The White Salmon River is one
of the best kept secrets in white water rafting. One of
only four rivers
in Washington to be classified as a National Wild and Scenic
Waterway, the White Salmon flows through
120-foot basalt cliffs
draped by forests of ferns and wildflowers. The river
is inconveniently located about 20 minutes from Hood River, OR
over the Hood River Toll Bridge, or about 90 minutes from
Portland, OR. The river features near-continuous Class II
- Class IV rapids over the first half, before hitting Class V
Husum Falls and Class IV Rattlesnake before mellowing out and
floating the rest of the way to the takeout before Northwestern
Lake.
From the Portland-Vancouver
area, take I-84 eastbound to Hood River, then hop over the Hood
River bridge. Take a left on SR-14, then take a right onto
Highway 141 northbound to Husum, where you'll cross a bridge
over Husum Falls, the biggest drop on the river, a class-V
12-foot waterfall (usually only run at low water levels during
the late summer and early fall).
Sandra, Anna, and I met Dawn
and Matt at River Drifter's red barn just outside Husum on an
overcast Sunday afternoon, with a hint of drizzle in the air.
We arrived early, and had time to wander over to the bridge to
watch rafters and kayakers brave Husum Falls. Some
kayakers flipped over, but Eskimo-rolled without
delay, and no rafts took a dive. Guides took out at Husum
to throw line to other parties in case someone fell out, and
their rafters sunned themselves on the rocks next to the
cameramen. We felt confident at this point, and were ready
to go! When it was time, we suited up in the mandatory wet
suits, helmets, and life jackets (provided), along with our
scuba booties and gloves (recommended) to brave the frigid
waters (hovering around 40°F), simply glacial melt-off from the
towering volcanic hulk, 12,276-foot Mt. Adams, looming above.
We were transported to the
put-in just past BZ Corner, where we received instruction about
how to manage inside and outside of the raft, and pushed our
raft down the
railings installed just for this purpose. We were
bummed to find out that we would have eight people in our raft,
too many for a good ride, and we knew we were in for a trip of
sloughing through the rapids instead of flailing over the top of
them...a definite downer. River Drifters had told us on
the phone, when asked, that there were a maximum of six people
to a raft, but once there, they piled as many as nine people
where ever they could fit.
I jumped at the chance to man
the front, while Matt held down the stern with the guide, and the
girls filled the middle. The river
wasted no time in thrusting us into a rapid-fire succession
of Class III-IV rapids like Maytag, Shark's Fin (Shark's Tooth),
Green Room,
Grasshopper,
Siwash,
Corkscrew Falls,
Top Drop, and
Waterspout (Granny Snatcher). Class IV Maytag
lies only a hundred yards downstream from the put-in, and we hit
it on the left, avoiding the
undercut cave on the right. We flew through Shark's
Fin and
Grasshopper on center right, and hit Siwash and Corkscrew
right to center before nailing Waterspout on the left. The
guys in the front were getting soaked, and the ladies were
having a great time laughing about it, as we paddled furiously
through the rapids. After a while, we reached a calm spot
in the river, where we ducked off to the shore near
The Cave and waited for other rafts to approach, and we
swapped frontmen, with me retreating to the third row and Anna
moved up to the second tier.
After a short break, we hit
the river again, with Class III rapids such as
Stairstep (run the first of four drops to the right, second
left, and straight through the next two) and
Highway Hole, and pulled off to the side to deboard for a
while. The guides threw line for the other rafts, as we
watched raft after raft pile through Class V
Husum Falls. Nobody bit it, though a couple of
kayakers did. They flipped back over
after a sideways drop, though, without incident. After the
last raft had gone, we piled back in and got ready to hit the
chute. At the guide's command, we dropped and held on
while the guys in the back got whiplash and the guys in front
got blasted with water! We ran it faster than any other
group, the other guides said, and perhaps faster than anyone in
a long time! It sure felt like it! This was
definitely the highlight of our overloaded trip.
After the falls, the guide
made Dawn, who had been timid about being near the front of the
raft, go kneel on the floor at the bow. She looked
nervous as we launched into Class IV
Rattlesnake (Zoller Zap), where she kissed the waves BIG
TIME! After we bolted around Deadman's Corner, we switched
back and the soaking wet Dawn dragged back to the stern of the
boat. The rest of the trip was Class I or II with some
flatwater in between, and was quite uneventful.
Rattlesnake was really the only interesting part of the run
below the falls, but I think that
Northwestern Lake was just the only public land where we
could take out below the falls.
All in all, the trip was a
good time, but not as adrenaline-ridden as it could have been.
Make sure when you go to find a guiding service that will keep
you down to four or five people in a raft to get the full
enjoyment of this stretch. Also be sure to run it late in
the summer so that you can be sure to hit Husum Falls! Our
guide with River Drifters was adequate, but he was a bit too
serious. The gear seemed OK, but the overcrowding of the
rafts was a bummer. They were, however, very professional
and safety-conscious. After the run, they ran us up
to Wind
River Cellars, a local vineyard, where they barbecued some
burgers and some dogs, and you could sample or buy overpriced
wine.
