Conditions:Lewis River-20220722201053
Latest: |
21 Jul 2022 (2 yrs, 11 mos ago) |
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| Reported by: | Rernst86 (88 reports) | |
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| Quality: | Amazing |
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| Waterflow: | Very High |
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| Wetsuit: | Thin wetsuit |
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| Water temperature: | ||
| Difficulty: | Advanced |
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| Time: |  5 hours
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Team: 2 people with experience level Advanced
Trip report URL:
Comments: Wow, what a day. The water was clear and has been for weekend which means the glacier activity over the last 2 years has shifted. High + flow. All slides and jumps are good. At this flow, the hydraulics are very powerful so do not underestimate them. With the clear water, the potholes and pools have been cleared from the silty fill ins of the last two years. Replaced anchors and weeding where needed. The crux is grown teeth and now there is a branch in there which could be problematic for some. It wasn’t for us. Maybe a hand saw could break it up? Also the rowdy chamber just before the last rap has a big stump in it so we elected not to play with it today. Great to see this canyon come alive.
All condition reports
| Date | Quality | Waterflow | Wetsuit | Difficulty | Time | Team | Reported by |
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| Great | Moderate Low
| Full wetsuit
| Normal |  3 hours
| 2 people | K arc (381 reports),Treyshoe (37 reports) | |
Comment: FR23 has reopened since the Williams Mine Fire. Lewis River not affected.
We opted to skip R1 and early creekwalk, parking right off the side of FR-23 (near mp34 sign) and descending to the creek. Room for 2-3 vehicles at a pullout. The approach from here takes two minutes to get right into the good stuff above R2. Looked at potentially putting in a couple bolts to break up the long R6 pitch (improve safety & efficiency), but the rock quality in there is awful. Decent spots would be underwater, have bad pulls, or be subject to getting smashed by debris washed downstream in flood events. May have look around some more next time. Tip of the hat to the team who installed the new R7 Tebylon bolts. Descended to the bridge & shuttle. One big logjam seems to have disappeared - other was easily surmounted. Hike out went quick.
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| Amazing | Moderate
| Full wetsuit
| Normal | 3 hours
| 6 people Intermediate to Expert | Canyon Hopper (8 reports) | |
Comment: Team of 6 moving efficiently made for a good half day canyon. No notable hydraulics except for the pothole in R7 which the beta notes to avoid. Anchors were in good condition. We rigged some alternate rap lines more in the flow which would be a nice addition if suitable bolt placements are possible, but did not adjust any anchors.
For Rap 4 (optional rebelay), we did it in one stage. With pulling the rope from up on the rock at the pourover it was no problem. Would recommend this method. Exited via the creekwalk. There’s a lot of logjams, but the creek bed widens and the path is easy around them. Took maybe 15-20 minutes to end up directly the shuttle.
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| Amazing | Moderate Low
| Full wetsuit
| Normal | 3 hours
| 6 people | Natureboytimflair (68 reports) | |
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| Good | Moderate Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | | 7 people Beginner to Advanced | Kirbside (98 reports) | |
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| Great | Moderate High
| Full wetsuit
| Normal | 5 hours
| 7 people Intermediate to Advanced | Briwellman (78 reports) | |
Comment: The flow check pictures don't match what you see from the bridge and should be updated. We monitored flow the previous day and noticed an unexpected drop in the afternoon, despite warm weather that should have increased meltwater. We saw the same pattern today: higher flow in the morning than when we returned in the afternoon. For example, the water was flowing over the rock by R1 pour-over in the morning but had receded to just the river channel by afternoon.
Lewis is very fun at this flow! There was a lot of water but it wasn't too pushy. Everything is straight forward as the beta reads. R4b is unnecessary should be decommissioned. The rope pulls fine from R4a. There is a lot of flow at R4b. Recommend a path DCL along the edge of the flow. R6 isn't as intimidating at the beta reads. Take caution as you have 150 feet of rope out and its sawing on the very sharp edge as people rappel the drops. We deployed 2 ropes for R6, one was used only for the first drop and creeped often. The second rope was creeped also and used for the other drops except for the last person. We could have been more efficient if we used a third rope and positioned a meat anchor to expedite travel down the last drop. The new bolted R7 is very nice to have. Thank you Mike Peterson! Go play in the pothole if you like swift water otherwise rappel out of the flow.
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| Great | Moderate Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | | 5 people | K arc (381 reports) | |
Comment: Entered via the Babyshoe Creek approach just for fun (low water) and dropped in a few hundred yards above R2. Swims were chilly as ever, and pockets of warm sunlight to bask in and warm up were appreciated. Definitely one of the prettier canyons around with stark color contrasts. Tip of the hat to the team who added the quick links at R4a; we were able to pull the rope without issues. R4b is not well placed and should probably be decommissioned. Webbing on R7 was okay, but abraded in places; keep an eye on this one. Hiked out the 0.75mi to the lower bridge that goes quickly.
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| | Full wetsuit
| Normal | 8 hours
| 5 people Beginner to Intermediate | PsychoWard (39 reports) | ||
Comment: Beautiful canyon with some unique features. Water was very cold. Anchors were in good shape. Some nasty log jams on the hike out. I may try the earlier, steep exit next time to avoid the log jams. Overall an awesome day.
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| Good | Moderate Low
| Full wetsuit
| Normal | 5 hours
| 8 people Intermediate to Expert | Korey (68 reports) | |
Comment: Fun way to end the rondy, flow was surprisingly good, and some really unique geology. Watch out for ground wasps on the exit.
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| Good | Moderate Low
| Full wetsuit
| Normal | 3 hours
| 4 people Intermediate to Expert | Logan (60 reports) | |
Comment: 5 or 6 fun little jumps break up the space in between rappels. The first one right after Baby Shoe comes in. I would call it a3 today. Not pushy. Rappeller could go very dry to fully wet rappeler’s choice. The only pothole circulation we all avoided was on r7. You could walk in and around all the others. We did the early exit on canyon left at 46.2518, -121.6187. Took us 50 minutes and 500’ gain was dirty and sweaty. Not a great way to arrive at the cars. The shuttle is only 12 minutes(one way). I would do the shuttle from now on. Added maillons to r4 so it pulls fine. No need to do this drop in 2 pitches.
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| Amazing | Moderate High
| Full wetsuit
| Advanced | 5 hours
| 7 people Advanced to Expert | Rernst86 (88 reports) | |
Comment: Removed the clear and obvious blue webbing for R0. Probably unnecessary as one can reach the creek by hiking a short ways up creek from the bridge on either side.
R1. Good shape. R2. This has always been a downclimb. I guess a bolt was installed. Didn’t use it. S1. Clear and ready for slides R3. New log in the big pool. Jump around it and swim on. R4. Almost want to punt this. A single bolt was installed that pulled fine last year. Now there’s more. The R4B is in a wild spot like the beta states. We used it but the location is subpar. R5. Rope is still kicking. R6. Crux is standable at this point. No real concern. R7. Was rebuilt with fresh webbing. - the following slide is deep and hood to go. | |||||||
| Great | Low 
| Drysuit 
| Normal | 5 hours
| 3 people Intermediate to Advanced | Beccap (47 reports) | |
Comment: A very beautiful and worthy canyon! We had a great day in extremely friendly conditions. Per request, we intended to bolt the 2nd tier of R4 DCL to facilitate a better rope pull and a drier line for high flow. We found the rock DCL to be hollow and unsuitable for bolting, so put in a hanging rebelay DCR. Pros: for those who like to get technical, the hanging rebelay adds technical interest to the canyon :) Also, the rope pull from the top tier while positioned at the hanging rebelay is fine - requires a bit of muscle in the beginning but not difficult. The pull from the hanging rebelay from the pool below is easy. So, it succeeds at improving the rope pull. Cons: the hanging rebelay may be underwater at high flow (though is unlikely to be damaged) and is not a particularly pleasant spot to hang out as anchor manager. It also does not serve as a high flow option as the line is directly in the flow.
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| Great | Moderate Low
| Full wetsuit
| Normal | | 6 people | K arc (381 reports),Wade (15 reports),Coops (128 reports) | |
Comment: The beauty of the creek was more than expected. Water was clear and hydraulics weren't an issue. Spent some time and chopped up / hauled out a large annoying tree branch in the first pool of R6 that could be a hazard to canyoneers. Improved a number of anchors; beta has been updated. It was a cooler day, so water levels were lower on the creek.
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| Amazing | Very High
| Thin wetsuit
| Advanced | 5 hours
| 2 people Advanced | Rernst86 (88 reports) | |
Comment: Wow, what a day. The water was clear and has been for weekend which means the glacier activity over the last 2 years has shifted. High + flow. All slides and jumps are good. At this flow, the hydraulics are very powerful so do not underestimate them. With the clear water, the potholes and pools have been cleared from the silty fill ins of the last two years. Replaced anchors and weeding where needed. The crux is grown teeth and now there is a branch in there which could be problematic for some. It wasn’t for us. Maybe a hand saw could break it up? Also the rowdy chamber just before the last rap has a big stump in it so we elected not to play with it today. Great to see this canyon come alive.
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| Good | Moderate
| Drysuit
| Normal | 4 hours
| 2 people | Coops (128 reports) | |
Comment: First time running Lewis. Water still a murky grey color. The flow didn't have the teeth that the description warns about in higher flow, however it still gave a good pummelling as you rapped through any constrictions. The crux was a non-event, with waste-deep water. A handline bolt on R3, and something to make the R4 pull better, would be great additions.
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| Great | Moderate High
| Full wetsuit
| Normal | 6 hours
| 7 people Beginner to Advanced | Mads (61 reports) | |
Comment: Creek is still murky and filled with silt but the box canyon is as beautiful as ever. It took us 5 hours to run the canyon and 1.5 hours to retrieve a stuck rope left on R4, which we did by walking around and rappelling into the side of the canyon after we exited. All anchors in good condition.
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