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Canoeing Box Canyon 1996 |
| Well, I finally did it! After all
these years I finally "Ran the Box". In whitewater language that means that I
boated the Box Canyon section of the Sacramento River. It was a trip to remember for a
life time. It is truly one of the most beautiful whitewater runs in the state, and right
in our back yard. That section of the river is rather steep, 100 feet per mile. Boaters
refer to the river drop as gradient, and I mention it because a gradient of this magnitude
means that there are going to be some exciting rapids. This is not a run for the beginning
boater, but for those who have the necessary experience it is a marvelous trip. Bright,
cold water, towering canyon walls, challenging rapids, waterfalls - it is all there. This trip, like many others, began with a phone call. A friend, Bill Cross, from Ashland called to announce that he was looking for companions to help him try out his new 10 foot, self-bailing SOTAR. SOTAR stands for STATE OF THE ART RAFT (cute) and it really is, even if it is manufactured in Oregon. I am not one to ignore a friend in need, so plans were made. We were joined by Wayne and Terry Marks and Steve Scoggins, all experienced boaters. Of course, we couldn't all fit in a 10 foot raft, so Wayne and Steve brought their kayaks, always their first choice anyway. We had been warned that the "put-in" was difficult. I find most such warnings exaggerated. This one wasn't. After finding the correct dirt road near Box Canyon Dam - there are many to choose from - you drive in a meandering fashion until you arrive at the "gully," still hundreds of feet above the river. From here, boats and gear must be carried a couple of hundred yards down the gully, across the creek to the edge of the canyon. The slope isn't vertical by any means, but it's steep enough to make rope aid advisable, especially when transporting a rolled raft, an awkward package. Near the bottom of the descent the trail does go vertical for about 10 feet or so. Lo and behold! Some enterprising pioneer of this river had constructed a metal ladder, carried it to this spot and bolted it to the rock face. If any of you readers know the complete story of the ladder, drop me a line. This guy deserves some recognition. Anyway, the ladder gets you near water level so the rest is easy. So it was that we all made it to the bottom of the canyon with the raft, the kayaks, our lunch and all the assorted white water gear that is so important to the sport. Even at this point, however, all of the work preliminary to the run itself is not complete. Someone (In our case it would take two) has to "run the shuttle." In layman's talk this means that a van or truck capable of carrying all the boats and equipment must be left at the "take-out" point of the trip. The shuttle is a very important part of each outing since white water trips have a tendency to be a one way affair. Some paddlers are able to persuade spouses or compassionate friends to do all the driving while they themselves do all the paddling. Even though most of us on the trip have spouses and all of us have friends, none elected to befriend us on that particular day, so we had to handle the shuttle ourselves. The youngest (Steve) and the strongest (Wayne) were democratically selected by the five of us to hike back out of the canyon, drive both rigs to Dunsmuir, leave one there at the take-out, drive the other back to the put in, hike back down into the canyon and join us for the day's trip. This may sound like a simple routine, but often the most unusual things happen on the shuttle. All white water boaters know several shuttle horror stories. Those of us forced to stay behind by the edge of the cool river can only hope that our friends will return. In this case they do eventually come sliding down the trail to the boats and all is ready for an exciting day. Before we slid the boats into the water we hiked upstream about 20 yards to get a full view of Box Canyon Dam. An impressive sight! It is interesting to speculate what the original canyon must have looked like before the dam was constructed in 1969 by the Siskiyou County Water District. We didn't stay there speculating very long, however, since it was certain that we had exciting water waiting for us. We launched into a small pool directly above a rapid. Actually those are the two most common types of water in Box Canyon- rapids and small pools directly above rapids. We were soon very wet and very happy. In seconds the hardships of the put-in were no more than a dim memory. It's that kind of place. There aren't enough exciting words in the language to capture the sights, sounds, and feeling of Box Canyon. You gotta be there! We were the only group who did Box Canyon that day, which was fine for us but a little sad too in a way. Bill commented on that at our lunch stop just after we had emerged from the canyon. "Can you believe this?" he said, "Here it is Memorial Day weekend and we are on one of the most beautiful runs in the world all by ourselves. I can't believe it." "I think it might have something to do with the put-in," suggested Wayne. "I've paddled East and I've paddled West and a lot of the stuff in between so I've seen a bunch of put-ins. This one is rugged." "Yeah," said Steve, "the water is great, but we're talkin' a class five put-in." (Once freed from the intoxicating excitement of the water, the memory of the put-in was not so dim.) "It does seem strange," commented Terry, "that with all the interest in recreation, that someone doesn't build a decent trail down to the river. More people need to see this." Of course, they are right. Such a beautiful section of this river needs a more reasonable access. I can appreciate the elitist viewpoint that we should not try to make everything too easy, that boaters should be willing to work to reach a great run. However, I don't believe that this kind of thinking should be applied to Box Canyon. No matter how spectacular, the Canyon is not a wilderness run. It is a short, one day run and it is near two major towns. Besides, a "good" trail would not be likely to cause the put-in to be classed as easy. The trip down to the water would still be long and steep. However, an improved trail would, no doubt, entice more boaters to experience the wonders of the canyon and, by so doing, help establish Box Canyon as one of the premier white water runs in the state. After the Stink Creek River Access, an easier put-in, we shared the river with one other group of boaters. The water was still exciting with some rapids easily as difficult as any in the Canyon. At 5:00 p.m. we reached the I-5 bridge in Dunsmuir, pleasantly tired. Actually another 30 miles of good white water stretched ahead of us but it was for another day. The difficulty of any section of the Upper Sacramento is determined to a large degree by the amount of water being released from Box Canyon Dam, but in general this river is not a beginner's river. If you are interested in white water, first link up with some experienced boaters who will help you get started right. Perhaps the best way to get going in the sport is to enroll in a clinic taught by a professional instructor. Also, there are a number of books that can be of help to you. This entire run from Box Canyon Dam to Shasta Lake is carefully described by Jim Cassady and Fryar Calhoun in their book California White Water, Kingsport Press. No one can write about this section of river without mentioning Mossbrae Fall, yet I hesitate to attempt a description. The word "awesome" comes to mind and it is as good as any, I suppose. We took pictures, we played under the falls, we took more pictures, and finally just sat quietly in our boats and gazed at the falling curtains of water. You should see this one for yourself. And fortunately you can do that, even if you're not a boater. There is a trail leading to the falls, so if you can't view it from a boat, you can view it from the bank. Check with the Dunsmuir Chamber of Commerce and they'll give you all the details. Even if you never get to experience "running the Box", you can experience Mossbrae Fall, probably the most impressive sight on the entire Sacramento River. Neil Rucker, head instructor for Canoe West |
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