White Salmon — 2 - Warner Road Bridge to Green Truss Bridge © |
Class IV-V
0Miles
Avg Gradient 100 fpm
Max Gradient 150 fpm
River Mapplet
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GPS/GIS |
Maps |
Zip Code : |
98672 |
General Area |
County : |
Klickitat |
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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.
Minimum Recomended Level: 0 Maximum Recomended Level: 0
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AccessPut in where bridge crosses river on Warner Road, off Hwy 141 about 10 miles up from Husum |
Putin DetailsHike down cliff face or seal launch |
Takeout DetailsTake out is sketchy at Green Truss Bridge |
Fun FactsHarder than the Middle or Orletta, easier than the Green Truss. Really fun run in beautiful deep canyon. |
Run Description [Season: year round]The river is a ton of fun at many levels, but is very fast and continuous at higher than 3.25 on the Husum gauge.
The first rapid of note is Sidewinder Fakie, which looks a lot like Sidewinder, but isn’t. This is best right down the middle. There is a sweet boof off the shelf on the left at higher water, but down the middle is best at lower levels.
Sidewinder is the next rapid. Scout or portage right or left. We put in right below the gnarly undercut mushroom rock and seal launched off it. At higher water, the undercut on the left isn’t even a problem and there isn’t really a hole at the top that will stop you.
Below this there are a number of fun rapids as it gorges up and goes into the canyon, known as the drop zone. There are lots of big holes and ledges but they are almost all run right down the middle with the exception of DoorBell and Little Lava.
Below Sidewinder there are a few fun rapids. The second ledge is a bit sticky and you should boof right. There is a sweeping right turn and the river drops out of sight as you enter the drop zone. This begins with Doorbell. The doorbell rock is right in the middle at the bottom and you can go right or left of it. I didn’t see it because it had a bit of water going over it and crashed right into it. There is a non-sticky ledge right below it and then a corner before Little Lava Dam.
Little Lava Dam is a really sticky riverwide ledge that is easily portageable on the left side. There is a small hole leading up to this drop. It is best run boofing off the left side next to the rock ledge or just straight boof off the left side. There is a log overhead right below the drop and the rootball could be a problem if you got shoved into it on the left side. The drop right below is nameless, but packs a punch. Stay left as you come around the bend and run left. From here it is only a short distance to Lava Dam Falls.
Lava dam is a short ways down from Little Lava. There is a concrete bridge overhead before you get to it. It is super sweet at lower flows, but has a gnarly undercut cave behind it if you miss the boof. I lined up with the rock wall on the far side and boofed off the ledge on the center right. It was epic.
Below Lava Dam there are 3 ledges before Steven’s Ledge Rapid. The second one can be tricky, and has a small flake that emerges on the right side at lower flows. The next rapid down, Steven’s Ledge, has three distinct holes and a boulder garden down at the bottom. This is the final rapid before The Doldrums, a slower, more mellow section of river.
The rest of the river is pretty mellow until it gorges up for the last time and ends with Off Ramp, a class IV+ drop that would be ugly to run upsidedown. This rapid is signaled by a large downed old growth tree on river right. Catch the eddy on the far right side and then boof down the ledge on the far right side. Scout from the left.
A bit down from Off Ramp is the Green Truss Bridge, the takeout for the run. Kayakers can use the rope that is attached to the cliff to lift their boats before climbing up the Class V takeout. A better solution would be to just run the green truss down below... :-)
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