One Pretty Raft Trip

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White Salmon Rafting

Today I rafted one of the Columbia Gorge’s more notable tributaries, the White Salmon River.

It provides one of the most scenic raft trips in existence.

The river flows through an old lava tube for half the trip, so the scenery is a narrow gorge filled with basalt (see The Sacred Tower).

Trees grow where they can and shade the canyon, creating an unbelievably good looking river.

The river is fed by snowmelt from surrounding peaks, so it is also unbelievably clear and cold.





I did the trip with Zoller’s Outdoor Odysseys.

They are a third generation family run rafting company, and the first on this river.

I chose them for their exemplary safety record, and the fact they started their trip in the early afternoon.

After the long drives of the last two days, I got to sleep in!

They run a fairly conservative trip, which was important after my swim on the Ocoee (see Stress, Danger and Discovery).

The trip is mostly class II and III, with some harder stuff thrown in.

The highlight is Husam Falls, a ten foot waterfall.

It is the highest raftable waterfall in the United States.





Unfortunately, we were not able to raft Husam, for reasons mentioned below.

Our guide tried to make up for it by heading for the meat of every other pour over rapid in the river.

Four separate times, we headed for the center of a drop of two inches or so; we then plunged over into a huge wave, the raft filled with water, and we got soaked.





I enjoyed this trip quite a bit.

For starters, I managed to stay in.

More importantly, the rapids have a constant pace.

People have just enough time to recover from the previous one before hitting the next one, so the river rides the fine line between boredom and overwhelm.





The most notable rapid on the section above Husam is Corkscrew.

The river turns left, drops over a ledge, and turns right.

As noted above, we plunged directly into the center of the drop.

Further down is Stairstep, three little drops.

The last one packs a punch for those who relax too early.

Then comes Husam.

We walked around the waterfall and had a look.

The drop is a large pour over where rocks split the river into three channels.

Only the middle one is large enough for rafts.

A huge boiling hole waits at the bottom.

We couldn’t run it because a large log was stuck right in the middle of the center channel.

Right below Husam Falls is a little version of that waterfall, Rattlesnake.

The river drops a foot into a huge hole.

Paddle too slowly and the hole will flip the boat.

We got through clean.

(LATE UPDATE)

A video of this river:

What would have happened had Husam Falls been runnable:

Columbia River Gorge

Driving back to the Columbia Gorge afterward, I got three scenic treats.

First, the river starts at the foot of a volcano called Mount Adams.

The snow covered mountain was visible from the highway at the right spots.

Second was Husam Falls.

The falls occurs directly next to a highway bridge, although it’s hard to notice unless one deliberately looks for it.

On the way back, I parked and had another look at the waterfall.

The jackpot of them all was where the White Salmon meets the Columbia.

The road reaches an overlook with a huge view of this part of the Columbia Gorge, with white Mount Hood shining in the background.

I’m very fortunate the steep descent into the valley was forested, or I would have gone off the road looking at the view.





For dinner tonight, I had the first of an experience I hope to repeat several times during this part of the trip.

The Pacific Northwest has a reputation for the best microbrew in the United States.

Hops grow here in large quantities, and pure water is readily available.

People here take their beer seriously, to the point that getting a bad drink in a bar takes effort.

On the advice of my raft guide, I went to a local brewery in Hood River called Double Mountain.

Their beer is on the hoppy side, which means it is bitterer than I usually like.

It was still very good.





Hood River is one of those towns were all the best accommodations are in Bed and Breakfasts.

Hotels are available, of course, but most of them are rather bland.

I spent the weekend at a B&B called the Inn on the Gorge.

It is located on a hill high above the main part of town.

Driving here in the winter must be a nightmare.

My room was bright and sunny and lacked the Victorian antiques usually seen in places like this.

The front porch had a nice view of the Gorge.

I enjoyed the change.

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Photos

Columbia River Gorge
The eastern Columbia River Gorge, in Dalles.

Husam Falls
Husam Falls on the White Salmon River. Note the large log on the left, which prevented us from rafting it.

Rattlesnake
Rattlesnake Rapid, the miniature Husam Falls located just downstream. We got soaked on this one.

Mount Adams
Mount Adams, the source of the White Salmon River.

Mount Hood and Columbia River Gorge
Vista of Mount Hood over the Columbia River Gorge, from a highway pullout just before the descent

White Salmon River
One of the rare rivers with a sign describing the rapids. Note that the travel direction is upward.

Husam Falls
View from the brink.