BoatBanter.com - Wanted: Advice for Olympic Penninsula (WA) paddling

First, I would suggest joining the Washington Kayak Club,
http://www.washingtonkayakclub.org/ . It has been a number of years since
I was a member but they run ACA (American Canoe Association) certified
courses with an emphasis in safety. In addition, if your role is not up to
par a heated pool is a far better place to learn most of the year. While
Tacoma may seem like a ways to go, think "heated pool" instead of the
alternative, ice water. There is a reason they call trout and salmon "cold
water" fishes. If your haven't had an 'ice cream' headache you haven't
seriously paddled on the wet side, though a modern dry top coupled with a
bombproof role can be a reasonably comfortable combo.

They also hold river trips on the appropriate skill level, which I would
guess to be II-III for you. I would suggest paddling doing some clinics and
paddling with an experienced group. As roger pointed out, there is a wide
range of whitewater on the peninsula with the headwaters especially
difficult and dangerous, and some is fairly remote as well.

No discussion of northwest whitewater would be complete without a discussion
of strainers and hypothermia. Please excuse me if this is to basic, but you
said you were a newbie. Strainers are ubiquitous and make even relatively
easy class I-II potentially hazardous. They come in 2 basic forms on the
OP. The far more common one are caused by all the wonderful trees in the
forms ranging from a single log sticking out to a complete logjam at the
bottom of a waterfall. I even saw one place where the Quinault cut through
an old growth forest with Doug firs and ceders 8-12 feet in diameter for
about ¼ mile before it hit the old riverbed. In between that distance the
river flowed but I don't think the paddle could have made it through, much
less me or the boat.

The relatively rare rock sieve is a serious issue but generally only occurs
on the upper reaches of OP streams. You used to be able to see one of these
on the way up to the Dosewallops trailhead, but now it is above the washout.
Basically, the river just flows though bolders from beer keg to house size
and disappears below the surface unless flows get above a certain point.

As for hypothermia, the best OP whitewater is November through March. As
such take ice water temps and combine with cold rain or even snow and you
get what I mean. For better or worse, a wetsuit is a minimum and a dry suit
is nice, though spendy, upgrade.

The most detailed whitewater book I know is a publication called "A Paddlers
Guide to the Olympic Penisula" by Gary Korb,
http://www.trailstuff.com/item/CGW020.html. You might also want to check
out the Port Angeles Kayak Expo in April.
http://www.raftandkayak.com/ks5.htm. The author of the above book, Gary Korb
does a slide show Sunday PM and there is a basic whitewater course Saturday
at 9:00 am. Few folks know Olympic peninsula whitewater better than Gary,
though some of his slideshow will probably be more obscure streams (read
like Tshletshy Creek !!!!)

Finally for you and the kids I'd try http://www.paddletrails.org/. They do
the canoe thing on a wide range of stuff and are more family oriented.

Zap me a private message and maybe we can try something after my new boat
arrives so I can take my son, 13 along.

"roger beniot" wrote in message
om...
The majority of the rivers in the Olympics (national forest & park)
are rated high and have numerous obstacles to navigate. I personally
have never whitewater kayaked any of them, but I've spent a lifetime
hiking and fjording them... The rivers on the east are especially
difficult with lots of waterfalls, trees, portages, etc.

There is one really good book on the subject:
Olympic Peninsula River Guide by Steve Probasco

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...71157?v=glance

There is also an older book that is specific for whitewater but I
can't seem to locate it any more (at least 8 years old).

You can also contact or take a trip through Olympic Raft and Kayaking:

http://www.raftandkayak.com/

I have done a number of canoe trips down the Elwha but only below the
last dam. I've seen some whitewater kayaks going down between the dam
near Whiskey Bend and the lower dam.

Last year a world-class kayaker died on the upper Elwha trying to
navigate Goblin's Gate.

I would recommend getting more familiar with your boat and taking a
couple courses before venturing out in the Olympics.

-roger

(Jim) wrote in message
. com...
Greetings paddlers,

I'm a novice whitewater paddler and would love to accompany other
paddlers around the the Olympic peninsula. I live in Poulsbo, in
Kitsap County and am particularly interested in rivers fairly close to
me (Dosewallips, Duckabush, Elwah, etc.). I have gear for whitewater,
but haven't mastered rolling yet. Even so, if you're open to having a
newbie join you, please contact me.

On a different note, I also have a 17' canoe and two sons (9 and 6 yrs
old) and am looking for flat or *very* mild whitewater trips for us 3
within an hour or so drive from Poulsbo. We used to do a few mile
long, bike retrieval trip with some riffles on the Snoqualamie river
near Falls City when we lived in Seattle and sorely miss that. Any
recommendations there for our area would be much appreciated too.

Thanks all,

-Jim Gallant
Poulsbo, WA