It turns out the spikes of high water we witness, and sometimes experience, on Robe Canyon aren't due exclusively to the logging that surrounds the area. The Robe Valley, it turns out, is the wettest place in Puget Sound. To find out why, follow this link:

Yup. The convergence zone funnels most of the weather up into there.

Another detail that the esteemed Mr. Mass did not mention, but which pertains to us can be gleaned from a detailed study of the S. Stilly drainage above Robe on the map, combined with a drive up there...

It is a long basin in some ways similar to the Sky drainage in that it is like a giant "tree" of streams, whereas a lot of Washington's other drainages aren't as much.

The Sky drainage has its two main forks, each having several sizeable tributaries, as we all know from paddling up there. They all collect into the Sky and we have the big grandiose Sky flowing into an ever widening valley.

The S. Stilliguamish, on the other hand, is made up of lots of tiny creeks that pour into a comparitively flatter basin (its mostly a long stretch of class II above Robe till you get to the area around Wiley creek). But that valley seems to convey a lot of water quickly, because while it reacts similarly to the Sky drainage, it seems to be more "spikey". Then it gets down to Verlot and, as we know and Love it gets SQUEEZED suddenly through Robe Canyon.

I think the S. Stilly gage seems to produce sharper spikes simply because it is located downstream of this narrow trench. And also it is closer to the epicenter Cliff Mass is describing than the Gold Bar Gage?

With these geological details, combined with the weather patterns outlined by Cliff Mass, NO WONDER the ROBE GNOMES SHUT ROCKEFELLER and his eastern financiers DOWN, as the flooding through there repeatedly ravaged the cribbing upon which the railroad was built. There are photos of that first tunnel litterally stuffed full of huge trees. Rockefeller, you should have taken Barlow's advice initially and built all of those expensive trestles around the canyon entirely. Probably woulda saved you a lot of money in the end, dude.

Oh well, fast forward to today and we have a concentrated firehose, a cornicopia of flows for which I'll soon be giving thanks. And, as if a boater could get bored paddling in there among the 20+ complex rapids, there is a permanently stationed remodel crew (Gnomes) working hard to keep changing it up after every major highwater event.

Blessed in the Northwest. Hallelujah!



Edited by jP - 14 Nov 2012 at 11:04pm