Bluff Creek

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BLUFF CREEK

-Scott Ligare was the only paddler on the North Coast we could find who had paddled this creek. References to it in Lars's book were vague, and rumor had it that his put-in road advice was shaky at best. After being up North for four years, myself, Dan Minton, Ben Wartburg, Erick Conklin, Paul Gamanche, Damon, and Matt "ODB" Fahey decided to give it a go. The the take-out is easy, right where you cross over Bluff as it drains into the Klamath. You can get a good look at what the last mile looks like from standing on the bridge. Lars's book says to go up Fish Lake road, instead, we went up the other side of the creek for about 5-8 miles, turning on the second forest service gate we came to. The gate is worth "looking" at even though it looks closed. Because of the endangered Port Orford Cedars, all the Forest Service gates stay shut. Head down this road on its way to the creek until it dead-ends. At the dead-end, veer down to the left through the brush and you will get to a creek bed that you can scamper down to the creek. If you find the creek the hike isnt bad, if you don't, you'll be bushwacking for about a quarter-mile.

The Run from this point down is awsome. It's about 4 miles of non stop great rapids, culminating in 1 mile of solid non-stop class V to the bridge. This run is one of the best quality runs in the area, going from flows of 500-1500. When we did it, we had about 1200 and it seemed like an ideal flow. It normally goes after any rain, and during spring run-off. If the Cal-Salmon is flowing at above 4.5, you have a good shot of it being runnable. Have fun on one of the classics!

CC