| Callaghan Creek — Waterfalls to Cal-Cheak Campsite™ © |
Class IV-V
2.5Miles
River Mapplet
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GPS/GIS |
Maps |
| Put In Longitude : |
-123.12377 |
Putin |
| Put In Latitude : |
50.0896756 |
| Take Out Longitude : |
-123.10139 |
Take Out |
| Take Out Latitude : |
50.064677 |
| County : |
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Shuttle
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There is currently no Gauge Data on this stretch. Please Email us if you have details about a realtime gauge for this river.
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Minimum Recomended Level: 2 m Maximum Recomended Level: 3 m
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Putin DetailsAbout 300 meters north of the Daisy Lake FSR is another on the north side of highway 99, on Callaghan river left. Follow this road for 3.5 km until you see a large spur road on the left. Take this left and drive towards the river. It forks twice, go left and then right to a dead end turn around (the furthest upstream dead end close to the river). An obvious trail drops out the back of this turn around and goes down to the river. |
Takeout DetailsSimply drive Hwy 99 to Daisy Lake Forest Service Road. Turn onto Daisy Lake FSR and on the right hand side 100 meters from the highway is the Cal-Cheak Campground. This is the takeout for the Callaghan and putin for the Cal-Cheak play run. |
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Other IssuesThe gauge for this run is visual. Inspect the river right upstream bridge footing at the take-out. There are a series of concrete "steps". If you can see a metal rod below the last concrete step, it's low. Near the top lip of the bottom 'step' is what one conservative Class V local boater said would be 'medium'. The Callaghan reliably has water from mid-May until late August in normal snowpack years. |
Fun FactsThe main 25 foot waterfall on Callaghan Creek can be viewed by driving to the next dead end turn around downstream from the put in parking area. There, a trail marked with flagging tape goes to the river. This is also a nice spot to know about just in case there is a problem on the run.
Other Links
http://www.coloradokayak.blogspot.com |
Run DescriptionCallaghan Creek is one of those runs that you never forget about. From the first drop to the last drip it is a run with classic features, consistent gradient and amazing views that will leave you with a memory that is difficult to replace or ignore.
The first drop on Callaghan Creek is a straight forward looking 6 foot ledge that has a nasty cave at the base on the left hand side. Many folks choose to portage this one as it does not offer a super big payoff but offers a pretty nasty consequence. Alternatively, at higher flows, you can sneak it on the right.
From bottom of the 6 foot ledge the rivers runs through a nice little class IV boulder garden before slowly turning around a right hand corner where the double falls are waiting.
The first waterfall is a 15-16 foot drop that is run on both the left and right hand side, depending on flows. The right hand line is a better option for lower flow days and the left hand line is a better option for higher flow days. On the left line, start right and drive left away from the guard rock.
Just below the first waterfall is a short class IV squirrely chute that drops you off in a short eddy just above the 25 footer.
The 25 Footer is a very uniform waterfall with a small flake on the very left most side of the waterfall. At lower flows, the center-left tongue sets you up on a perfect 45, so don't overboof. Also, avoid being too far left, as the flake can autoboof you, causing you to land flat.
After you have run the 25 footer you will enjoy a mile of class IV boulder gardens before reaching Old Dirty Bastard. ODB is a pinched section where the river narrows down to 10 feet and chunders down a short 50 meter pinch. At the bottom is a small hole and a nice collection pool. This is easily run right down the center at higher levels, and although it looks beefy it is pretty straight forward. Portage on the Right. At low flows this rapid has a giant piton rock in the middle. It can usually be snuck down the wet rocks on river right.
Below ODB is another nice class IV boulder garden that is a few hundred meters long. After this boulder garden the river splits around a small island and drops over a small 4 foot ledge. This island drop is not as easy as it may look. The ledge has a very retentive hole on the right hand side against the wall, the majority of the outflow re-circulates in a large whirlpool back into the same hole. Most run this drop on the left side of the island and then on the hard left to avoid the hole.
Below the whirlpool room are a few more smaller boulder gardens before the canyon opens back up and quickly passes under Hwy 99 where the take out is.
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