# Your 5 Favorite rapids and why



## Gary E (Oct 27, 2003)

1- NF of the slate- It's a paddlers drop. Not a one stroke move. You need 7 precise strokes, solid in the head to make it. Each move has something to wreck you.

2-Jacobs Ladder through taffy- It's fast and warm. Demanding moves with big rewards. Got the pencil sharpner in it and is insane to look into as you pass it. Great move at rock drop and a great boof at taffy, all with a price of admission.

3-Spirit Falls-Biggest 33ftr ever. Beautiful place and unreal aqua blue water. Big air!

4-Harmon Falls-Awesome entrance move with huge boof potential. The left move on d2 and it's on. Fast and cold, great drop.
4a-Best boof in the east-Ramsey Cascade run-you paddle down this 10ft slide hauling ass. It then takes you back up this smooth rock 15ft and launches you 10ft out 15ft high. Awesome feeling hitting that right.

5-Cherry Bomb-Big and fast in an amazing gorge. Auto boof at 20 mph into a one stroke nasty hole. 800ft deep and reminds you how small you really are.
5a-Gorilla- as my boy chris said-"you can spank it low or high. The only difference is at one level it's a mad chimpanse(sp) and at the other level it's an angry silver back gorilla"


----------



## jmack (Jun 3, 2004)

My front range heavy, mere mortals list:

1) Slideways- it has a clean 8 foot boof, a fast chute into a big hole, and even the lead in and run-out are fun.

2) Tunnel- because its pretty hard to hit a clean boof down the center but so fun when you get it. And because of the butterflies in the stomach in the eddy above it- all the more reason to just go.

3) No Fun Falls- fast lead in, holes, more holes, and then waterfall.

4) Clear Creek Narrows- its long, has a bunch of fun moves, and hauls ass at high water.

5) Barrel Springs- because we almost never get to paddle big water around here.


----------



## climbhoser (Apr 12, 2005)

1-Unnamed big drop Dead River, MI-20' stairstep drop into a small pool perched above a 20' freefall. Perfect drop, hole on the lead in, boat falls behind the curtain head outside of it.

2-Drop below one above-must hit 7 foot boof angling sideways into a pool, then trip down the 30 yard class V rumble into a swirpool above a sieve. Must make eddy.

3-Big Smoky Falls, Wolf River, WI-awesome class III lead in to 7 foot falls...big curtain and big fun in big water!

4-Carp River Canyon-whole thing is one continuous rapid. Start with class III lead in waves and holes..fans out to 5' auto-boof ledge land in pool above 15' falls with a flake mid level to boof...land in current and trip down class III eddyless water to 20 foot falls, must boof right side (lands on flat rock) land in tiny pool above staircase drop->10 footer onto 7 foot ledge o' foam and flat rock, current rips you straight off another 8 footer into meaty hole...then you're done! Nonstop action, #4 on the list because it's scary as shit.

5-Park and Huck, Dead River, Marquette, MI-one waterfall, flatwater above, class II-III below. Park, hike and huck your meat anywhere off of it, be it the 60foot slide into the meaty hole/whirlpool or take the creekier lines through the stairsteps of the mid line into the crevice and off the autoboof.

Michigan whitewater is the bestest.


----------



## burrskiers (Aug 6, 2007)

*Rogue River*

Blossom Bar and Picket Fence on the rogue river run. There's lots of rock dodging and big waves.


----------



## HuckinAZ (Nov 18, 2006)

1) Number 5 - SW Mystery Stash: Sweet lead in with a gnarly hero route in the middle above the falls which has a nasty terminal hole.
1a - Number 1 because it trumps anything i've ever whitnessed when it's at 1600cfs and above ( i ran it at 350cfs scared $#!7less to give you an idea ) the waterfall turns into a massive waterslide sized tongue that slams into the walls creating a huge seam flowing through a narrow passage next to an undercut, etc, etc, etc... INCREDIBLE

2) Devil's slides - NF Willow Creek: This isn't one rapid so much as a series of MASSIVE slides and falls in california with some clean sections and some super gnar power tech lines.

3) 4:20 gorge - MF Kaweah: actually everything on the MF Kaweah, but the 4:20 gorge at low water has a few drops in it that are made from huge boulders leaning against each other that create super fun barely scoutable angle boofs.

4) Big Lebowski - Christopher Creek: Huge, Scary, Beautiful, Unique, GRANITE!

5) Huckin Huge Falls - on blank creek (hh stories): This really should be my number 1 but since it's illegal i made it number 5. at 52' it's my first big fall, i didn't swim, but it wasn't pretty


----------



## erdvm1 (Oct 17, 2003)

My favorites are based on the BOOF factor
KirschBaum.....boofalicious
Heart Attack..... easy huge Boof
Slideways....Technical with nice boofs into nice eddies
Sock'em Dawg......looks easy to hit it but takes percision to BOOF
Can't remember the names of the rapids but Dinky Creek is a boof fest!!

PS TUNNEL


----------



## mvhyde (Feb 3, 2004)

*Two responses...*

Mine

1. Cottonwood Rapid, Arkansas River, CO - It's just so damn much fun, plus you can get out and do it again.

2. Powerline Rapid, Rio Grande River (LTB) NM - That wicked tongue wave below the big boulder slightly right of center. Terrible teens flow makes it a good place for a watch-this airborne show.

3. The Esses, Cossatot River, AR - Short, sweet, definitely keeps you honest with it's tight eddies (and damn small ones at that).

4. Entrance falls, Vallecito, CO - ouch, ouch, ouch, my shoulder still hurts.

5. Tombstone Rapid, Colorado River, Glenwood Canyon - Just about as pure fun as you could ask for, and so close to the highway.

Henry's

1. Smelter, he had 2 clean runs on it, 4 swims on it. He held onto his paddle one time.

2. Swimming Hole drop, Lyons, CO - It had a perfect rooster tail for him to slide down on.

3. Zuni Street Dam, South Platte River, Denver, CO - Best boof-stroke spot for him, he cleans it like he owns it.

4. C-470 & Santa Fe drop structure, South Platte River, Littleton, CO - First place he learned to surf well on.

5. The Chutes, South Platte River, Deckers, CO - The big water slide at 450 cfs.


----------



## ActionJackson (Apr 6, 2005)

Golly, reading some of this gets my heart rate up. Who's got pix?


----------



## WyoPadlr1 (May 5, 2005)

*Only 5????? Crap, that's a tight list......*

1) Jake's through the Golf Course on the N.F. Payette: Big commitment, high visibility factor in case you f*&% it up, and waaaaayyy too much fun when it all goes right. Very long and demanding.

2) Balls to the Wall, Clark's Fork Yellowstone Box. Steep, fast, long. High penalty points for messing up the entry, and most people are running it with overnight gear, which adds to the difficulty and satisfaction factors. The name says it all, if you've got 'em you can run it right. 

3) Curtain Falls, Bald Rock Canyon. No, it ain't very hard in and of itself, but it takes a lot of skill to get to it and to finish the run below it, and there's simply no more photogenic pure waterfall to be found. 

4) Superslide, South Fork Merced. A lot like Curtain, in that it's what it takes to get you to it and away from it that makes it the signature drop of this amazing run. Stellar photos here, too, with that giant hole at the bottom that looks like no one is coming out of. 

5a) Nightmare, Grand Canyon of the Elwha (WA), a new favorite for a lot of reasons: unscoutable (from less than 100yds above it), unportageable, must-run drop in a long walled-in dark gorge that delivers death on the right but goes like your favorite lover on the left, paddled with a boat full of self-support gear. One of the wildest mind f*&%s I've ever had paddling. 

5b) Helicopter, Devil's Canyon on the Middle Feather. A long-time favorite for some of the same reasons as Nightmare above: pretty much only scoutable from above on left, unportageable unless you want to make your party wait an hour while you do a climb that's worse than swimming the drop, and a line that looks a lot sicker than it turns out to be with very few real consequences. One of my earliest mind f*&$s on another classic self-support trip. For me, it always adds to the spice when the car isn't a mere ten minute walk away.


----------



## steven (Apr 2, 2004)

-#3 of the bottom 4 on yule. hi-speed love.
-pine creek continuous big fun, w/ moderate pucker factor
-juicer and crunch at 5k+ relatively safe hugeness
-terminator [futa] even the sneak is nerve-wracking
-south mineral 20'er. gorgeous surroundings, clean and safe drop

honorable mentions:
barrell springs
oceana
fuzzy bunny


----------



## HuckinAZ (Nov 18, 2006)

ActionJackson said:


> Golly, reading some of this gets my heart rate up. Who's got pix?


1) Number 5 (The hole cody is going through will stomp you at the right levels, and the hole at the falls is fine if you hit your boof, if not you better have a few ropes ready)









2) Devil's slides (If you thought i was kidding when i said MASSIVE...)









3) Middle Kaweah (AW Pic - not mine)









4) Sorry it's not better Quality









5) Pee your pants type of fun


----------



## rocky_super_fun (Aug 2, 2007)

Esses on the Tot in Arkansas would be up there on my top 5 list. 

Dimple rock rapid/swimmer's rapid on the lower Yough would also rate up there.


----------



## HuckinAZ (Nov 18, 2006)

There, there's a MF kaweah pic for ya that i didn't get from AW


----------



## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

That's a toughie. Nothin' like Edge here, but:

5. Hair to Colliseum on the Ottowa: big water haystack fun with some big holes to miss.

4. Everything on the Upper Petawawa, high water: hero lines, technical creeky lines, big boofs, sticky holes. Plus it feels so good after hiking 5K for it.





















3. Gore: Lots'o'lines










2. Z-Gorge, WFCC: sweet rapid zigzagging through the vertical walls with a couple of good moves.



1. Top V on Bluegrass, no stopping in the mellow stuff between the two sets: Clean 15'er to funky 8'ish flake boof to some good creekin' boogy to one bend of mellow before it picks up again with some good holes to toilet bowl move to 10' slide-to-ski jump over 15'er, holes, corner, couple more good drops before the confluence. Warm water. 'Nuff said.


































0. Everything I haven't run because there's nothin' like coming around that blind corner and seeing the mayhem below the horizon line you didn't scout. Daniel had it right.

Honorable mentions go to: 

Zume Floom-Got me hooked from the age of 4.
#5-Cut my teeth on the endless number of lines you can take through here.

White Granite Gorge on the Salt:Amazing geology to paddle through.
IV+ to sticky hole above 30'er on El Salto: there's nothing like travertine.









Turkey Creek-Some sweet drops in there nobody knows about. Oh, if only it were clean...









Note: I didn't take the pictures for Gore, Salto, Turkey, the Pet, or WFCC.

COUNT


----------



## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

5 not in order.

1. supermax on north fork south platte, bailey, 

2. tunnel gore canyon colo. 

3. the main event on bluegrass creek and the feeling of being crushed from being so deep! running bucking bronco blind because your back strap breaks in your agent 6.2 at the s bend right above the scouting eddy. makes it all the more fun!

4. all of the unnamed rapids on deer creek central wyoming, 30ftr

5.the upper run of the shosone cody wy, is pool drop and is clean from the seive down low water micro creeking some good drops! than it gets better with a classic boof at customs!


----------



## Gary E (Oct 27, 2003)

Honorable mentions- Walker Ranch- SBC This should be in my top 5. Boof into hall way at 2mph and land at 10mph into a twisting, wall crashing great boof over a huge hole. Also it gave Forrest an awesome beating while I cheered for the hole. On top of that, Forrest tried to walk it before I made him, give er! He's a hard one to swim though.

Oceana- like this pic. Fast, blinding and huge!

Supermax- also like this pic. Can catch 7 eddies and make some nice moves and a great boof. 

Gore is a great pic also- alot of lines for sure. Love this rapid

Slideways- great rapid for sure. Love this rapid

Barrell over 8g could be there. fast and twisting with rocks under the water, and not that far under.

5k juicer/ crunch- HUGE! Great rapids

Superslide- Nice very nice.

Helicopter- love the name and the reason for it

So many great drops.


----------



## slickhorn (Dec 15, 2005)

*Nice thread topic!*

#5 boulder drop, Skykomish. cause it's so good with so many lines at so many levels. 

#4 Final Five Canyon, Copper Creek Just a sweet mini gorge with a little of everything, and super scenic. Nobody cleans the headwall, and the eddy of rejection is always entertaining.

#3 Box Drop Top Tye -- so fun, so clean, love the eddy move, and in such a great setting

#2 Double Drop, Truss. Finally learned the secret -- boat scout it. So fun.

#1 Eskimo Pie, GC Elwha. Welcome to the grand -- nice horizon line, sketchy eddy, beat down hole, first significant drop and point of no return.


----------



## phlyingfish (Nov 15, 2006)

1) Balls to the Wall, Clarks Fork Yellowstone: big, steep, and fast. I ran it at about 600 with overnight gear, techy entrance to 50 yards of pure joy followed by 50 yards of pure mank. I looked back up that drop and felt like I had achieved something major in my kayaking career. Maybe just maybe I ran it because I wasn't up for another portage.

2) Jake's thru Golf Course, NF Payette: Big moves, big water, big fuck up factor. Ran it once clean, and again not so clean. Hit that roll before Taffy.

3)Great Falls of the Potomac, Potamc River: Lots of different lines at lots of different water levels, entry level V to super gnar gnar. After work 25 footers 10 miles from the big city (see the avatar).

4)Crystal Falls, Bottom Moose: a few different lines to choose, intimidating horizon line, little margin for error, tough to style the final 15 footer, big crowds to cheer or jeer you during Moose Fest.

5) Unnamed Gorge, Upper Hokitika, NZ: total commitment, one visible drop at the begining of an unportageable/unscoutable 4 drop gorge. One of those moments when you don't even hear the river because you're so focused on the move. These drops have probably changed from what I paddled in 2002.


----------



## ActionJackson (Apr 6, 2005)

Good stuff, and some very nice photos. Thx.


----------



## Cutch (Nov 4, 2003)

Nice topic Gar. Damn near impossible for me to choose five, but after much debate, I'll go with the following. I definetly second some of the others. 

Double Trouble, Big South, CO - Can't believe no one has mentioned this yet. Must make big air boof. The higher the level the faster the line. 

Entrance Falls, Vallecito, CO - I love the wave train entrance, and the off tilt freefall with a late boof. Usually blind and scary and a wake up. Yet it's a tough one to mention after Adam. 

Richochet, Icicle Creek, WA - Fun, multiple moves, big. I see the potential despite only running it once. 

A random drop on Bull Lake Creek, WY - The first thing we ran below the Jim Bridger portage. Probably the biggest thing I've ever run. Steep, extremely pushy, scary and powerful 10 foot half way between about 5 big moves. All stacked, no eddies, fast, powerful. Evan blew his skirt. 

Jacobs Ladder/Golf Course, NF Payette, ID - It's not a secret that this is one of the greatest drops of all time. It only takes one top to bottom run of the NF to realize why a paddler could move to Boise. 

Honorable mentions:
Balls to the Wall, Clark's Fork
Box Drop, Top Tye
Spirit Falls, Little White
Pine Tree Falls, Crystal Gorge
Slots of Fun, Embudo (shit, this probably beats out Richochet. Can't believe I just thought of it. 3.7' left mental scars. Ready to do it again.)
Adrenaline Falls, Lime Creek
Big Timber Falls, Big Timber
Oriental Massage, Yule Creek
the big drop, Upper Upper Cispus

Yeah, a lot of memories. Hard to rank them. 

On a side note, I love how after years and years of paddling the quality drops are rarely the biggest verts. Height is good, but there's something magical about powerful, multi-move drops. 

Gar, Walker Ranch sucks. WTF? That thing doesn't even make top 10 on the front range.


----------



## Gary E (Oct 27, 2003)

LOL, walker ranch at a real level is the shit! 600/700 it is awesome! Richochet- come on. Is that the one you enter on the right next to a huge boulder and hit a 10/15 ft slide into a long hole ridden beast? Box drop is a one stroke wonder, it's ok. Big timber falls? WTF! It hurts everytime young or old sucka. Entrance falls is fun, wouldn't put it in the top 10. 

Big drop is great for sure. Slots at 3.7 is when you should start paddling the embudo. Great rapid, the bigger the better. great surfing everywhere at 3.95 the magic number. Notch into pine tree is awesome. 

Great falls nice

Anyone done

cave drop-lineville
room without a view-west prong
Tyson punchout-ravens
hydro-watuaga at high water(meat line) none of this sneak hard right crap, right down the poop chute
eclipse-lower cull
devils gate-nf of the mid feather
stairway to heaven-horse pasture
wintergreen-toxaway
All great rapids


----------



## JCKeck1 (Oct 28, 2003)

Slideways - Definitely one of my top rapids. It's not close to the toughest, but it has two holes up top, great eddy catches, a ferry, an 8 foot boof, a meaty hole a the bottom with a sieve and runout for good measure. Has almost every move in kayaking.

Double Trouble - what a great feeling flying off that boof - it really fires you up.

How 'bout the Cauldron on Lake Creek. I like that even the very best boaters huck in there and pray (level dependant).

No doubt Gorilla has to be in there.

Love the Narrows of SSV on a good day when you're in control stompin.

Ya'll are crazy with the choices of Richocet and Box drop - millions of similar drops everywhere.


Avalanche on OBJ?

I also second Adrenaline.


----------



## deepsouthpaddler (Apr 14, 2004)

1) Slideways - Big South. The spout boof! 

2) Bear creek from the dam to the takeout. Just one long continous action packed section. Its like a water slide / roller coaster for big kids. 

3) Clear creek narrows - good fun at all levels, always a good time, ole reliable.

4) Deer Creek - Bailey. When the water gets up its one hell of a fast ride at the bottom. I always have a shit eating grin on my face everytime I run it. 

5) Grand Canyon Biggies... Lava, Horn, Crystal, Granite... The felling of plowing head first into the biggest wave holes I've seen in a playboat and squirting through like a watermellon seed getting spit out is on of the best feelings I've had boating. Big water is FUN!


----------



## theprofessor (Mar 7, 2007)

1. Richochet - Middle Icicle Creek
How can you not love a half mile of steep & big class V-V+

2. POW (Perfection of Whitewater) - Tumwater Canyon Wenatchee
When it's 90 degrees out and there is still so much water that your frozen you know its gonna be good. The recent changes in this rapid have really made it harder but it is still the same classic POW.

3. The Double falls on Callaghan - Callaghan Creek BC
It doesn't have to be hard to be a blast. Everything you need to smile is here. Two nice waterfalls a fun rapid, gorged in and not so scary that you cry when you get there. It's great fun but not number 1.

4. En-Lightened Ledge - Thunder Creek
Not the biggest on the run, and not the hardest in the area, but certainly the softest landing and my personal favorite gorge.

5. The Skook
Ok I know it's not a real river rapid, but how awesome is a Saltwater Tidal wave thats right in your backyard. The scene is a blast and the wave has to be one of the most unique features in the world for playboating so why not toss it at the bottom of the list.

J


----------



## tboner (Oct 13, 2003)

alright... no particular order
1) dead hiker on the source cause when you hit the boof right it feels like flying
2) slots of fun on the embudo.. that whole river is one kick ass rapid but slots sticks out most b/c i haven't figured it out yet and took one of my worst swims ever out of it couple years ago down through taco garden. a true personal nemesis
3) slideways... quality boat scouting and that sweet lead in boof with some great cross channel death ferries
4) doube trouble b/c i've ran it once and cleaned it and now i never have to do it again : ) also i've never been so scared in my life floating into that thing with all the rising mist... makes you want to drop a deuce in your boat.
5) cali section on NSV... so long, so many good drops and boofs.

honorable mention
-the big boof above harmon falls 
- the angled damn boof below harmon
- harmon... gripped
- 18 footer in the Black Canyon of the Gunni just for the pure money shoot photo ops
- rigo b/c i'm batting 500 hundred in there and now i get to take out at my house ; )
- the S turn lead in to de-forrestation on the source. when it's up and pumping and you come around that corner you can tell just how quick you'll be getting to the take-out. you can feel your whole body nut up, all emotions and thoughts that don't pertain to survival leave your mind for the next 18 minutes and then the game starts
- SSV narrows- that's just really one rapid


----------



## tboner (Oct 13, 2003)

oh yeah... hitting that boof onto the rock slide in Dear Creek always fires me up


----------



## Kirk (Jun 7, 2006)

*Done a few of those*



Gary E said:


> LOL, walker ranch at a real level is the shit! 600/700 it is awesome! Richochet- come on. Is that the one you enter on the right next to a huge boulder and hit a 10/15 ft slide into a long hole ridden beast? Box drop is a one stroke wonder, it's ok. Big timber falls? WTF! It hurts everytime young or old sucka. Entrance falls is fun, wouldn't put it in the top 10.
> 
> Big drop is great for sure. Slots at 3.7 is when you should start paddling the embudo. Great rapid, the bigger the better. great surfing everywhere at 3.95 the magic number. Notch into pine tree is awesome.
> 
> ...


Cave on linville is awesome, also babel tower
mike Tysons is huge and incredible
Horsepasture has highway to heaven and stairway falls, both great,
then there is Stairway to Heaven on the Bear, best big drop in the SE.

Mine: (no particular order)

Cave Falls gorge on Linville
Drop above big portage on Devil's Canyon, MFF
Casa de Piedra, Futa
Big Creek, NC
Fire Escape, Henderson

There are so many more


----------



## benpetri (Jul 2, 2004)

Currently my 5 favorites in no particular order- 

Rigor Mortis - Clear creek at its finest. A precise line and if you do it right you don't even get your hair wet. Offline and you can definately get your shit worked

No fun falls - Definately Bear Creek's best drop, followed by the dam. Interesting, don't you think, that the Bear's best drops are also the two most man made drops in there? Always will like this one as it was my first genuine waterfall, even if it is only an 8' boof.

Big Drops II and III on Cataract - At high water, this is the closest thing we have to the Zambezi. Nothing like looking up at a 15' high vertical wall of water!

Dear Creek on Bailey - Damn I love that slide! Damn I love that boof! And reliable flows from ski season to ski season!

Magnetic wall on Escalante - Swimmers everytime!

--------------------------------

Now my vote for the 5 worst:

1st falls on Bailey - Gets me out of my boat every time on Bailey before I've even paddled one decent rapid. Yeah I'm sure some of you run it, but I'm not risking my ass for a shitty 5' boof into a cave.

That manky peice of #@&! rapid 1/4 mile above No Fun Falls with the big fan shaped roosterhead in the horizon line. I swear everytime I run that thing I either piton, smack my elbow, roll or experience some other form of abuse. Did I mention it was manky?

That stupid dam at the bottom of screaming quarter mile. Ugly hole, with sharp rock and an occasional rebar to boot. Clear creek's only routine portage for me.

Overboard on the Salt River in AZ - A simple class II+, easy in a 12' raft right? Unless you run out of water! The whole peice of shit is a shoal and even though I was forewarned to go right, I still wasn't right enough. They mean kiss the right bank. Spent the next 4 hours derigging, portaging and re-rigging a gearboat with no anchors tothe boat to. Shitty. Who ever thought a class II could cause so much pain?

Waterton Canyon, the whole thing! Too much hiking without much payback for drops.


----------

