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 Western Options New
- Forum: BoaterTalk
Re:  North America Tour NRB New
Date: Oct 02 2008, 22:19 GMT
From: phlyingfish
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Timing your trip for April through August will allow you to sample the West's, indeed the continent's, best whitewater. The previous poster made some good suggestions on the prime options on the East Coast, but his itinerary would require a lot of praying for favorable weather (rain). Western North America has more predictible flows because most rivers are fed by melting snow. Bring a dry suit. Since we're going to have the most epic snowpack in decades out here, your enjoyment is a sure thing (if you pray for snow with the rest of us). I assume for the purposes of this itinerary that you guys are ready and willing to run the shit.
April: Fly in to Portland or Seattle, secure a van and make tracks for Hood River, OR. From there you can sample the goods that flow into the Columbia River Gorge. Classics include the Canyon Creek, Little White and White Salmon Rivers. You could also sneak in some ski days up on Mount Hood if you were so inclined. Rain will give you other options, but you can hardly go wrong lapping the LW or Green Truss (White Salmon).
May: Watch the flows and head over to Idaho for the runoff on the multi-day desert runs: Jarbidge/Bruneau and Owyhee. These usually go mid-April to early-May. After exploring some slot canyons, head north for runoff on the Payettes, Salmon, and Clearwater. You could also sneak in some early (pre-permit) season runs on the Wilderness Permit Classics: Middle Fork Salmon, Selway, Main Salmon, Snake. There are tons of options during runoff in Idaho ranging from big waves, big water playboat runs, wilderness creeks, multi day big water runs, etc, this is the Whitewater State after all. Free camping is bountiful in Idaho (and the Western US in general), so that makes moving around pretty easy. If creeking is more your game, head to Northern Idaho and Montana. But, snow will most likely limit access to some runs in that area.
June: Cali. Go to Cali and camp out of your kayak on as many different rivers as you can. Forget Colorado. Sure Colorado has some classics sprinkled around, but California is rotten with world-class whitewater. Buy a guide book (Holbeck and Stanley) and pick your pleasure.
July: Keep going in Cali until the water runs out. Then head north through Oregon and Washington and pick off the runs that you missed or that were inaccessible in the Spring.
August: British Columbia. Like the previous poster said, there will be plenty running. Also, be sure to catch Skookumchuck when it is going. Sell your dirtbag-mobile and fly out of the same airport you flew into.
That's what I would do. Plus, all these areas have a lot of variety, so you could follow this general path even if you don't want to run class V. Email me through BT if you need more specific beta.
-Mark
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