Trip Report(s): Spokane River, Shit Creek, Butte Creek
Click to viewUpper Spokane River 3/30
Barker to Mirabeau, approx 6 miles, 20fpm
T, Bucky, Russ, other guy Trenton or something like that, owner of garden shop on 4th
11,500 CFS makes it a sloshy run
weds night paddle with Spokane Kayak and Canoe club (name?)
top surfing spot nearly washed out
bridge wave was in but could only catch on the fly
Shit Creek aka S Fork Coeur d'Alene 4/1
T, Jason, Ed O, Mike
11.7 miles from Osburn to Wallace (two runs combined)
very continuous, no large drops, one riverwide strainer to portage, just below a trestle
water was high throughout the land but did not appear to be out of the banks
starts out narrow and brushy, ELF flows, continuous class III
turns creeky, some ledgy drops, gets III ish
tunnel under Wallace has amazing wave in it, but it's dark
great surfing on final section, waves and holes, some with low head character
Butte Creek 4/3/11
Boy Scout camp to 213
with the LCCC, group of 11: Mark, Denny, Greg, John, Murray, Eric, Brad, others
canoeists want levels on internet gage under 500 CFS
flow was estimated at 563 CFS night before our run
site with flow estimation: http://www.wkcc.org/levels/?D=dv3#Adv3
visual gage per Murray: look upstream from 213 bridge, if it looks runnable it is
my visual gage: today's level 3" above platform at base of 213 bridge was juicy but not maximal
scout on way up: one logjam blocks entire channel, can see one ledge from footbridge
rapid at putin: pushy drop into narrow gorge, nobody ran it
seal launch into water to start
ledge around bend from putin wakes up group
lots of shelfy drops, horizons
great surfing, was glad to be in playboat even though I got backendered a few times
second ledge has stout hole, shallow sneak on left, I ran the meat, rolled
many rapids, knuckle buster IV follows a class III
next L turn rapid is easy
Mill Falls 8ish foot curving ramp to 15 foot ish vertical drop, 3 ran it
easy but you do need to move to the right on the ramp or hit the rocks
going so fast that it's easy to get past the hole
I rolled here too
pretty section below here, gets into basalt gorge
Dick's Butte Creek pictures are at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/13998549@N07/sets/72157626426995028/
on all these paddles I was representing for females