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| Grand Falls |
After a fun night around the
campfire, the morning started late for us on Sunday. Most of us enjoyed a nice breakfast at Riverdrivers before
packing up and bringing our boats to the shuttle. We were still at the campsite at around 9:10 when Kelly came
down to tell us that the shuttle was leaving – that got us moving.
Once at the put-in, we decided to
take the short walk to see Grand Falls before getting on the river. It would be
a mellower run today with a release of 2,400 cfs, and another 350 cfs coming
from Spencer Stream for a total of 2,750 (class II/III). While the waves in Spencer
Rips were still 2 – 3 feet, the rapids that followed were significantly smaller than on Saturday.
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| Mine Field |
We stopped for lunch at Hayden’s
Landing, and then ran Hayden’s, Gravel Pit and Enchanted Stream before eddying out on river right above Elephant Rock. I went through the slot first to see if I could get some pictures. The big hole above Elephant Rock that
had filled my boat on Saturday was gone, and I made it through fine.
The next major rapid was Mile Long
– my nemesis from the day before.
The waves and holes were smaller, but it was still a long, challenging rapid. Just like on Saturday, I
filled my boat about half way down, but this time I was able to get to shore.
After emptying my boat, I was able to pick my way through the remaining rocks
and holes.
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| Andy running Elephant Rock |
As we approached Upper and Lower
Poplar, I didn’t see much of a difference from the day before. The waves were a little smaller, but
these were still significant class III rapids. Upper Poplar went quickly, and we proceeded to the final
rapid of our trip – Lower Poplar Falls.
In Lower Poplar, I took the far
right line, but the rest of the crew went middle right. Paul and Jon went a little to far left
and had to blast through the big hole at the top. Jon flipped in the hole as he had the day before but at
the lower level, he was able to roll up and continue down the rapid.
We gathered at the bottom of the
rapid both sad and relieved that the run was over. With just one short swim on Sunday, the run had gone much
quicker – about 5 hours. We headed
back to the cabin tired after two great days on the river.
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| The crew minus Kelly |
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