Three of us paddled the Gorge yesterday 1/26/12 at around 2400 cfs. There is a lot of wood everywhere. Every slot in the Nozzle was full of wood making it a mandatory portage. There is a good eddy on river left just above the slots. This wood significantly increases the consequences of any mistakes in Mercury as a swim would be extremely dangerous. Most of the other wood is managable, but some is in the middle of standard lines and requires some creativity.

Ok--
dseal1983: you just stole my thunder, bro!
Just kiddin-ain't about thunder, its about informin PPeeps.

Got to your post just now n fortuneately I don't need no internet to Read Water. Got skillz in the bank. Still, its helpful to know what's currently goin down in there so PPeeps can plan a trip.

Your beta is spot on, and I added another couple Alerts, and my next post gonna go into detail...

Hang tight

Here's the real bad news for you Playboaters:

PARADISE LOST!
This time the "Pair 'o Dice" rolled up skull n crossbones:
There's a Root Ball uncomfortably close to the eyelash of the Paradise Ledge hole.

Lastly:

Kay's Landing (the lower take out 1/4 mi below Paradise) is Fubar'd. Instead of a sandy beach, when you drift down to the eddy you are greeted by a Dead Ent Massacre, in keeping w/ the theme of the whole run. The early climb up the trail has enuf wood crossing it to make me think twice Bout using it- if you're on the fence, you may opt for taking out at Paradise ledge and dealin with slippery sandstone steepness.

I was afraid this might happen after seeing all the trees down along I-90 this week (between N. Bend and Snoqualmie). Wonder if any other rivers are suffering the same fate?

Damn that sucks! So, back to the "ethics" debate that Grinch brought up....

Oh yeah- word on the Schlitterbahn is that the Truss is similarly affected. Time will tell as we make the rounds, but ice and wind ain't good for the wood.

...and I'd be careful not to be a Fool for the wrong Canyon right about now.

But Robe seems to be ok at the moment, and we always got the Sky and Wenatchee to fall back on. But yes. Today is a sad day for lovers of the Upper Green.

I'd say the scalez are tipped way more toward the class IV end of things due to all the other wood dodge'n. So again:
Be careful who you lead in there right now. When we lead paddlers of less skill and experience we have a moral and ethical responsibility to not lead them into danger.

Other than that, class IV paddlers should have no problem. Just keep those eyes peeled. Lots of dodging and weaving. Even if the Nozzle was clean the rest upstream (between Ledge Two and Mercury) would NOT be fun in a raft. Kayaks of course, can wiggle through.

PIPELINE:
A few days back, someone mentioned wood on the left. Yup. But not really in play. It is in the riffle zone leading into the top of the rapid. Most water is right of it anyway. Pipeline isn't an issue. The ledge itself is clean.

fu*kin Sauruman!!


Nice reference, Ben!

The Green River is a special place to many, including the ever elusive Beaver.  Hazards like the log jam at the Nozzle will not be viewed favorably to some of the more aggressive beaver families, and i wouldnt be suprised if such blockages were gnawed away very soon by these highly motivated creatures. 

Yeah man, I had fun boat'n with ya. I mentioned Paradise Lost, but I guess I did kinda skim over it. The river alert actually spells it out better. I posted a few new ones on the Upper Gorge page. Bottom line, as NVC just pointed out:

Don't go drivin to Paradise thinkin you gonna Park n Play. Unless you like class V consequence litterally lurking over your left shoulder while you surf a little hole. You can surf it, theoreticly, but if you peel out to your (surfer's) left, or flip, you have about three or four feet before washing into the rootball.

dseal1983 already had the Nozzle alert covered. Way to go. Its just a staple Washington run. Good to get the word out.

thanks, that is a very helpful video

oooh, that doesn't look good. 

"That saw ain't gonna do dick"

It almost looks like you would have to rope and float a raft or cat boat down to the wood to allow for a beaver hanging mid trim to begin to nibble that kibble. Certainly would have to be a hungry beaver who was used to getting his teeth wet.




Edited by James - 30 Jan 2012 at 1:50pm