# Best waterfalls to practice waterfalls in Idaho or Cali (safe and easy drops)



## Nathan (Aug 7, 2004)

Scott's Drop


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## cuzin (Oct 4, 2007)

In Cali, there are lots of places, but the two that immediately come to mind are Pauley Creek, which is a tributary of the North Yuba, and South Silver Creek. I think a Class IV+ boater should have fun on both.


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## sugra (Jun 6, 2007)

I know you said CA/ID but try to break away for a week in Mexico (Micos, El Salto, Santa Maria, etc). Hard to beat I would think for waterfalls. Ben Kvanli out of Texas runs cheap trips down there. Christmas break!


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## [email protected] (Apr 26, 2006)

Where are you living in cali? There are many different techniques to running waterfalls and each has its spot in different locations. Most of the time you can practice waterfall technique on smaller drops, most of the time body position is the most important aspect of running larger waterfalls and protecting yourself. Practice on runs that you can run drops under 10 feet to practice on drops that most likely hurt you. Most of the California waterfalls are on the harder runs in the state: south branch, big kimshew, dinkey creek, upper cherry, roayl gorge. Go to the PNW if you want to huck waterfalls


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## phlyingfish (Nov 15, 2006)

There aren't a ton of clean waterfalls in Idaho, but you can find a couple on tributaries to the Snake near Twin Falls. One is Box Canyon Falls on Box Canyon Creek and the other is Reilly Creek Falls on, you guessed it, Reilly Creek. Both are spring fed creeks with constant flow, so no need to worry about water levels. Reilly Creek is a little easier to access for multiple runs.


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## ehukai (Jul 11, 2009)

Thanks for the initial feedback. I'm living in San Luis Obispo so i am a ways away from most of the boating, I think the closest place is The Kern River. I will be back in Idaho this summer yet I guide on the Middlefork so I don't have as much time as I would like to boat. However, I want to plan a big boating trip as soon as I am out of school and want to work on the aspects of boating that I haven't done as much.


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## pretender (Dec 23, 2008)

The Micos & El Saltos run on the Rio Valles has to be the two easiest water fall runs on the planet, a week there and you'll have 20' dialed. The Cascades are loaded with basalt ledge drop water falls from easy to record setting, I haven't done this run yet but it is on my to-do list for this year is the EF Lewis waterfall run in So. Washington just outside of Portland looks great.


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## craporadon (Feb 27, 2006)

Nathan said:


> Scott's Drop


Yep, Scott's Drop is definitely a good one to start on. You do have to run the Royal Gorge to get there, but the RG just happens to have several other great learning waterfalls like Heath 1 and 2 and Rattlesnake. You may put on the RG as a Class IV rapid runner, but you'll come out the bottom a certified Huckster.


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

personally i think metlako is a great waterfall to start on. go big that way you master the art of falling in half the amount of time.


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## bobbuilds (May 12, 2007)

mike, I laughed so hard, that was perfect. stop reading, i know you hate fossil.


just in case you have the time, fossil creek in AZ is spring fed and the 20'er goes year round.

feb, march and maybe early april are your best chance at more water.

it takes about 10 minuets to walk back up and run it again. pool drop, you can melt it, boof left and boof right at base flow.

it is not hard to do laps on, and it is only 12 hr drive from obisbo.


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

12 hr drive for fossil, thats desperation.


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## wasatchbill (Apr 9, 2007)

EF Lewis is a great one. you could hike laps on the first 20 footer, Sunset falls, and its near the road. The left side was deep and clean at medium-low water; haven't done the other lines, but there are a bunch. Then there is some definite IV+ I wasn't really expecting, then Horseshoe falls at the end of the hard part, is another classic. Its an auto-boof I would try not to land too flat on next time, since it tweaked my back a bit. I was told to lean forward more next time. 
They have the NW creek comp on EF Lewis; check out vid of the mass start then mass huck off Sunset. I guess you can get stuck with a bad line at some flows, but this vid makes it seem like anything works 
2010 Northwest creeking competition - YouTube
Then there is Husum falls on the middle white Salmon, which I've heard has gotten stickier after getting logs stuck in it. Easier when its lower. Sort of a sloper boof, but its roadside and you could easily do laps on it if you wanted. 
phlyingfish, is Box Canyon falls really that clean? Looks kinda junky, although there does look like a line in the middle. Not the easiest to get to. Spring-fed is a plus for sure. There is poison ivy along that trail below the Box canyon falls. 
I should do Reilly sometime.


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## [email protected] (Apr 26, 2006)

bobbuilds said:


> mike, I laughed so hard, that was perfect. stop reading, i know you hate fossil.
> 
> 
> just in case you have the time, fossil creek in AZ is spring fed and the 20'er goes year round.
> ...



This is the dumbest thing I've read on here in awhile. Discount anyone who thinks seal launching 20 feet is good waterfall practice.
For southern cali goods go to Brush creek, dry meadow and nf kaweah for some good waterfalls.


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## bobbuilds (May 12, 2007)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ tom, you are right.

i thought he was looking for a 1st time falls to practice on, after checking some of these other falls recomendations there are better options.

if you catch it at run off with 300cfs over the lip it is sweet though.

there is plenty right there in cali.i do not know where, sorry.


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## caspermike (Mar 9, 2007)

its okey bob you can still like that run that Gary E ripped out of the guide book and burned


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## [email protected] (Apr 26, 2006)

and pissed on the ashes. Bob, I have never done fossil so it might be great at 300, I've had friends do it at around 250 and hated it besides the waterfall. When it is at those levels other AZ runs become worthy


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## Flying_Spaghetti_Monster (Jun 3, 2010)

caspermike said:


> personally i think metlako is a great waterfall to start on. go big that way you master the art of falling in half the amount of time.


Hey Mike have you ran Metlako? I have heard it is a scary, tall, Class IV. Ride off the lip, toss your paddle, and tuck up. Of coarse messing up may mean you are wheel chair bound, but seems like it is just about the most strait up 82 footer on earth. I guy I boat the green with ran it almost solo (His girl friend was watching) with no one to tell him what to do, and stuck it perfect. Also the fact that it was tubed, and tandemed makes it look even more promising.


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## [email protected] (Apr 26, 2006)

Flying_Spaghetti_Monster said:


> Hey Mike have you ran Metlako? I have heard it is a scary, tall, Class IV. Ride off the lip, toss your paddle, and tuck up. Of coarse messing up may mean you are wheel chair bound, but seems like it is just about the most strait up 82 footer on earth. I guy I boat the green with ran it almost solo (His girl friend was watching) with no one to tell him what to do, and stuck it perfect. Also the fact that it was tubed, and tandemed makes it look even more promising.


what does "no one to tell him what to do" mean? if you need someone to tell you what to do on a drop like that you shouldn't be running it. I have run metlako it is a class 3 rapid with class 5 consequences, if you fuck it up your in a deep ass gorge. I think class 5 rapid with class 3 consequences are more appealing but thats just me.


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## Flying_Spaghetti_Monster (Jun 3, 2010)

First I meant to say no one told him what to do, but that does not change the meaning of what I meant. I do agree with you if you need to be told what to do on it you have no business running it, but you must say having someone there that has ran it before you saying "this is what I have seen done, and it worked out great!) is pretty nice to have. What is a good first 60 footer or 80 footer


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## cayo 2 (Apr 20, 2007)

It's hard to beat Mexico for waterfalls runs.Micos is perfect set up for what you want to do;boats available,drivable from US,big but easy/low consequence drops,stuff to move up to [Minas Viejas-El salto ] and other good runs in the area. 

Alsaseca in Veracruz is maybe 4+[ harder sections nearby] and has lots of sliding falls and some verts,and there is a whitewater industry so boats/boaters.

Agua Azul is Micos on steroids,the largest travertine formation on earth= over 500 waterfalls from III to soil yourself.Plenty of boaters have been there but you're on your own.Chiapas is full of waterfalls of all difficulties,AA is the highest concentration and easy access.

Las Conchas is the Micos of Guatemala mostly 8 ft . and under III'S and a 30 ft. V,other runs in Chiapas ,Guat.,Belize,a 1/2 day away b y o boat. You can fly to Guat. as cheap as Mexico and have a hard time spending $50 a day. 


Moho River in Belize ,60 drops 3 to 18 ft. travertine ledges,forgiving III+.


If you happen to be on the Croatian/Bosnia-Hercogovinia border check out Plitvice Natl. Park,in Vallhala or Wehyakin',the Agua Azul of Europe.


One route from Cali to Idaho,could take you around the Yuba /Pauley/Lazzevola creeks then across Nevada into NW Utah for Sixth Water,Big Cottonwood,and the Provo,all waterfall and/or big slide runs.


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## montuckyhuck (Mar 14, 2010)

First thing in Idaho that comes to mind is mesa. Do the whole Henry's fork run for some more rapids.

Edited to add my avatar is me breaking my paddle on mesa after I had been boating for about three months.


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## wasatchbill (Apr 9, 2007)

[email protected] said:


> .. I think class 5 rapid with class 3 consequences are more appealing but thats just me.


ya, that sounds great, but what is class 5 with class 3 consequence? Sounds like my kinda run


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## [email protected] (Apr 26, 2006)

drops like double trouble on big south, ball crusher in the black chasm, there are tons more of those drops in cali.


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## smauk2 (Jun 24, 2009)

[email protected] said:


> drops like double trouble on big south, ball crusher in the black chasm, there are tons more of those drops in cali.


You're calling the hole in Double Trouble class 3? More like class 2.


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## pretender (Dec 23, 2008)

I forgot to mention very nearby the EF Lewis is Canyon Ck another 4-4+ Washington Ck. with a varied array of ledges and falls not far from Portland, both have long seasons as well.


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## Shitouta (Apr 17, 2008)

Sorry Tom, Ballcrusher in the Black Canyon does not have class III consequences. That rapid is about as dangerous as a box of krispy kreme donoughts. Class II, at most. Great falls from the top...that may be pushing class III. Tripple drop, maybe III+. Speaking of which, they are bumping the flows back to 1000+ this month. East portal road is closed, but the hike is all downhill....


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## NathanH. (Mar 17, 2010)

Brush Creek Race is right around spring break for you. A lot of slides and waterfalls that are considerably tamer than some of the other stuff in the area.


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## Leland (Jan 25, 2004)

This is a great park-n-huck first timer waterfall that is maybe 5 hours from your location in CA:

Rainbow Falls South Fork Tuolumne - YouTube

http://mercedcountyevents.com/rainb...mming-hole-on-the-south-fork-of-the-tuolumne/

Rainbow Pool Falls - Andey's Waterfall Photos

It has a variety of lines that can be run and easy access to walk back up and lap it all day.

Leland
www.RiverGypsies.com


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## Shitouta (Apr 17, 2008)

After you run that rainbow falls, run this rainbow falls.


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## wasatchbill (Apr 9, 2007)

Nice one Leland. Say, is there a way to get river names to show up better on Google Maps, or some other mapping app? For example, searching Google Maps for "South Fork of the Tuolumne River" doesn't work too well. 
Searching "Rainbow Falls, South Fork of the Tuolumne River" doesn't find it either. 
AmericanWhitewater.org helped me find it, but just wondering if anyone uses a mapping app that has better river info than Google Maps.


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## Cutch (Nov 4, 2003)

Some of the photo layers/options that are placed in Google Earth are helpful for finding river landmarks and waterfalls. I've used it for Arizona and Utah scouting. But you usually have to zoom in further than you would like, so it's helpful to know the general location first. Google Earth scouting has led to some epic fails of missions... but it's a fun place to start. 

Google maps is less detailed.


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## mattihill (May 24, 2008)

All of the drops in Chile. warm up on ojos de caburgua a 25 footer then run the 70 footer on the middle palguin. Seven teacups is amazing and the runs above it. If you can't get to Chile, stuff around crested butte is pretty good. OBJ for sure. Mesa falls in Idaho too.


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## montuckyhuck (Mar 14, 2010)

I've heard object isn't the best to learn inn but I have never been. Want to check it out though.


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## barcolounger (Mar 31, 2011)

ehukai said:


> What are some of the best places you guys know of to run a safe waterfall over and over all day long to practice boofing. I am a solid class 4+ boater and have lived in Idaho my whole life running big water yet have recently moved to California for school, where most creeks are rivers involve many more large drops. Basically I am looking for places to get really comfortable running drops in Idaho, California, or anywhere in-between.
> 
> Thanks so much for the help, EHUKAI


Hey, so you don't need a waterfall to practice boofing, and as you probably know not every waterfall should be boofed. I haven't run enough of them to be any kind of expert, but every one I've run has been different. To the point where I don't feel like 'waterfall practice' makes a lot of sense to me. Boofing practice, on the other hand, seems like a great idea because the boof for each river feature is different, but you can get a variety of practice on a short section of river until you start to get a feel for it. And then you'll be able to boof when you want to, for waterfalls or other things. Just my $.02.


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## Wivecaca (Nov 29, 2011)

ehukai said:


> Thanks for the initial feedback. I'm living in San Luis Obispo so i am a ways away from most of the boating, I think the closest place is The Kern River. I will be back in Idaho this summer yet I guide on the Middlefork so I don't have as much time as I would like to boat. However, I want to plan a big boating trip as soon as I am out of school and want to work on the aspects of boating that I haven't done as much.


Kern river is a nice choice. It is my favorite river.

The river would test your kayaking skills yet you will have fun bumping into the rapids.

The North Fork is know for its wilderness run that even experts will find challenging. The Lower Kern offers exhilarating rapids and the warm water can add to the thrills during summer. Then you can enjoy awesome class IV, V, and V+ whitewater at Kern Below Democrat (Cataracts of the Kern).

And for an appetizer, here's a short Kern River kayaking vid:

http://www.youtube.com/mountainyahoos/#p/u/7/J9te3b8StUI


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## Daniel (Nov 30, 2006)

Cali:-Head to Brush Creek (North Kern Trib)... don't be tempted to do Dry Meadow Creek. Lots of work for those drops.-Upper and Lower North Kaweah -Pauley Creek (North Yuba Trib) -Low water South Silver (South American Trib)...but you will likely walk Skyscraper and Plastic Surgery, but the tea cups will provide some good practice.Or just stick to river runs like Giant Gap, Burnt Ranch, Chamberlains, 49 to B etc and find all the fun 4-8 foot boofs and practice on them!


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## KSC (Oct 22, 2003)

I was just thinking about this the other day. It seems like it's really difficult to find a good safe waterfall to practice on. I feel like you want a super safe 20-25 footer with a good bit of flow going off it where you can practice using a stroke at the lip and moving your body position to set your angle and so the landing isn't too hard. Even more than that, you want one that's easy to walk back up to in order to practice. It seems hard to practice on anything else because you only have split seconds to make your moves and you want to fall far enough to get feedback as to what's happening... what's your angle, when do you tuck, move your paddle, etc.

What I want is a waterfall simulator. I don't know quite how to do it, but there's an invention here. Something like a bungee cord attached to your kayak where you can fall off something and tuck up. Or something like a ski water ramp but made to simulate going off a waterfall instead of a ramp... that would be sweet... much better than a pool roll session.

How do the expert hucksters learn, short of moving to Chile for a season or having a rubber spine?


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## [email protected] (Apr 26, 2006)

Go to OBJ, you can really do a lot on that waterfall. If you feel comfortable boofing, 45ing it, and pluging it; focus on good body position, if you don't get it right run it until you do. You should be able to run most waterfalls the average boater will encounter.


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## gannon_w (Jun 27, 2006)

Twin devil falls on Richland is a good one.


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## eljim (Sep 19, 2007)

gannon_w said:


> Twin devil falls on Richland is a good one.


Arkansas is along way from Cali, geo-wiz.


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