Keith and I had been monitoring the flows for a Deep Creek packraft run but the substantial logistics and unknown sources of flow complicated things to the point of inaction. Still keen to have a brief look at what 250cfs looks like, and frankly just to get out to one of the few places still open, my brother, Heather, and I drove out to the north side BLM access. It was an absolute delight to drive beneath dark skies and rain, then low-visibility cloud at Cajon Pass, and then pop out into a sunny and cloudless high desert. We had sun all day while Riverside had rainy drizzle. Despite recent rain the BLM access road was navigable enough with AWD. A short 30 min approach got us to Deep Creek. The vantages from the ridge on the way showed some sections to be very runnable at 250cfs and others to be quite junky.
I brought my ultralight packraft to cross the flooded creek and we took turns one-by-one. We initially sat in the westernmost "warm" pool avoiding people, but before too long felt the need to upgrade to the bedrock "Womb pool" which was perfect temperature and only had one other person in it. I was initially thinking of hiking up the PCT to scout the river but soaking easily won out. We stayed out until a little after 4p before walking back. The drive saw us descending back into muted light and drizzle. With a particular taste in mind we spent considerable effort tracking a Thai restaurant open for take-out on Easter Sunday, but eventually succeeded after a half dozen calls. Thanks to Heather for use of her capable car.
No comments:
Post a Comment