# Hazard in Mallard on the Main Salmon?



## athelake

I got a call this morning from someone who got off the Main yesterday. He informed me that he had seen three boats that had long cuts on their left tubes after running the left side of Mallard. A fourth boat had a cut on their right tube. The fourth boat had done a 180 degree turn after the drop to watch duckies go through behind him.

I called the FS and the ranger I spoke with hadn't heard anything. He was going to pass it on to the River Rangers.

Has anyone else heard anything about Mallard in the last few days? We are launching on Sunday and would appreciate any additional information.


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## TFVandal

We stayed at Lower Yellowpine on Sun 7/21, there were two groups at Mallard that had hit something in the left run that day. 2 outfitter boats and 1 private were being repaired. Nobody saw or heard anything but suspected a piece of metal was somewhere lodged on the left side. We all ran far right the next day with no issues. We watched two other boats run left afterwards with no issues.


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## athelake

Salmon Challis National Forest has a poston their Facebook page about the unknown obstruction.

https://www.facebook.com/salmonchallisnf/photos/a.1401195383515842/2091973804437993/?type=3&theater


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## madpaddlermike

We got off the Main on the 25th, and my boat was one of 4 that I know of that incurred major damage at Mallard. I ran the typical left side run, though tighter to the left rock than the Mallard rock. However, I didn't even graze the rocks on the left bank, though was probably within a couple feet of them. As a former Main Salmon guide, this is a run that I've run dozens of times with no issue (and of course I've had lots of much worse runs as well!. As I dropped through the slot, approximately 25-30 feet below the drop I heard/felt a rock rub, and sounded like left front. We were camping at Big Mallard camp and as we pulled in we found Idaho Afloat with two badly damaged boats upside down on the beach working on patching. As we were pulling in we noticed the damage to my boat as well and hightailed it to the beach. The damage occurred in the left rear tube, and was a total of five gashes ranging in length from 1.5 to 7 inches. All three boats there had nearly identical damage. 
As we worked on repairs, a member of our group took a paddleboard across and hiked up to the slot to see if we could tell what the issue was. He reported a fresh scarp on the hillslope and a jagged, shark fin rock along the left bank. Apparently this rock was just coming into play as water levels dropped, and may or may not continue to be an issue for weeks to come. 
Lots of boats made it through without issue prior to and after our incident, so the left run can still be made, particularly if you are closer to the Mallard than the left bank. There is of course multiple other runs at this flow further right of the Mallard rock. 
My advice is either run right or scout and make sure you walk all the way to the bottom so you can be sure of the status of this hazard.


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## athelake

Thanks for the Beta!!


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## codycleve

I got off the river yesterday. 4 boats all ran left no problems... talked to several outfitters and no one mentioned a word of mallard problems. Wonder if the sharp object cleared or sharp rock got rolled..


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## crossfox21

We ran Big Mallard on 7/20. 4 boats in my group. I went right of Mallard rock along with my son in his IK. Other 2 went left and scraped oars on the left bank, but no issues for either of us. The right run is possible, just plan on lots of pulling from the top to get over in time.


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## MT4Runner

codycleve and crossfox, thank you for the recent beta. 

Buddy of mine launches on Tuesday, I'll let him know.


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## MontanaLaz

I don't do facebook but my wife showed me a video this morning of someone crawling out of their tube after a tear in Mallard in a recreation of the Ace Ventura rhinoceros birth scene.

They showed the final repair after the fun and it looked like a 2 foot plus stitch job.


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## Cascade River Gear

We have been posting on our FB page, there is still a very sharp rock getting folks, the video referred to is on our page as well. They are saying it is up to 8 boats that have been sliced open. DO NOT HUG THE LEFT BANK and all should be fine is what we are hearing from multiple people who have been on in the last week. Just a little heads up, it is not gone, with water levels dropping it may become more visible though and that would be a good thing! Keep it right side up and in one piece  Renee


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## Rivertrash

There it is as of July 28th, as you see it is out of the water, but harder to see from upstream. It is very sharp!

https://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=37999&stc=1&d=1564533147


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## MountainMedic

Thank you for posting that


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## MontanaLaz

When I click on the link a new window pops up but it is just a black screen. Anybody else having this issue or is it some goofy setting on my computer?


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## rtsideup

I get a black screen too.
It is a very sharp black.


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## Rivertrash

Is this any better?


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## Riverwild

Works fine for me. So it looks like if you just go right over the big rock sideways you'll miss the sharp rock. I'll plan on that.


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## rrd1

Riverwild said:


> Works fine for me. So it looks like if you just go right over the big rock sideways you'll miss the sharp rock. I'll plan on that.


Or try what I usually do and boof the left rock while coming in backwards. She'll spin you right past that new shark fin.


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## MontanaLaz

That's a good look at it, Thanks! 

The bad part is that it looks too big to go anywhere on its own. Does anybody know if that is a hazard that the FS will try to deal with? It sorta, kinda, maaaayyyybeeeee looks like you could get a rope around it and just flip it toward the bank with a come-along or z-drag.


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## windriver

*Not a big issue.*

My group ran Mallard on the 27th. We scouted river left due to the reports of the "piece of metal" which ended up just being the sharp rock pictured. While scouting, a commercial group went through and popped a boat. It didn't look like they hit the rock, but got close to it. It is possible there is a part of that rock still under water causing trouble. My group ran the normal line but focused on staying far left and then pulling hard right and clipping the hole/pour over rock feature. This kept us a few feet away from the problem area and we had no incidents.... until a rodeo session in Vinegar a few days later.


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## Riverwild

*Seriously?*



MontanaLaz said:


> That's a good look at it, Thanks!
> 
> The bad part is that it looks too big to go anywhere on its own. Does anybody know if that is a hazard that the FS will try to deal with? It sorta, kinda, maaaayyyybeeeee looks like you could get a rope around it and just flip it toward the bank with a come-along or z-drag.



This is part of wilderness and the natural evolution of rapids on a wild and free river. To suggest that the FS or anyone should "deal" with this new rock is ridiculous. Rapids get tougher, some get easier "deal" with it. It may be that the left run now closes out at lower flows due to a hazard so you gotta go right. If everything on my favorite rivers always stayed the same, honestly, it would get a bit boring. I enjoy having new challenges and learning new lines.


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## raymo

*I totally agree.*



Riverwild said:


> This is part of wilderness and the natural evolution of rapids on a wild and free river. To suggest that the FS or anyone should "deal" with this new rock is ridiculous. Rapids get tougher, some get easier "deal" with it. It may be that the left run now closes out at lower flows due to a hazard so you gotta go right. If everything on my favorite rivers always stayed the same, honestly, it would get a bit boring. I enjoy having new challenges and learning new lines.


Exactly, leave it the fuck alone. It's a natural challenge.


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## MontanaLaz

@ riverwild and Raymo... I get your point, but using the logic that nothing should be altered means that the FS was wrong to clear out the log jam at Pistol Creek on the MF from 2006 that had everyone stranded. 

"A log jam completely closed off the river. Toughen the F up and chew through that shit like a beaver, portage it, or else carry all of your gear back to Boundary!"

And to be clear, I wasn't asking or demanding that the FS clear the hazard, I asked if anyone knew if they were likely to address it. Stated another way...does anyone know the current policy on this type of situation?

I did find the following quote from 2007 in the wake of the blowback from the use of dynamite in a wilderness area.

The USFS recently released a statement saying, in part, "It is the responsibility of every boater to be aware of conditions on the rivers and take appropriate precautions including being heads-up and scouting the rivers. It may mean portaging or lining your boats around hazards. The Salmon-Challis National Forest will not be clearing obstacles from the rivers to assure passage for boaters."

If this is still policy, then I won't be simply lining up on the slot and shipping my left oar this year. Like you guys said, part of the experience. I chalk this up to a little pre-trip internet scouting.


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## screamingeagle

That's not really comparing apples to apples. The log jam in Pistol stranded hundreds of people and was kind of unprecedented. A new rock in a rapid is hardly the same thing. And yes even clearing the log jam was largely controversial and that's why it took them so long to come to a decision to blow it up. But years later they did nothing to clear the almost river wide sweeper that killed a woman above Vail falls. Outfitters anchored the tree to the side of the river so that it wasn't a hazard all summer.



So, no the USFS is not likely to address it at all. The only rocks they are moving are around the campsites to make them look "pristine."


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## MountainMedic

If commercials keep popping boats I guarantee that rock will magically disappear.


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## DoubleShadow

More like the guides will learn to run right.


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## athelake

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=477210503073454


We just got off the Main today. The object appears to be a new shark fin rock on river left that is now visible. We scouted on the left bank. We all decided to run just left of the dome rock at the top of the run and then keep right. It was a super easy line.


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## raymo

I enjoyed the changes of the rapids on the rivers over the years, like Warm Springs rapid, Needles Eye(slow change over the years), those rapids after Skull rapid, O.F.R(outrageous fucking rapid)now called Narrow Fall, Big Drop's, Joe Hutch, just to name a few. Some of them changed from bigger to smaller, from easy to more technical, from oh shit where did that rapid come from it wasn't here last week. Plus add varying water levels, all make river running fun and challenging. If it was the same all the time why go, but I did really enjoy the company of great people, camping and scenery. But the challenges of the river is where it was at for me. Nice weather to severe lightning storms(we are all going to fucking die) with downpours, bugs etc. all for us to enjoy. Good rafting, to all.


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## Bobthegreat

Just got off the main yesterday. We scouted, saw the rock and ran right of the big rock. All went well. Ran 9 boats. No problems,no punctures.


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## Smoregon

Yep, what Bob said. Level was somewhere around 3400-3600 cfs. The suspect rock is about 3 raft lengths (40 or so feet) down from the giant boulder that makes the left chute a chute. Every ten seconds or so the surge left the point of the rock visible, and then washed over, but not nearly enough for safe raft passage. If you run left, try to catch the eddy behind the big rock.


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## screamingeagle

Anymore news on this new rock? I'm guessing it's sticking out of the water pretty good now. Wondering if anyone has a photo/video. I'm launching in a couple of days. Thanks.


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## sfluckiger

We took off the river last Saturday and had run Mallard a few days prior to that. we camped just above Mallard the night before and watched several groups run it from the bank on river right and all took the standard river left line. The next morning we scouted again from left and didn't see anything concerning. We all ran the standard line and just after the main drop on river left there was a rock sticking about 1-2 feet out of the water close to the left hand bank that looked as though it was the most obvious culprit. You could certainly see how if you came out of the drop and were up against the bank on the left side in a fully loaded gear boat that this rock could cause some damage. Everyone we watched and everyone in our party didn't have any issue with our lines and avoiding this hazard. The river level for us was ~3300 cfs if I recall correctly. My advice would be to run the standard line but stay off the bank coming into the drop at the bottom with your bow angled at about a 45 toward the center so you can push away from the bank immediately after the drop and avoid any issues. Hope this helps.


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## unlucky

We launched on the 8th and took out on the 14th. Flow was 0.25 on the ramp. At this flow the top of the rock is way out of the water and out of the flow. You would have to go out of your way to try to hit it. The current pushed all of our boats feet away from the rock. No scouting required. 

We talked to Mark and Sue at Yellow Pine. She described the rock as black and very sharp/pointed like a meat scraper with a gut hook on the upstream side. Looks like it will be more of an issue at slightly higher flows.


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## Lipripper60

We walked it and I too believe it's the rock on the left bank. I just hugged the mallard and all was fine.


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## captishmael

We took off on Sat. Aug 24. Had 7 boats plus a couple of toys. Two of us ran right of Mallard and loved it! No one had any problems regardless of whether you went left or right of Mallard. One of our group has a nice picture of the culprit and will post it.


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## sonofdad

took of on 8/24 as well. 4 boats, 2 kayaks. all took left line. no one had any issues. +1 to this:



sfluckiger said:


> My advice would be to run the standard line but stay off the bank coming into the drop at the bottom with your bow angled at about a 45 toward the center so you can push away from the bank immediately after the drop and avoid any issues. Hope this helps.


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