Conditions:Hawthorn Creek (North Cascades)-20230717170310

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Latest:

16 Jul 2023 (1 yr, 10 mos ago)

Reported by: Jrisken (6 reports)
Quality:

Unknown
Waterflow:
Wetsuit:
Water temperature:
Difficulty:
Time:

Team:

Trip report URL:

Comments: Road is closed to vehicles and public access @ Heather Lake trailhead (about 2-2.5 miles before canyon exit). The posted closure is from May 2023 through October 2023 for road maintenance, with work happening during the week and weekends. Please do not trespass 1) for your own safety, and 2) so that we as canyoners continue to have a good reputation with the forest service and other agencies.

My group decided to hike up to Heather Lake instead and enjoyed a stellar day and refreshing swim.



All condition reports


Date Quality Waterflow Wetsuit Difficulty Time Team Reported by


Unknown




Jrisken (6 reports)
Comment: Road is closed to vehicles and public access @ Heather Lake trailhead (about 2-2.5 miles before canyon exit). The posted closure is from May 2023 through October 2023 for road maintenance, with work happening during the week and weekends. Please do not trespass 1) for your own safety, and 2) so that we as canyoners continue to have a good reputation with the forest service and other agencies.

My group decided to hike up to Heather Lake instead and enjoyed a stellar day and refreshing swim.




Good

Moderate Low
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Thick wetsuit
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Easy
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Time2.png 4 hours
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3 people
Intermediate to Advanced
Mads (61 reports)
Comment: A fine Sunday afternoon in Hawthorn. We replaced a couple links and all anchors are in good condition. We did the post-bridge rappel and scrambled out DCR. We updated a few rope lengths in the beta to reflect a more accurate estimate of rope travel.




Good

Moderate Low
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Thin wetsuit
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Normal
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Time2.png 4 hours
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2 people
Coops (121 reports)
Comment: Came back to check it out in lower flows. 3 weeks made a big difference. Rigged & rapped all the waterfalls in the flow. Successfully did the bonus rap below the road - probably the highlight!




Good

High
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Full wetsuit
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Special challenges
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Time5.png 2 days
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5 people
Intermediate to Expert
Coops (121 reports)
Comment: Took 90 mins before entering the creek at the drop-in point. Mostly spent hiking up and down discussing the flows, hydraulics & exits or each rap.

We shrunk from 7 to 3 over the day as people opted out of parts they weren't comfortable with. Flows were considerably higher than when the beta was written. However with an experienced group it wasn't as bad as it looked.

Will definitely be back in a month+ to try it a lower flow.

Using the rap numbers from the beta, we did...

R1 - took a dry line into the pool under the massive overhead log, immediately followed by a short but pushy slide.

R2 - bypassed via short down climbing DCR.

DC1 - rapped from large overhead log, avoiding DLC sieve.

R3 - from over head log, sticking DCR to avoid heaviest flow. Optional side step for a quick pummel.

R4 - in our initial plan we thought we'd bypass by exiting here, but the anchor position allowed us to stay out of the pummel up until the very bottom, with the hydraulics pushing you clear in the pool below.

R5 - took a dry line from tree DCL away from flow. Option to step into flow towards the bottom. **Left a crab+fig8 at the bottom!**

R6&7 - bypassed via DCR exit due to flow constriction and logs. Then scouted R8-10 from the side.

R8 from DCR tree, flow slightly constricted then fanned out again making a spicy looking rap not as hard as expected. Hydraulics & logs in pool below had been of concern but we're fine, easy access to next bolts.

R9 from bolts (in good condition). Even mellower than R8. Stayed on rope to protect crossing the pool exit, then scramble up into trees DCL.

R10 from DCL tree set well away from the flow but still into the pool below. Might have been fun to rap the edge of the waterfall, but it was causing strong hydraulics we wanted to avoid.

Amazing 1 minute exit back to car. Opted to leave the post-bridge rap for another day.






Andrewsandstrom (46 reports)
Comment: Road is closed, concrete barricades 2.5 miles from exit. You will need to hike in or MT Bike in. Road up to barricades has 4-6 inch deep potholes. Drove really slow. Hopefully they open the road soooooon