No worries.
You should be able to go in and run the bulk of the run, was his point. If portaging a pinnacle crux rapid or drop shaves off some of the overall stress, that's cool. I deliberatly use that as a strategy for myself to tune down the stress of a run.

I drove all the way to Idaho to run the N frk of the P. I'll be damned if I don't run Jacob's. So I did (my second time, second visit). Well I had to rodeo my way out of that monstrous ledge and it was not fun. So next day I ran everything but Jacob's. Just making my mind up like that allowed me to relax more and enjoy the rest of the run.

I did it in The Chelan gorge, too. I was the first to run Entrance Exam in 10 years. I had to race Brad to the top to make sure he didn't run it first. Yes his balls are bigger than mine, but I knew If I watched him run it first, he'd screw it up, make it look ugly, and then I'd want to portage with my tail between my legs. So I ran it, got stuck in the hole at the bottom, but got out quickly-(It was STICKIER than a Porcupine covered in fresh Aquaseal surfing Rodeo Hole). When Brad ran it he got stuck way worse, for much longer. I would have swam out if I missed my early opportunity to get out and took the hole ride he did. But the next day the flow was higher, so I walked it. I'd already come to do what I wanted to do.
We talked about that, though, and there are so few drops in The Chelan Gorge that if you walk more than one (not counting the VI "Pinnacle"), you are seriously widdling the run down.

Another factor to consider: Who is leading you down? Who do you really want to lead you down? Chances are they are veteran paddlers, and/or vets of the run in question. Yeah they should respect your sensibilities, but you also need to respect theirs. It's a two way street. I can tell you that most class V boaters I know don't mind if you gotta portage a drop or three. But since they already may be slowing their desired pace down to show you down the run, they probably don't want to wait while you portage the entire run.

It's also worth bearing in mind that portaging takes more energy. So the more you portage, the more tired you will get. In Ernie's even scouting saps your energy, necessary though it is.

too me it all comes back to WHY I paddle: to feel an intimate connection with the river. To boat smooth, clean lines in sync with the rhythms of the river or creek. It's like sex.
Sure you can get in there, do your business, get off...
and no matter what it'll feel good. But if you tune into your partner (in this case, The River) with just a tiny bit more awareness- you'll get exponentially more out of it. She'll appreciate you more for it, too, in the long run.

No bullsh*t.  I gaurantee you'll Find The River if you put those paddle strokes in just a little bit...
Deeper

http://southwestpaddler.com/docs/splatte8.html

A little taste of Clear Creek.

Colorado Rivers are much harder than Washington rivers and the classifications should be read as one level harder than ours. We are spoiled here with nice rivers, over there they will rip your boat to shreds and your face if your not careful. I got two black eyes over there and never had one here and also broke a boat on Clear Creek.

I have run everything on Clear Creek, except Rigor Mortis Rapid. It was classed a VI back in the day, but people have been running it so it is V+ now. I was in my 20's back then, but none the less was running solid V when most of you guys were in diapers, so I probably can handle a portage scout run in Robe...I ran Clear Creek for 4 months solid, two black eyes, one dislocated shoulder and one broken boat. Since then I have been very leary to run V stuff and have a lot of respect for V. That is why you guys don't see me doing a lot of V.