OK, so I haven't paddled the Cascade yet this season, but I just confirmed something that makes it even more awesome. I went to the USGS page and downloaded average daily flows for the past five years (2011-2015). I then plugged all that data into a spreadsheet and calculated how many days it was at each level:
Too Low (<700)
Low (700-1000)
Prime (1000-1500)
Juicy (1500-2000)
High (2000-3500)
Too High (>3500)
After doing all the calculations, it looks like the Cascade is at a runnable flow 200+ days a year!
Here is the breakdown
Too-Low Low Prime Juicy High Too-High
2011 142 59 54 39 64 7
2012 150 52 45 45 58 16
2013 146 75 63 37 30 14
2014 102 72 67 36 80 8
2015 152 88 67 33 13 12
Total number of days the cascade was running:
2011: 216
2012: 200
2013: 205
2014: 255
2015: 201
Also bear in mind that these are averages, so there were certainly days where the river bumped to a runnable flow in the afternoon, or was runnable in the morning and then dropped out but the average is below the cutoff. There were also days where it was runnable but then got too high in the afternoon, or was too high in the morning, then dropped too a good flow in the afternoon, but the average is above the cutoff. With this in mind, we can assume the numbers above are conservative.
The Cascade might have a reputation as a late season run because people tend to only run it when everything else drops out, but I think the Cascade deserves more hype than it gets. Miles of continuous whitewater, crystal clear waters, amazing scenery, easy shuttle, and good flows 200+ days a year make the Cascade, in my opinion, one of the best rivers in Washington State! Just thought I would spread the love.
S.Y.O.T.R,
-Eli
|