It's not really that great a run for beginner beginners in hard boats at these flows. They would have to be able to maneuver their boat around pretty good to avoid getting hung on rocks and swims could be long and crappy.

It wouldn't be as bad in inflatables.

Refreshing to hear two posts speaking the voice of reason. Got a new boater I've been teaching how to paddle, and I been steering clear of that run because we missed the low end of the "novice friendly" range.

A bit far from seattle, but the Leavenworth "Der Town Schliterbaun" stretch is AWESOME for beginners. Still plenty deep to navigate, and plenty of textbook eddies and rifflezones. Yeah, its lost its push, which is a bummer. Just a week n a half ago it was PRIME for teachin peeps the fundementals. Yeah, its all flatwater but there is plenty of stuff to work with if you are looking. Right at Barnes Beach is the Awesome rapid "Cupcake". Class II rapid w/ class III dynamics and class I clean-up. Rarely can you find better in Washington. Cupcake is still good to go, and the riffle zone below it has formed into a nice little wavetrain w/ a class III style mid-stream eddy (a nice big rock forming a raft-sized eddy.).

Anyway its a great little zone. I highly reccommend it to anyone starting from square one who wants to learn how to kayak correctly, or to anyone who is teaching someone from scratch.

Oh, its definitely all perspective, for sure. Here's a little more of mine...

If I'm leading a straight up beginner down something, I want to avoid water levels at either extreme. I don't want high water because if they swim it makes my job harder. I want their swim to be brief. I avoid extreme low water because if they swim they get a little more banged up. Too many rocks clutters up their line, as Dale basicly said.

My whole philosophy regarding kayak lessons is to shield beginners from as much hardship as possible early on. I want to be the best Mama Duck I can be. Namely, I want to try to prevent my baby ducks from hitting their head on rocks if they capsize (Nuture). They can bang their heads up all they want later on after they have a roll and make poor decisions on their own (Nature). But early on I view it as my own personal responsibility to try to make GOOD decisions for them so they can build on positive experiences, not negative ones.

I'm a fan of deep water for beginners who do not have a roll.

Railroad to Big Eddy does have some decent water still, but the river is so wide and spread out, and Rocky. "Fisherman's" gets Chunky, so does the rapid below Proctor Creek. I don't know... Personally I'd prefer it to be at least above 1200, then I'd probably lead beginners down it. IMO beginners don't need to be challenged for several miles. Instead what they need is just a spot in the river where they can practice eddy turns, peel outs, and ferries while exploring all the many fine points that assemble a good solid forward stroke to carry them into their future.

But the important thing is that whoever is playing Mama Duck is concious and responsible about how they go about it. Mama Duck should be there for the baby ducks. Always watching, always close at hand, always Jonny-On-The-Spot when baby duck flips. They need to be able to trust you early on because they rely on you. And different ducklings have different capabilities, mentalities, and appetites for adventure. This needs to be assessed and factored into the plan.

"Choose your own adventure" is a great mantra in the brave new world of 21st century whitewater. We just gotta remember that when we take beginners out, they depend on us to choose wisely for THEM, not for you or me.