Bogus Creek to Susan Creek. Water flow somewhere between 1500 and 1600 cfs.
This section of the North Umpqua has four class III rapids and five class II rapids in it. So it sounds like it should be easier than yesterday's run that had twice as many class III's and the one class IV rapid but they seem to be a little meaner. Carl and Joanne and Michael all describe the class III's on this section as "bigger" and longer but also with bigger pools at the bottom of each. Island rapid was the one that Michael and I were most worried about. We had stopped on the road to take a look at it the day before after breakfast and the post office. It looked big an scary but it doesn't come up until about half-way down this section so there were several others to look forward to first.
Following what seems to be a bad habit that I am forming, I swam in the first rapid of the day, Burial (III). There is a series of four or five big (6 foot?) diagonal waves coming off of the right bank but the bigger danger are the gargantuan (at least to me) holes in the center and rocks on the left, leaving the best option to be punching through the diagonals. The key is to keep the boat pointed into the waves so you are paddling directly at the right side shore, otherwise the diagonal waves push you into the middle of the river and into the great big holes! I entered in the perfect spot, had great angle on the waves, but I hesitated in my assertive paddling toward the right because Pat, who was just in front of me got turned sideways at top of a wave and I didn't want to run into him. Without momentum the diagonal turned me sideways, I braced and kept myself from going over on the first wave but I couldn't bring the boat back under me and the second wave flipped me over completely! It was a nice, clean swim and I swam into the eddy at the bottom with my boat. Pat managed to get turned back around and he made it through just fine.
Everyone did a little lining and a short portage at Bathtub. A nasty pour over with a recirculating hole at the bottom that there just wasn't a good way to go through it or around it though Pat, and Carl and Joanne considered it for a lot longer than Michael and I did.
Island Rapid while filling me all day with trepidation was actually a lot of fun at this water level. What I remember is a big drop at the top, a whole lot of big waves, a pool, a corner, and another big drop through Rooster Tail rapid. Woo Hooo!
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