The Forks again. I was hoping for redemption after a notable swim in West Wall Rapid that resulted in me losing my paddle two weeks prior. We thought the flow might be a bit higher this time around but it ended up being about the same, 650 cfs. After meeting at the Brush Creek takeout at 8am, we drove on to the Forks trailhead. I would be the only one in a packraft this time so the others fussed around with their hardshell carrying systems for a while and then we were off down the trail. I beat the others to the river and began inflating so I wouldn't slow the others down. We happened to briefly meet a solo packrafter just coming off a headwaters trip- I was jealous. At about 11am we were finally on the river. It was nice to do this section above Freeman again. It has some of the longer generic Class III rapids on the run. The water was chilly for the minimal layers I chose but manageable.
At about 1 mile into the run there was a log fully across the river. The hardshells could take some strong strokes to slide over the low point at river center but I would have to portage on river right. A short straightforward portage, but one with an unforeseen consequence. It was not for another mile of river that I realized I did not have my camera which I had stashed in my seat pouch. I stopped and looked everywhere for it- it was gone. The camera was tight in the pouch when I sat on the inflated seat; the only explanation was that I lost it at the portage. I consulted with the others and weighed my options. I did not really want to slow them down by an hour or more if I pulled over to run up the banks to find it so my options were to say goodbye and plan to hike out, hitch, and meet them at the takeout, or, to continue on and put out the word hoping some good person found it. I decided to continue on but was bitter and crestfallen. This run always seemed to have it in for me. The first time I did the run I swam more than probably any other run I've done. The second time it took my paddle. The third time it took my camera. It now had cost me more than an action packed 10 day trip to Mexico. Reflecting further I could identify an unfortunate chain of events that led me here. Losing my paddle on the last trip meant that I managed to forget my PFD (stored next to my paddle), which meant I did not have my normal camera attachment system to use. The improvised pouch solution broke down when I had to get up to portage an unexpected log.
I was hoping to stop at Freeman Falls but somehow we ended up paddling past it. We read and ran Lower Freeman Rapid where I had a clean line. We used the left sneak route at Needlerock again. For lunch we stopped at the ruins of Durrwood Lodge, which I had not stopped at before and was interesting to explore. I used my right sneak route through Vortex, which went really well while the others portaged left. West Wall Rapid (Confusion) where my flip happened on the last trip was top of my mind. We all decided to read-and-run it. This was the adrenaline crux for me as I pivoted and positioned my way down the long relentless rapid. I was in a much better position over the first pour-over than flipped me last time, lined up for the second, and then paddled like mad for the messy third and final drop. This one I went completely under the water on but managed to come up upright. I was out of breath and thrilled to have that one behind me.
The rest of the run went fairly smoothly. Yet again my focus switched to searching for my lost paddle (not to be). Jonathan had a nice clean run through Carson Falls while the rest of us portaged. We arrived back at the Brush Creek takeout at about 4pm. A flip-free trip for the others and myself, I would have thoroughly enjoyed the run were it not for the missing weight of my camera. Rumor is that someone found it but as of now I have not heard anything directly so my fingers continue to be crossed. Thanks to Keith, Jonathan, Tim, and Clara on shuttle for a great trip and especially to Keith for driving and letting me use his paddle.
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