Trip Report
White River: Buckley to Auburn
A delight of class II rapids with nearly constant action. 900 CFS was on the low side, but perfectly runnable with no portages if you pick the right channels.
Logan DeGrand
- Sat, Jul 15, 2023
- White River: Buckley to Auburn
- Packrafting
- Successful
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Very convenient put in and take out. Gauge was reading 920 to 880 CFS. We had some scraping but not enough to outweigh the fun to be had. We did one portage about 2/3 the way down at 47.2442, -122.1298 where the bigger left channel is blocked channel-wide by a new tree. Could be a fatal one. The right braid has wood but was clear on it's left side.
Water was turbid and highly opaque. Visibility was about 1". This made it a real test in one's ability to read the surface of the water. It was a bit creepy when rocks were suddenly encountered.
Group of 6. Our route was 15.8 river miles, average speed 4.3 mph, total time on the river 4 hours 15 minutes. We had 2 swimmers, both at the same eddy line about mile 4.
A short way past the portage, we encountered a target shooter on river left with a rifle. This was terrifying. He was aiming towards us across the river. I heard a bullet wizz by, a very ominous and unsettling sound. I waved my paddle high and we blew whistles and he stopped until we paddled by. We stayed on the right braid.
It is a bit of a long shuttle, 1 hour round trip, but the park has shade and a place to hang clothes to dry and was very pleasant. A park dad with his teenage kids offered us pizza and soda.