White, Washington, US

2. West Fork to Bridge Camp (Middle)

Gauge Information

River Description

The run is mostly class 2+ with some 3. The character is relatively consistent gradient with gravel bar rapids interspersed with small boulders. The primary hazard on this run is wood. You need to be prepared to portage, as channel-spanning log jams are not uncommon.

NOTE: As of 5/17/2010, there is alot of wood in the river. There are many newer river channels that have been cut through the woods, so there are many loose undercut banks and trees continue to topple in. It's going to take some time for the river to repair itself. At this time, in the upper section of the river we were able to get around all the wood hazards, but that could change at any time. The most dangerous section is near Federation Forest, there is a braided channel section where all the channels are blocked with wood and the main channel has fast water leading to a riverwide jam. If you run this section be VERY careful and consider taking out above or putting in below Federation Forest.

Logistics

The put-in for this section is the FR 74 Bridge which can be reached by Highway 410, turning off onto FR 74 at mile 46.4. Although this run starts on public land, it enters the private White River Tree Farm making access a bit of a challenge. The traditional take-out for this section, upstream of the slackwater of Mud Mountain Reservoir, was at the bridge reached by a private logging road that turns off Highway 410 at mile 35.3. In recent years this road has been closed to public vehicle access. Unless you want to hike up with your boat, the most practical access is near a bridge that can be accessed relatively easily from Highway 410 mile 38.3. For an even shorter run, there is also convenient road-side access at Highway 410 mile 41.5.