Satsop, Middle Fork, Washington, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | IV-V (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 1.3 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 115 fpm |
FUN FACT: Beautiful bedrock gorge with some great drops but difficult to scout or portage at river level.
SEASON: November to May
LOGISTICS: Head towards Shelton, WA and from Highway 101 mile 347.0 turn onto Dayton-Matlock Road headed west towards Matlock. Stay on this road for 15.2 miles (past a lake circled with vacation homes) to Matlock and there turn right onto West Beeville Road (this is at milepost 16.9). Stay on the main road for 5.0 miles miles (you'll pass farms) and then turn right at the T junction onto Kelley Road. From here it's 1.5 miles to an intersection where 5 forest roads come together. A short spur road, now closed, heads west to the river and the take-out. To reach the put-in, head north on FR 2341. You'll start to parrallel the river, scout carefully along the way, and in 1.3 miles you'll be at the bridge across Baker Creek. Scramble down the bank to the put-in.
DESCRIPTION:
This short section has some sweet whitewater and with great drops in a beautiful bedrock canyon. Scouting and portaging at river level are difficult and trees could form a serious hazard. If you want to run this section you'll probably want to scout the run from the road. It's a little more than a mile in length but a nice run if you're in the area.
lat/long approximated by Tiger map server
for additional information see
Visual. Look for flows of around 400 cfs. The Satsop gauge near Satsop gives you some indication of what's happening in the basin. Flows of around 3000-4000 cfs are in the approximate range. The Middle Fork runs about 20% of the Satsop gauge, but flows on this upstream section are a bit less.
| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Fork Satsop [WA] |
Fools Canyon
|
n/a | Thomas O'Keefe |
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. reach
state
reachlink
2. Baker Creek to road off Kelly Hall Road (Fools Canyon), Satsop, Middle Fork Washington, US (mobile)
User Comments
Very high quality run. Lot's of drops you can't scout from river level though, but all are very
clean, if you pick the right slot. You can scout some from above, but not all. Very tight box
canyon in parts. There is one unfortunate and new landslide. Portage the top on river right, and
you need to run the second half, which is fine. Short and sweet, similar to Stilly CC with more
drops and cleaner water.