Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Mission: Novelty Creeking

I spoke too soon on the change of seasons! It has warmed up here in the Northwest and we have been getting hammered with rain! Yippee!!

With everything on the rise and/or high, the challenge is finding something that will be reasonable. I've been itching for an adventure lately and with all this rain I figured it was a great time for a new run. After talking with BZ local, Dave Hammond, a plan was put in place to check out Major Creek.
Checking Out the Wood Situation

Major Creek is a tiny creek with several gorges and thick vegetation on the Washington side of the gorge. Unsure when we arrived if there was too much water for the narrow gorges, we hiked up from the take out a ways to make sure we could clear the trees. It looked clear and the group decided to give it a go.
Joe Stumpfel Coming Through the Entrance Rapid

We had a good flow and did a lot of brush dodging as the current was fast and eddies few. The rapids were steeper than I had expected with such a tiny creek, but so much fun! There were a few logs, but nothing that was too difficult to manage, requiring only one portage. And, it finishes with a roller coaster ride through a tunnel of fun!!
Scouting One of the Gorges

It turned out to be a pretty sweet little run, super close to home! Mission: Novelty Creeking was definitely a success!!



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