Fall Creek June 15 - Sue Foxx

The trip down Fall Creek this year was wonderful but a trip leader’s nightmare. On Friday it appeared there would be a window on Saturday for the trip and a ‘go’ email was sent. Then early Saturday morning it was evident the front had sagged south and tropical rain along with a severe weather alert caused it to be moved to Sunday. Those registered got an email about the change proving that it pays to sign up rather than just show up. After 2 hours of rain on Saturday the gauge shot straight up more than 2 feet before it crested Saturday evening. On Sunday we had 8 paddlers and the river was at 3.5 feet when we departed about 11:30 am. There were several places where trees had fallen over the creek (mostly by Fort HarrisonState Park) but we were able to limbo or squeeze through. At higher water levels, some of these obstacles might require a portage. A big thank you to Warren Rosenthal who alerted us to the issue after he paddled in the Saturday deluge. After Killer Falls the group ate lunch at the Skiles Test Put In and were visited by 3 people on horseback. The horses seemed mildly confused by our bright kayaks when they were trying to get a drink. The 10.7 mile trip ended at Keystone about 3:30 pm. The fast current and great company made for a memorable trip.