Humptulips, W. Fork, Washington, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | IV+ (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 3.5 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 26 fpm |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HUMPTULIPS RIVER BELOW HWY 101 NR HUMPTULIPS, WA | ||||
| usgs-12039005 | 800 - 15000 cfs | IV+ | 00h35m | 2510 cfs (rc= 0.1 ) |
Flow range for best boatability uncertain. Please help your fellow boaters with a comment or report. Gauge is downstream of confluence of East and West Fork. Actual flow in this reach will be considerably less than gauge. |
||||
SEASON: November to April with rainfall
ACCESS: At Hwy 101 mile 112.6 (approximately 4 miles north of the bridge across the Humptulips), take Donkey Creek Road (FR 22) east off Highway 101. Continue 7.6 miles (just east of the bridge across Donkey Creek) and take a hard left onto FR 2203 (also Rayonier 7940) which heads back west. Stay right where the road forks at mile 0.9 and again at mile 1.2 (if you were to take this second left fork you'd find it ends at the river in 0.2 miles--there is no bridge here as indicated on some maps). Continuing on you'll cross Rainbow Creek and parallel the West Fork Humptulips. Stay on the main road and avoid spurs that head off to the right. The road ends at mile 3.5 where it winds down to a nice access on the river (note: the last quarter mile is a little rough and you may want high clearance). To reach the put-in, return to FR 22 and head east 0.6 miles (mile 8.2) to the FR 2204 turn-off. Take this nice paved road 4 miles north to the put-in bridge. An alternate route to the put-in is from the Newberry Creek Road (FR 2220) from Highway 101 mile 117.0. FR 2220 connects up with 2204 and takes you to the put-in bridge but this makes your shuttle much longer as you have to go out and around on Highway 101. Check with Forest Service regarding current conditions.
DESCRIPTION:
Short gorge less than a mile long. The first two of four major drops can be seen from the put-in bridge. The first drop is a nice 7-8 foot sliding drop. The second drop is the most challenging and technical. The third drop is probably the most fun, a technical sliding drop. The final drop is blind, but the preferred line is on the right which is a slide although you might not have enough water over there are the lower limit of flows. There is some run out after you run that drop (another 8-9 footer).
After this section the river calms down to class I and II. You can continue paddling on down the next section of the West Fork Humptulips. Alternatively, this is a good run to combine with a trip to Donkey Creek and some fun at Perfection Falls.
for additional information see:
A new gauge was recently established on the Humptulips. This gauge is below the confluence of the east and west forks so actual flow on this reach will be lower. Post a comment on recommended flows.
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HUMPTULIPS RIVER BELOW HWY 101 NR HUMPTULIPS, WA | ||||||||||||
| usgs-12039005 | 800 - 15000 cfs | IV+ | 00h35m | 2510 cfs (rc= 0.1 ) | ||||||||
|
Flow range for best boatability uncertain. Please help your fellow boaters with a comment or report. |
||||||||||||
|
Gauge is downstream of confluence of East and West Fork. Actual flow in this reach will be considerably less than gauge. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5y81d07h19m | Humptulips, W. Fork [WA] |
West Fork Humptulips Gorge
|
n/a | Thomas O'Keefe |
| 5y100d16h19m | Humptulips, W. Fork [WA] |
West Fork Humptulips
|
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
1 - FR 2204 bridge to FR 2203 access (Gorge), Humptulips, W. Fork Washington, US (mobile)
User Comments
wood choked channels. River right and river left. You can not see these from the bridge. The only
line is right through the gut, witch is even pretty scetchy. All the water pushes you right at
pocket on river left, choked with log. We portaged. Great little tributary right after this rapid,
on river right. You can not see this from the bridge. The next rapid is alright, but the blind
rapid at the bottom is a little tricky. We could not decide wich line to take. Mr. Wall went river
left line, banking off the rock right, and I ran the river right line. You can, kinda of boat
scout. Will not go back with out a Fly Rod!! Great little paddle out. You need to walk up river
about a quarter mile to put in, there is a nice little trail. The flow was about 1600cfs. Good
level. Kinda of DIRTY class IV.