GC Elwha
Printed From: ProfessorPaddle.com
Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=12426
Printed Date: 19 Aug 2025 at 7:43am
Topic: GC Elwha
Posted By: TomMarley
Subject: GC Elwha
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 2:23pm
| Hauled Hans' raft up in there this weekend and rafted the GCE in about 4.5 hours. Some wood but nothing in a really bad place. Goblin Gates is clean, but it is illegal to boat it. The National Park Service has closed the river from the Gates to Altair Campground. Be advised! The rangers are out there every day. As a conmunity, we need to be respectful of the Park Service and other auhorities who control river access and be grateful they allow us to boat in the Park at all. Bear in mind that the NPS incurs the costs of rescues... |
Replies:
Posted By: TomMarley
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 2:24pm
|
Correction: we hauled the raft up in about 8 hours and rafted out in 4.5 ------------- I do not conquer that which is my partner. |
Posted By: James
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 2:47pm
|
Tom did you run the Gates or did you have to get to hiking? Why is the river closed? |
Posted By: TomMarley
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 5:01pm
|
Yes we rafted the Gates and took out at the top of the lake. A ranger met us at the top of the takeout trail and told us we had just passed through a closed area, for which we could receive a federal citation. He let us go with a written warning and a full explanation of the closure. They don't want people down in the old reservoir for any reason because the river is still cutting down through the sediment (looks like NW Lake but bigger) and they don't want to risk people heading downstream toward the dam where they would likely need rescued. There are no eddies in the old lake section. ------------- I do not conquer that which is my partner. |
Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 7:25pm
| Well, glad you got to go in and complete the run. I agree that (in this particular case) obiedience is warranted. Really glad you got in there dude!! |
Posted By: apexskier
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 4:45pm
| Awesome, sounds like a sweet run. There were some guys out at Olympic Raft and Kayak who headed up to the headwaters for about a week to film the river, but they weren't able to run the Grand Canyon or Rika because only one was a real boater and some plans fell through. |
Posted By: AdamG
Date Posted: 15 Aug 2012 at 5:00pm
|
Originally posted by TomMarley
Just to confirm - this means ALL of Rica Canyon is closed?
The National Park Service has closed the river from the Gates to Altair Campground. Be advised! The rangers are out there every day. As a conmunity, we need to be respectful of the Park Service and other auhorities who control river access and be grateful they allow us to boat in the Park at all. Bear in mind that the NPS incurs the costs of rescues... |
Posted By: water wacko
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 12:28pm
|
I do believe that i the case, Adam. I talked to Jeremy who was on the trip and he confirmed that nasty little detail. That area's gonna be shut down for three years so the new plantings can grow. Maybe as the area becomes more stable they'll let us back in early?? ------------- "Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~Howard Thurman |
Posted By: TomMarley
Date Posted: 16 Aug 2012 at 7:17pm
|
Yes, all of Rica Canyon is closed. The closure is from just above Goblins Gates to Altair Bridge. (This also means that the class 4 on the commercial run is off limits; they've been launching at Altair Campground). As far as flow goes, the gauge at McDonald Bridge was at about 1000 when we launched and at about 975 when we took out. It seemed pretty ideal because the rocks were mostly covered up but there were still short pools between most of the drops. Less water would have made the slower braided stretch between the canyons pretty bony, but the raft went fine at the flow we had. |
Posted By: Camrun
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2012 at 8:02am
| Pics? |
Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2012 at 8:15am
| Gotta be a FIRST RAFT D, g... |
Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 17 Aug 2012 at 8:48am
|
Originally posted by slickhorn
jP respecting johnny law? Now I done seen it all! Easy, Slick- that's just the stuff coming out of my public relations department. Don't blow my cover. 
Actually, for some reason I do feel compelled to comply, and I guess its because they facillitated and achieved the dam removals. So if they require 3 years or so of cooperation from us boaters I figure its the least we could do. How greedy do we need to be in a state litterally jam packed full of every type of whitewater a boater could want year round? Yellowstone on the other hand: I say keep that sh*t Illegal, KEEP OUT all the law abiding people WHO WILL need to be rescued, and leave some good forbidden fruit for those who really want it. |