White Salmon (IV) - 2012 Trip Packet

White Salmon River 2012

July 28th & 29th

Trip Leader

Contact: Chad McFadden
Mail Code: 14-KA
Cell number: (330) 207-3768
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August 18th & 19th

Trip Leader

Contact: Sergio Bustamente
Mail Code: 03-XP
Cell number: (000) 000-0000
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River/Trip Stats:

Miles on river 9 Miles
Appx hrs on river 3 hrs ? ? ?
Drive Time 4:30

River Description:

Welcome to the White Salmon River trip. This is an action packed river located in the Columbia River Gorge area and is undoubtedly the premier summer white water trip in the State of Washington.  It is set in a beautiful narrow gorge and has many fun class III-IV rapids (Maytag, Grasshopper, Corkscrew, Waterspout, Stairstep, and Rattlesnake).  The trip culminates in a run over Husum Falls, a 10+ ft. waterfall rated Class IV-IV+ (but everyone has the option to walk around the falls if they wish to).

Pre-Trip Work Party:

The pre-trip work party will be the Thursday before the trip at 5:30pm at the Club Garage.
Since BEWET is a club and not a commercial outfitter we are able to provide Rafting services fairly inexpensively. We are able to do this because we rely on our members and their guests to support the club by helping to share the work involved. By sharing the load, we reduce the burden on club organizers and guides. You can help. Before each trip, we tune up our equipment to insure that it is in good working condition. You are not required to have any prior knowledge or experience, just be willing to help. The tasks you will be assigned will be doable by you. We have Work Party Captains whose job it is to decide what tasks need to be done and to instruct on how to do it. If you are willing to help, please contact your Trip Leader. Work parties are a good place to meet other club members and to learn about club equipment.

Driving Directions:

Driving Directions to Put-in (Route #1):  Take I-5 south to exit 7, I-205.  Take this into Oregon to I-84.  Go east on I-84 to exit 64. Turn left after the exit and take the toll bridge (75 cents for cars), across the Columbia.  Once in Washington, turn left onto Hwy. 14.  Go approximately 1-2 miles to Hwy. 141 A.  Turn right and go about 2 to 3 miles to Hwy. 141.  Turn left and go about 6-7 miles to B-Z Corner.  The meeting area is in a lot on the right about ¼ mile past the town gas station/general store (which is on the left side of the road).

Driving Time: Allow 4 - 4 ½ hours driving time from Seattle – TAKING THE ALTERNATE ROUTES WILL SAVE ABOUT AT LEAST AN HOUR DURING RUSH HOUR.

Alternate Driving Route #1 – Forest Service Roads:
**The last part of this route requires driving on Forest Service roads, which are not paved and have some potholes. There are no gas stations after Randle. **

• Take: I5 South to WA 167 South
• Take: WA 167 South to WA-512 W toward PUYALLUP
• Take: WA-512 W to WA-161 S   toward SOUTH HILL / EATONVILLE.
• Turn LEFT onto 104TH ST E / WA-161. Continue to follow WA-161 aka Meridian Ave E…lots of stop lights just keep going.
• Stay on WA-161 through Eatonville.  Left at stop sign in Eatonville.
• WA-161 to WA-7 / MOUNTAIN HWY E.( Turn LEFT at T) Turn RIGHT towards Morton on WA-7 just past Elbe.
• Take: WA-7 to US-12.
• Turn LEFT towards Randle just past Morton at T.
• In Randle (There is restaurant on the right at the turn, I think there is a gas station across the street on the left) on US 12 mile marker 115, take Cispus Road south across the Cowltiz River.
• Take Cispus Road south to the fork of FR 25 and FR 23.
• Take the left fork and follow FR 23.
• Continue on FR 23, past the North Fork Cispus. When the road comes to a Y, take the branch which heads down and to the right.
• Continue to mile 19.5 where the bridge crosses the river.   (FYI -This
• is the put in for the Cispus).
• Continue straight on FS-23 towards Trout Lake over Baby Shoe Pass and follow the signs to Trout Lake.

Alternate Driving Route #2 - Yakima:

• Take I-90 Eastbound over Snoqualmie Pass
• Slight right at US-97 South towards Yakima/I-82
• Continue on I-82 East
• Take Exit 37 to join US-97 South towards Goldendale/Bend, OR
• Continue on US-97 S/Evergreen Highway
• Slight Left towards WA-14 West/Lewis and Clark Highway
• Continue on WA-14 West/Lewis and Clark Highway
• Turn Right onto WA-141 Alternative North
• Continue on WA-141 North
• Go about 6-7 miles to B-Z Corner.  The meeting area is in a lot on the right about ¼ mile past the town gas station/general store (which is on the left side of the road).

Camping:

For those who wish to camp, you can do so at the Goler-Mount Adams County Park campground in Trout Lake. To get there from the put-in, drive approximately 12 miles north on Hwy 141 to Trout Lake. Near the beginning of town turn left between the general store and the post office. Then go about 25 yards and take the first right. The campground is about ¼ mile up this road on the left (we are staying in the group site which is the next gate after the main campsite). The "late night" area will be around the fire pit, so anyone wishing to go to bed early should locate their tent well away from there.

Camping Costs: Camping is free. Showers are $1.00 (in quarters) for 5 minutes, so bring a pocket of change!!

Dress:

Always be prepared.  Bring all your cool weather gear-just in case!  Even on warm or hot sunny days wetsuits and booties (while not required) are the standard apparel of whitewater rafting.  You can rent a “farmer john” style wetsuit and neoprene “booties” from local dive shops.  Poly-pro with a windbreaker can be an alternative.

In the early season, bring wool socks to wear inside your booties.  Under your wetsuit wear a quick-drying swimsuit or lyrca shorts and top.  Over your wetsuit, plan to wear wool, polypropylene or nylon pile.  Don’t wear cotton shirts or sweatshirts.  They hold the cold water and chill you through.

Add layers for the coldest conditions.  Your outer layer should be a paddling jacket or nylon windbreaker, rain jacket or mountain parka.  You may want to bring a ziploc bag to store any small items that need to stay dry.  Hats are also great in maintaining body heat.  Also, if you wear glasses, be sure to bring a “croakie” to protect them from being washed off your head.
Most wet suits can be rented for $15-30 for the weekend.
Suggested rental locations can be found on the BEWET website at the following link: http://bewet.org/for-members/wetsuit-rental-info.html

Schedule:

Friday

• Drive to campsite
• Campfire (if allowed)

Saturday

• 9:30am Arrive at put-in
• 10:15am Run Shuttle
• 11:00 Launch
• 2-3:00pm Arrive at take-out
• 5:30pm – Pot luck and BBQ. Bring something to BBQ and your favorite dish to share with the group.
• Campfire (if allowed)

Sunday

• 9:30am Arrive at put-in
• 10:15am Run Shuttle
• 11:00 Launch
• 2-3:00pm Arrive at take-out

Shuttle:

We need to have cars waiting for us at the take-out so we can get back to the campsite.  There will be a Shuttle Coordinator (designated at the campsite) who will organize theshuttle and ensureenough vehicles are waiting at the take-out.  To bring every one up to speed on the shuttle, as it seems to always be the most confusing part of the trip, please read the example below… drivers payparticularly close attention. 

Shuttle example:
If BEWET takes 50 people downthe river in boats,there needs to be 50 seats (in vehicles) at the take-out location to bringeveryone back to the campsite. Therefore, assuming each car can carry 5 people, we will shuttle 10 carsto the take out and park them.  If we have two cars that hold 6 people, we send these two vehicles along with the shuttle so thedrivers of the 10 cars can then get a ride back to the campsite (put-in location).  Once the shuttle is finished, the trip canbegin. 

In this example, atotal of 12 vehicles (12 people) shuttle 10 cars to the river take-out (there will be a test on this)

Raft Assignments:

Assignments will be coordinated at the put-in.

River Food:

No alcohol is permitted on the river.
The run takes between 3-4 hours. If you wish to eat on the river, bring a bag lunch or snack. There is one place on the river where we may stop (if not already occupied), or food could be eaten while we are scouting Husum Falls. Bring a drink with you, either water or a sport drink like Gatorade.

Camp Food:

Potluck BBQ at Trout Lake Campground. Bring food for the grill for yourself, plus one item to share with the group such as salad, desert, beverages, chips, etc. We have over 60 people signed up for this trip, so please be sure to bring something that everyone can share. Most people will try to bring some sort of chips and dip – PLEASE FIND SOMETHING ORIGINAL, so we don’t have bags of chips and nothing else to eat.