Belt Creek, Montana, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | II-III (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 14 Miles |
Monarch to the sluice box takeout: No info on gauges, but if theres around 4-6 inches at the Monarch put-in, its do able. It'll take around 5-8 hrs, depending on flow and stops.
It's absolutely beautiful, a mini-Smith River. You should watch out for a few class 3's above the canyon (which starts about the last 3rd of the float), especially at the entrance but pretty much stay center. The canyon is awesome, swift pushy water could lead to a bunch of wall collisions, but not a serious danger at lower water. I would caution about higher flows because of the hydraulics, yet we did talk to someone today who did it and they went through it fine.
Also fairly close to Monarch there's a barbed-wire fence, and depending on flows you might have to portage but it's not blind. I also recommend doing the Neihart section; we did it today at real high flows in IK's and it's definitely a ride.
Monarch to the sluice box takeout: No info on gauges, but if there's around 4-6 inches at the Monarch put-in, its do able. It'll take around 5-8 hrs, depending on flow and stops.
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Dave Amman reports that there appears to be a dependable relationship between the Smith below Eagle Creek and historic gauges on Belt Creek at Riceville Bridge. Find the flow reported by the USGS gauge at the bottom of the page then use Dave's table to find the likely flow in Belt Creek at Riceville.
If the USGS graph is showing feet instead of cfs, click on the link on the right side for the gauge homepage. The homepage shows both stage and cfs.
There was a USGS gauge at Monarch from 1951 to 1982. Historical data from that gauge is available. Other historical USGS gauges on Belt Creek can be found by a USGS search for Belt Creek The topo map shows a gauge site just upstream of Rice which appears to be the one that Dave used to correlate flows with the Smith.
| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belt Creek2. Monarch to Riceville [AL] |
41129.jpeg
|
med flow | Dustin Prinzing | |
| 1y254d12h08m | @Belt Creek 2. Monarch to Riceville [MT] |
entrance
|
n/a | Dustin Prinzing |
| 1y254d12h11m | @Belt Creek 2. Monarch to Riceville [MT] |
hydraulics eddys
|
n/a | Dustin Prinzing |
| 1y254d12h13m | @Belt Creek 2. Monarch to Riceville [MT] |
wave train
|
n/a | Dustin Prinzing |
| 1y267d12h15m | @Belt Creek 2. Monarch to Riceville [MT] |
Account of 06/01/10
|
high runnable | Dustin Prinzing |
| 3y255d01h49m | Belt Creek [MT] |
Sluice Box Canyon
|
n/a | ryan forde |
| 6y232d01h49m | Belt Creek [MT] |
Belt Creek Flow Table
|
n/a | Larch Bladkin |
| 6y239d01h49m | Belt Creek [MT] |
Into the Sluiceboxes
|
about 450 cfs | Larch Bladkin |
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. Monarch to Riceville, Belt Creek Montana, US (mobile)
User Comments
August and took a short hike up. At home saw these posts and then investigated further. See full
article here: http://www.kxlh.com/news/logjam-removed-belt-creek-open-again/
logging creek encountered numerous green trees sheared by last weeks storm, many of these bound to
end up in the water downstream. Approximately 1/4 way down from the start of the "box" encountered
one passable log jam and another which was impassable after the 2nd entrance rapid. Scouting
revealed at LEAST one more complete jam. Due to rising levels, many new greens will make their way
down to current jams and clearing these could be difficult.
currently not runnable due to two log-jams. Edit
gauge is available at: http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/mt/nwis/inventory/?site_no=06090500&
Other historical USGS gauges on Belt Creek can be found at:
http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/mt/nwis/inventory?search_station_nm=belt+creek&search_station_nm_match_type=beginning&format=station_list&sort_key=site_no&group_key=NONE&sitefile_output_format=html_table&column_name=agency_cd&column_name=site_no&column_name=station_nm&list_of_search_criteria=search_station_nm
The topo map shows a gauge site just upstream of Rice. USGS does not list this gauge so it may be
maintained by another agency. It may or may not be currently functional.
logging creek is much less raft friendly and there are barb wire fences. From logging creek down
there are not any fences and the water is deeper. There are a couple cabins on one side of the
creek at logging creek, put on on the opposite side of the cabins. There is a small turn out on
that side and just up river from it is a nice grassy place to walk your boats down.
monarch put-in, its do able. Itll take around 5-8hrs depending on flow and stops. Its absolutely
beautiful, a mini-smith river. A few class 3's above canyon (which starts about the last 3rd of the
float) you should watch out for, especially at the entrance but pretty much stay center. The canyon
is awesome, swift pushy water could lead to a bunch of wall collisions, but at lower water not a
danger. I would caution to do it higher flows bc of the hydraulics, yet we did talk to someone
today who did it and they went through it fine. Make sure to stop and throw a line in of theres a
hatch. Also fairly close to monarch theres a barb-wire fence, and depending on flows you might have
to portage but its not blind. I also recomend doing the neihart section, we did it today at real
high flows in ik's and its definitly a ride.
cannot find much info. Even stage/Gauge info would be helpful, i.e. when it is too high, too low
etc. Thanks in advance. Edit