Opal Creek and Gorge

Put in for Opal Creek


So, we decided last Sunday to run the lower Opal Creek run on the Little North Fork Santiam and continue on down to do a (probable) first raft descent of the Opal Gorge and Salmon Falls.  We got a little bit of a late start leaving Portland due to indecision on where to go and getting stuff together. We made it to the trail head by 11:30 or so, dicked around with gear for entirely too long, started hiking and made it to put in by 1.  Dan and I hadn't boated together for a month or so and felt a bit rusty through the admittedly easy rapids. Robbie and Jon were doing fine in the Super Puma and we made good time down to Big Ugly. After a quick scout we decided to run right at the bottom to avoid an undercut looking slot on the left. This required a quick turn after the initial drop which both boats made fine.
(All Photos by Jon Watkins)
Entering Big Ugly


Making the cut right



After good lines we made our way down to Big Fluffy which looked good to go
Jeff, Dan, and Robbie scouting from the logs


Dan and I ran first. We were angled a bit left at the lip so I put in a power stroke and Dan dragged a bit


It caused us to over rotate and land a bit sideways. Dan missed his grab and bounced off me into the water and I wound up dropping my paddle, which we later found. It was a bit of a shit show for a pretty easy waterfall.

He made it back in quickly


Robbie and Jon had a great line but Dan's Camera ran out of  batteries so we missed pictures, sorry guys.  The gorge below Big Fluffy is a truly beautiful, special place.


Below Big Fluffy we made our way down to Thors playroom with no rapids particularly standing out. We were beginning to realize that the hour we lost the night before might have a bit of an effect on our day and found ourselves wishing we had gotten an earlier start.  Thors went well for both rafts. We took the first door but would have taken the second  had we scouted as it looks more fun.  The last drop was super fun and would be incredible with a bit more water.

Going down past the normal take out was awesome, knowing we were most likely the first people to try it in a raft. We were a little worried about time so we hauled ass down to the first boulder garden, which we ran without scouting. The pool above Mystery is a truly amazing spot. The moss covered  walls rise directly from the clear river, a steep boulder garden blocks any upstream egress, and the horizon line ahead of you gives little clue as to what comes next. Unfortunately we didn't get pictures here as we were low on time.

Based on beta from Jacob Cruser, we ran right at Mystery heading left with left angle.  We had to low side at the entrance then had two strokes to start heading left. The main drop was really fun, plowing over a big drop into a narrow hole that filled the boat. Looking back upstream there was enough water that we could have easily gone left, showing that we had a higher flow than Jacob thought we would.  Just after Mystery is The Undertaker, a mandatory portage.

Looking up from The Undertaker portage


The portage went incredibly smooth. The Oregon Kayaking website said not to do the left side portage in the rain, but the right side didn't look like an option for rafts, even though it was definitely raining.  We came up with a plan quickly, and carried the rafts to the exposed slab, then roped them one at a time with two people in front and two in back over the most exposed part. We worked well as a team, went slow enough to maintain safety, and finished in about twenty minutes(guess, no one had a watch).  We could not have done it more efficiently or safer in my opinion, and it was totally doable in the rain in my opinion.
Robbie and I roping the boat


The next boulder garden went fine and was one of my favorite rapids in the gorge. We had a quick scout of Henline, which we ran without incident on the left. The falls coming in here is beautiful. Sierra slot went fine, but was a little annoying in a raft, with both boats taking a big hit on the right followed by a small high side. We got to fishladder around dusk. The main line looked horrible as expected, but Dan and I thought we could run the middle drop then squeeze through the undercut slot. We plopped over the drop, and immediately got plastered into the undercut. We high sided, which caused the boat's nose to start disappearing into the undercut. We quickly scrambled to the back, clipped the throw bag to the back d ring, and climbed the slick rock. We then got a good angle to pull from and vertically extracted the raft. Had we reacted any slower or things happened much faster it could have been a very sketchy situation.  Robbie and Jon portaged left.  Dan and I knew the hazard was there, and decided to run the rapid anyways. I don't regret the decision but would not run the rapid again.

It was much farther from Fishladder Falls to Salmon falls than we expected. By the time we got there it was almost completely dark and we scouted from the right instead of left. Jon and I both decided it was too dark to safely run the drop especially since we couldn't see the entrance on the left side.  Dan really wanted to run it, and Robbie was quickly and easily convinced. They wedged in the entrance and almost flipped, but were unseated and went over the main drop practically hugging each other. They stayed in the boat and logged another impressive first d. I would love to run this rapid in the light sometime. Jon took a video but it was so dark you could not see anything.

By the time we got the boats it was pitch black and we were surprised to find it was only 5:45... daylight savings strikes again.

Overall it was a great day. Opal creek was every bit as beautiful as they say. I would go back for sure but would want more water. I think we had 750 or so and I would want at least 11-1200 next time.  I have mixed feelings about the gorge. The portage to good rapid ratio is very high, and the rapids aren't that great for rafting. On the other hand it is an incredibly beautiful canyon, and the sense of adventure is awesome. The teamwork and problem solving aspects I feel added to the trip, but I feel like that would fade with too many more trips. If you are thinking of making the  run, combine it with the upper, and do it, it is definitely worth the effort. You'll be happy you did but might not go back (in a raft). As it stands if I'm doing Opal Creek again with more water and time I'll probably try and convince whoever is with me to do the gorge again, but I wouldn't try really hard to get people to go down there again.  Stayed tuned for the next post, my personal first no portage Green Truss descent, no pics though, sorry.