles before the river drops away into the mess of things.  The Wall is the most continuous stretch of the river, with non-stop IV+ action (below 1500cfs) and non-stop Class V above 1500.  At higher flows, many paddlers will put in lower in the run to miss this rapid as it turns into a mess of enormous holes, whitewater, and chaos. 

Dave Morollis and Brett Barton approach 1/4 mile Rapid (The Wall).  Notice retaining wall river left.

Dave and The Wall.

Gabe below a typical drop in The Wall.

Brett and Monique below the crux section.

Below The Wall, the river flattens out for about a mile.  In the 1930s, a dam was built because they knew that kayakers would one day enjoy paddling over it (actually, I think they needed power, but maybe).  This dam creates a small lake that is a good break in the action after The Wall. 

Lake crossing...

More lake crossing...

At the end of the lake is the dam, which has been paddled without injury by hundreds of paddlers.  However, it is a concrete side, and at flows below 1500-2000 it will cheese-grater your boat.  It can be run safely ONLY on the far right side next to the concrete wall.  The other parts of the dam have rebar and concrete and are EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS.  If you are not sure or don't know, don't go.

The diversion dam can be run far river right or portaged left (where the people are standing).

At this point in the trip, I learned that my waterproof camera dies rapidly when exposed to cold conditions, such as snowy days on Tumwater Canyon, so the pictures stop here...  sorry.  I'll get more next time.

Below the dam are some fun Class III+-IV boulder gardens until the next large rapid, Chaos Cascade.  Chaos is a behemoth of a rapid at any level.  You can see the approach as the river drops out of sight and there is a large eddy on the river right side below some busy water.  Scout here or from the road.  Chaos has two large drops in it, and some really large holes.  At lower flows, the preferred line is the boof right over the center of the rocks in the middle, angled left to come off away from the rock below.  If you can grab the eddy on the left below this first drop, it is a beautiful spot for pictures (if you have a camera that works).   At higher flows this boof goes over a large hole that can produce great carnage.  Dave was the rockstar of the day with his delayed boof to complete mystery move.  He was under for at least 2 seconds before surfacing 10 feet downstream upright smiling.  Great move Dave!  Below the first drop is another sweet ledge into hole.  At low flows there is a flake right in the middle that creates an awesome boof.

The Rusty Red Bridge appears downstream of Chaos and is the first takeout for the run.  There is a surf wave that forms here at certain flows around 5,000 for park and play... the canyon run is really intense at this level, so most just walk down to the river instead of doing the run.

The next large drop is P.O.W., Perfection (or prisoner) of Whitewater.  This is Brett and my favorite rapid anywhere.  There are two lines to run, the right super-hero line, or the left semi-hero line.  The line right goes directly through the meat of two enormous holes.  Rob has run it many times and came out with a broken blade one day.  The left line is more technical but smaller.  There is a confusing move into the eddy on the left that lines you up for the drops.  If you miss this move, you'll likely run right, so pick the line carefully.  From the eddy, squeeze behind the line of boulders into the maw of whitewater below.  Super sweet line.  The drop below the bottom hole is a perfect slide and can be run backwards for kicks.

There is a shallow section below P.O.W. before the final drop, Exit.  This drop is regularly run, but has severe consequences for a missed line.  I know at least one experienced paddler who nearly lost his life in the undercut here.  Many paddlers get out and walk up to the car here, while the brave (stupid?) few go down through the drop.  It's a straight shot down the middle, but make sure to say out of the undercut boulders left and right.

After the run, if you're headed up Highway 2 back to Seattle, the 59er Diner is a good stop along the way.  Ask for Flo, and get a milkshake.

Fun with underwater camera inside glass of water at 59er Diner.

Well deserved milkshakes after a great day on the river.  L to R:  Jeff, Gabe, Morgan, Brett, Monique, Dave, The Rob.

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