I disagree. It will likely be Bone Zone. If boat abuse is your thing, have at it. But geologicly, like the Foss and many of Washington's continuous runs, you want to cover up all of that small, rough rock. I'd say a more realistic window is 10-13K.

One year I ran it when the sky was 9k and it was ridiculously low. The people I ran it w/ were quite happy with it, but then again they aren't really creek boaters that I see out there paddling much.

Now keep in mind I'm not advocating some crazy high flow. When I say 10-13K I'm talking about a reasonable medium. Peeps gotta get hip to the reasonable medium and stop boating sh*t in the bone zone. Its bad for your boat, makes you hydrophobic, and stunts one's growth as a paddler.

I really think 8K is gonna be pretty dry. Sure, you may be able to scratch, scrape, and bump your way to the take out, but that's not paddling whitewater anymore. That's Rockwater paddling. Yeah, some creeks ELF boat really well. Rapid and Foss aren't those kinds of creeks. That's not my opinion, its geology.

Whatever floats your boat, but floating is a good place to start. I'd say come run Lower Icicle instead, maybe consider the Upper. I'd show you down anytime, Oscar (as long as its medium low or higher).

Hey JP, are running lower icicle tomorrow or sunday? Any chance I can tag along? Pretty sure we run tumwater at low water last year together.

Got to agree w JP on his assessment of the Rapid.  It needs a higher level via Sky@GB than the Foss.  I look for at least 9k going up and 11k going down but an even better way to est. is using the http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/river/station/flowplot/flowplot.cgi?id=SSSW1  SF Guage at Skykomish.  Look for 7' for a nice mediumish flow.  It'd be low right now.  And there is new wood all visible from the roadside drive. 

Thanks for the info guys. I was on the peninsula this weekend. I'll look for those flows and check that gauge.

-There's a gauge rock (that I mentioned in the chunk of the write-up that I added) that has worked really well for us a a paddler's gauge, and correlates very well with the gauge readings mentioned above.

For some reason the photos I added to the river page aren't displaying anymore, but maybe one of the PP admin's can figure out how to post it here if it doesn't show up.

Anyhow - the rock is at the base of the takeout bridge on river left. If it's in the water but below the midpoint it's low, if it's at the midpoint it's mediumish, the closer the rock gets to being buried the more you are getting into the high end of medium, and once it's below water you are looking at gradations of highish flows.

Being right at the base of the run it's been much more responsive/accurate for us than online gauges.

Yup. JayB is often a good source for beta. The cool thing about the Rapid is how visible it remains from the road.

Here's a suggestion (but do what you want, Oscar):
There is too much of a tendency for paddlers now-a-days to shorten, chop up, and truncate runs. Its fashionable for most boaters to only run the lowest mile of the Rapid. Then more and more people follow the trend, and soon it is common place for peeps to only run half the run. Kinda weak, IMNSHO. I suggest more paddlers go up further to the primitive camping upstream and put in below the Stout n Stacked class V drops there. You'll double the length of your run and get several more rapids in. Yes there may be more wood, so depending on what's "in play" you'll have to decide what's practical for you. But if you put in higher up its more time on the water. Yes there is a flatwater "intermission" but it's breif, and quite beautiful. Scenery is definitely one of the reasons I paddle. Yup you can't see that portion because its away from the road.

We have made many of Washington's runs ridiculously short. Challenge yourself just a tiny bit more and get more time in your boat while you're at it. At least once. Then later cut it out if you don't like that upper stretch.

Edited by jP - 22 May 2013 at 7:21pm

I'm familiar with the wood at the takeout, since we ran the Beckler a couple of weeks ago. It would pretty much require taking out before the last rapid, since it blocks the entire exit to that rapid where it enters the Beckler (and there are no possible take-out eddies in the middle of the rapid). Of course, if you drive up there, you'll see it right away-though it is a 5-mile drive off Hwy. 2
Don't know so much about the other wood mentioned.

Thanks for the update on the location of the wood. Is it so large that it couldn't be removed by a pair of industrious beavers or will we have to wait for floods?