Conditions:Stafford Creek-20230521013141

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Latest:

20 May 2023 (19 days ago)

Reported by: K arc (271 reports)
Quality:

Good
Waterflow:
Moderate Low
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Wetsuit:
Thin wetsuit
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Water temperature:
Difficulty:
Normal
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Time:

Team: 4 people with experience level Intermediate to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: Flow has dropped off tremendously -- back to typical levels for this time of year. Investigated possibility of installing a new rebelay station on the big pitch, but rock is largely poor quality. Found & packed out a mostly-full bottle of engine oil that some idiots were using to light a campfire at the bottom of the pitch. Otherwise, a fun day out.


All condition reports


Date Quality Waterflow Wetsuit Difficulty Time Team Reported by
20 May 2023


Good

Moderate Low
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Thin wetsuit
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Normal
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4 people
Intermediate to Advanced
K arc (271 reports)
Comment: Flow has dropped off tremendously -- back to typical levels for this time of year. Investigated possibility of installing a new rebelay station on the big pitch, but rock is largely poor quality. Found & packed out a mostly-full bottle of engine oil that some idiots were using to light a campfire at the bottom of the pitch. Otherwise, a fun day out.


Good

High
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Full wetsuit
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Special challenges
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2 people
K arc (271 reports)
Comment: Stafford is currently in flood stage; most rappels not suitable for running the flow direct. Probably the highest I've ever seen the creek at. Double falls at the bottom was more of a uni-falls... albeit with light flow in the center. Still lots of snow higher up in the coast range; road was blocked near the bridge. We had to park and hike the last 0.5mi to the usual drop in. Probably would recommend waiting a couple weeks for the snow to melt off and flow to subside to "fun" level. Problematic log in the previous TR has disappeared. Creek still surprisingly clean given the big snow-pocalypse this winter. Found and fixed a few wonky anchors. Need to come back and install a rebelay station for a better way to run the big falls. Looks like a nice rock panel DCL just before the big vertical.


Good

Low
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Thin wetsuit
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Normal
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2 people
Jrdezso (1 reports)
Comment: Good jaunt through today with a two man team. Not sure if it is rap 3 or 4 but someone had a sling around a log center creek. The log was blocked with a large bolder and propped with another log. A slight tug on the main log had the whole system moving including the large bolder. We removed this so others didn’t get the idea it was safe. We retired webbing around the nearby large root center creek. There was a lot of debris build up there. We removed most. Probably best running your rope under the sketch log, just watch too much upward lift on your rope if you run the rope under the log.


Great

Moderate Low
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Thin wetsuit
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5 people
Fil (10 reports)


Great

Moderate Low
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Thin wetsuit
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Normal
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5 people
K arc (271 reports)
Comment: Terrific training day in Stafford skipping the 90-degree temps in town. Replaced several anchors; all are good to go. Great fun to lounge in the pools and introduce some new folks to canyoning.


Great

Moderate Low
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Full wetsuit
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Normal
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Time3.png 5 hours
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2 people
Advanced to Intermediate
RWBUSA96 (2 reports)
Comment: Very fun run off Stafford which is my home area. The added anchors are all in good shape and allowed the waterflow to be rappelled in these conditions. All anchors ideally set and in good shape. Anchor webbing added to Stafford Falls tree anchor. The existing sling started to show it's age from fading, no mechanical or creature damage. The set anchors are really helping to restore the banks and moss on side of the waterflow.


Great

Moderate High
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Full wetsuit
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Normal
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6 people
K arc (271 reports)
Comment: Great day on Stafford. Water conditions were on the spicy side, requiring some evaluation of the drops before committing. Found several over-built anchors. Seemed a bit more slippery than I remembered. The big drop should probably be bolted eventually -- put in a bolt station right on the brink would be safer and allow an easier pull. A tree anchor set back from the edge could be the anchor for a retrievable safety line. Kicked back in the sun with a festive beverage back at the lower parking area. Great way to unwind after a great day.


Good

Moderate
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Thin wetsuit
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Normal
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5 people
K arc (271 reports)
Comment: Removed DCL anchor on the final falls. Please rappel DCR only to avoid the Dipper nest.


Great

Moderate
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Thin wetsuit
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Normal
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3 people
K arc (271 reports)
Comment: Always fun -- flow was great today. Stafford is looking a little beaten up; to keep impact to a minimum please stay in the watercourse as much as possible. It's easy to do. We removed a few dodgy anchors. Please rappel DCR on the final falls as there's a confirmed dipper nest on the DCL side again this year. We probably should have removed the DCL anchor.


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
Brand new to Intermediate
Sbrown (14 reports)


Great

Moderate Low
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Thin wetsuit
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Normal
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Time3.png 6 hours
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6 people
Beginner to Intermediate
Sbrown (14 reports)
Comment: We were able to swim/wade across the Devil's Fork of the Wilson River - no issues.


Amazing

Moderate
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Thin wetsuit
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Normal
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Time3.png 5 hours
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3 people
Beginner to Intermediate
Kshell25 (5 reports)
Comment: No shuttle so we dropped in the west drainage. Conditions were great, enough water to be fun but not sketchy.


Great

Moderate High
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Full wetsuit
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Special challenges
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Time3.png 7 hours
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8 people
Beginner to Intermediate
Karl Helser (1 reports)
Comment: Near perfect conditions. The center of most flows was pretty heavy so we stayed to one side or the other while still in the flow. We stayed out of the flow on the main Stafford Falls, but noticed after all were down that we could have dropped in the flow DCR of the heavy flow. Fun shit!!


Great

Very High
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Full wetsuit
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Normal
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Time2.png 4 hours
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3 people
Intermediate
Willow (15 reports)
Comment: We only had one car so we dropped in on a tributary on the western side of the creek. It was filled with wood but the approach was only ~10 minutes. We stayed out of the flow for most drops because of high water, but a more adventurous group might have ran some of them. Very fun canyon, I'm excited to come back in the summer!


Great

Extreme
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Full wetsuit
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Normal
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Time2.png 4 hours
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4 people
Intermediate to Advanced
Tiffanie (139 reports)
Comment: Flow was way too extreme to rappel directly in the flow. For some drops, we were able to skirt along side the falls; for others we bypassed due to unavoidable hazards. The Wilson river was not crossable so we skirted along the cliffs (easy) back to the bridge. Wore a full wetsuit + windbreaker and managed to stay relatively warm except in a few spots.
...additional reports