Cowlitz River info needed, anything helps
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Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14902
Printed Date: 08 May 2025 at 1:52pm
Topic: Cowlitz River info needed, anything helps
Posted By: dmatule
Subject: Cowlitz River info needed, anything helps
Date Posted: 04 May 2015 at 2:47pm
Hey everyone,
I'm a reporter in Centralia. I'm doing a massive news story on the Cowlitz. My boss is sending a reporter and me on a two week float trip from source to confluence.
Aside from it being mostly very flat and the best rapids being buried under years of sediment, I know very little about the river.
Any info you guys might have would be incredibly helpful, and, if you were interested, you could be a voice in the story.
I'd like to talk to anyone who's ran the headwaters (either the Clear or Muddy Fork, for example) or any of the lower stretches. I've heard there's some class III rapids around Packwood, but I have no idea what they're like. Can I get a raft down them in June?
Seriously, I'll talk to anyone, on record or off.
you can get ahold of me here, or at (360) 807-8237 or dpesanti@chronline.com
Thanks
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Replies:
Posted By: Travisimo
Date Posted: 04 May 2015 at 3:35pm
Float trip from source to confluence on the Muddy Fork is 100% death.
I haven't paddled the whole thing, one section above our first decent has been done.
From Nickel Creek down you'll face inescapable canyons, 20, 30 and 40 foot waterfalls, must run sections and a rapid we set up a zip line to get around.
You can see the room of doom rapid we called "The pinch" here. Though I said we were going to climb there, we wound up running it with varying results.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QholUZqxCoc - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QholUZqxCoc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf1h0CnmfzY - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf1h0CnmfzY
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H2O please
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Posted By: Travisimo
Date Posted: 04 May 2015 at 3:38pm
The rapid we ziplined past:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dCwRhl2Yrw - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dCwRhl2Yrw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be2uQQH1VB4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be2uQQH1VB4
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H2O please
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Posted By: Travisimo
Date Posted: 04 May 2015 at 3:43pm
You can walk up from outside of Packwood for about 4 miles upstream (no roads will get you there n upstream is death on a pointy stick unless you're really prepared) and run stuff similar to this...
This is the first section that I'd class as survivable without serious time for climbing/rappelling/setting ziplines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIznsdTEG-k - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIznsdTEG-k
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H2O please
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Posted By: imageAK
Date Posted: 04 May 2015 at 5:19pm
Lol
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aint nobody got time for that!
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Posted By: imageAK
Date Posted: 04 May 2015 at 7:17pm
Idk how this got bumped but excellent forray into the fringe aspect of paddling. I'm glad to head there is still adventure out there. Yet while still intimidated by features, I'm working through the experience ladder and hope to one day add to the muddy fork beta & thank those that preceded
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aint nobody got time for that!
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Posted By: JayB
Date Posted: 04 May 2015 at 8:22pm
Posting the same question on washingtonflyfishing.com will probably get you more info on the lower stretches Of flat-water.
Also "A Mountain in The Clouds," "King of Fish," and "Salmon Without Rivers" do an excellent job of covering some of the ecological history of the river - particularly the political calculus behind the various dams, their impact on salmon stocks, etc.
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-Jay
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Posted By: dmatule
Date Posted: 05 May 2015 at 3:04pm
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Yeah, that's totally the truth. I'm not floating that section. I should have specified that we're putting in at La Wiswis.
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Posted By: shap
Date Posted: 15 May 2015 at 12:27pm
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I have ran the lower river from the Barrier Dam down to Longview many times in a jet boat for work and there is nothing to be concerned with in terms of rapids. 2 weeks seams an excessive amount of time.
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