Paddle Boarding The White Salmon River
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- čas přidán 20. 08. 2024
- The White Salmon should be high on the bucket list of every advanced river paddle boarder. Between BZ corner to the Columbia River is twelve miles of exhilarating Class3+ whitewater, pool drop rapids, and scenic gorges. A perfect test-piece river for the whitewater SUP paddler.
The entire run is within three sections.
The Middle from BZ to Husum has some of the more technical whitewater, including Maytag rapids. Before you tackle this section, be sure to know how to navigate shallow Class3, recover quickly, and be prepared to read-and-run. In this video we made an alternate entrance point to the river. Jumping off the cliffs above Maytag is a risk you may or may not want to take.
halagear.com/?...
Husum Falls at the end of the run has gobbled up a number of paddlers. The powerful hydraulics have dislocated knees and broken gear. There is an underwater ledge that can keep swimmers. Beware!
The Lower section begins with Rattle Snake, a pool drop that is the most photographed rapid on this section of river. A great session to run over and over again to get the shots. The rest of the section is short and great to do a couple of laps on. There is a fun mile long of busy Class2 wave trains and rock dodging, and a few surfing opportunities including Cave Wave.
The Bottom (or Lower Lower) section begins at Northwestern Park. It's been only a decade since a dam was removed in the lower gorge. The former lake is now a world class river, with fun whitewater and narrow gorges.
There is a mandatory portage around Steelhead Falls. It's about three hundred yards of moss covered rocks and bolder scrambling. But the keeper hole at the bottom of Steelhead necessitates the portage. Some kayakers do run the drop. Be part of the river community by having your throw bag ready if you rendezvous with a group of boaters running the Falls.
The last rapid of the run is the S-turn. It follows signs warning of hazards bellow. The hazard is a fish weir. Normally it is tucked closer to the river-left shore to be in the way. But, the rapids bellow require navigation. Hit a couple of drops that take you left, but move right under boulder channels to get in the main current moving right. Then navigate to avoid the pushy right wall. Then you are done, minus the mile long paddle out in often strong headwinds.
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Clothing worn in video: BEYOND CLOTHING: tinyurl.com/y8...
Thanks for watching.
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Paul Clark is SUPPAUL chasing adventure from the perspective of a paddle board.
I'd very much appreciate too see more content on white water paddle techniques on your channel. The more advanced stuff like low heel side bracing would interest me the most. Love your channel, keep it up!
This looks epic! Fun to watch 🤙
Великолепно! Браво! :-)
Mad skills...respect @suppaul
Are inflatable paddle boards able to handle white water and rocks?
I think so. More durable. Easier to fall on. Leas likely to damage both your board and yourself. Of course not all ISUP boards are the same. A whitewater specific board designed with an aggressive rocker profile, durable, and with fins that don’t get hung up is key. Like the Hala Atcha.
Have you ever had or seen a hala board just pop out there on the water?
Not from normal river use, such as smashing into rocks, riding over ledges, etc. Nor with the heat of the day or driving over passes.
However, I did lacerate a rail in Panama after I mistakenly tied a board in a tidal zone only to have it rub razor clams.
AND, I did have a board pinned behind a waterfall on the Middle Deschutesl years ago. After several hours behind there, the board did blow a seam .
@@SUPPAUL in general though pretty dang durable.
@@David-kg1hc The river series is built for the abuse of rivers, and designed for river play. All the newest Hala boards have a 5yr warranty.
@@SUPPAUL thats awesome, thank you much.
I've been banging my Hala against rocks for years. Deflate them to just their form in the winter and 303 protect them once a year. Keep them away from heat and metal objects and they will last decades.