Fikes
3.5 miles above Gibbon Glade to approximately 1.75 miles below Gibbon Glade
About 3.5 miles of serious whitewater
Class 3-5
Gradient: Max. 160 fpm Avg. 92 fpm
Level: Medium
5-22-04
Craft: Hyside Duck
Highlights: This creek absolutely must be talked about. After about a 3/4 of a mile walk down a fairly steep hill, The put-in is reached. There is no warm up. Get on and go! The first 1-2 miles are very steep. Before you know it, 3 major rapids have to be dealt with. The first, known as "Hubbard's Cupboard" is considered to be unrunnable. This is due to a pinning rock directly below a steep drop. If there is enough water, a sneak exists on river left. However, this is a tight, steep line that leaves little room for error. Speaking of room, the next rapid, "Room of Doom" offers little. This is a sloping ledge that feeds a hole with two undercuts below. The exit is extremely tight. The third major rapid is at an island. It can be negotiated on the right side after dropping a ledge into a hole. Here, the flow goes left; So, it takes some effort to line up for the upcoming slide. The horizon line is impressive. All three of these rapids can be portaged. Keep in mind that this is not an easy task. The surrounding terrain is very rugged. What looks like ground is actually decomposing material covering rocks. A misplaced step can cause a foot to go waist deep into the ground. This adventure is physically demanding on and off the river. Beyond this point, the gradient eases up slightly. The rest of the run is nonstop class 3-4 to Gibbon Glade. In this section, the paddler will encounter some good ledges.
Hubbard's Cupboard's
9-10-06
Dry View
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