Conditions:Thunder Creek (North Cascades)-20240917003041

Latest:	16 Sep 2024 (6 mos ago)

Reported by:	Kirbside (87 reports), Coops (108 reports)
Quality:	Amazing
Waterflow:	Moderate
Wetsuit:	Full wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	6 hours

Team: 5 people with experience level Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: Amazing conditions in Thunder! A beautiful relatively sunny day with reasonable temperatures made for a fun day out.

Water flow was overall moderate, though slightly higher than August 26th last year (possibly due to recent rains). A few quite sporty hydraulics and undercuts existed but were relatively easy to avoid. We intentionally swam into one of the horizontal recirculating hydraulics to check out the flow and the undercut. A strong swimmer with knowledge of hydraulics would be able to escape somewhat easily but not trivially.

We spent time swimming back behind the waterfall on the big waterfall jump (currently the cover photo jump). If you try to jump through the fall from behind and below it throws you ungracefully directly onto your face which was fun by some definition. We added a bolt a few feet back from this jump around navel height for groups who want to check depth or practice their ascending to lap the jump. We also lapped the big jump near the end a few times (accessed by a use trail up the boulders DCL).

Sediment seems to have filled in some of the features a bit. A jump that was previously deep (J4 15ft jump into a narrow slot) was only ~4-5ft deep with a smaller landing zone than before.

Time is car to car from the parking outside the gate. We hiked the road which added a little over 2 hours and lots of mosquito bites. We used exit option 1 in the beta.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
16 Sep 2024	Amazing	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	5 people Advanced	Kirbside (87 reports),Coops (108 reports)
Comment: Amazing conditions in Thunder! A beautiful relatively sunny day with reasonable temperatures made for a fun day out. Water flow was overall moderate, though slightly higher than August 26th last year (possibly due to recent rains). A few quite sporty hydraulics and undercuts existed but were relatively easy to avoid. We intentionally swam into one of the horizontal recirculating hydraulics to check out the flow and the undercut. A strong swimmer with knowledge of hydraulics would be able to escape somewhat easily but not trivially. We spent time swimming back behind the waterfall on the big waterfall jump (currently the cover photo jump). If you try to jump through the fall from behind and below it throws you ungracefully directly onto your face which was fun by some definition. We added a bolt a few feet back from this jump around navel height for groups who want to check depth or practice their ascending to lap the jump. We also lapped the big jump near the end a few times (accessed by a use trail up the boulders DCL). Sediment seems to have filled in some of the features a bit. A jump that was previously deep (J4 15ft jump into a narrow slot) was only ~4-5ft deep with a smaller landing zone than before. Time is car to car from the parking outside the gate. We hiked the road which added a little over 2 hours and lots of mosquito bites. We used exit option 1 in the beta.
26 Aug 2023	Great	Moderate					Coops (108 reports)
9 Oct 2022	Amazing	Moderate High	Full wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	AdamB (41 reports)
Comment: Great canyon overall! fantastic flow currently, very much worth running right now. Definitely bring bikes. We skipped R1 as we didn't need it and all the jumps were amazing. After jump 4 on the beta stay DCL like basically out of the canyon until jump5. There is a tempting pool to slide and jump into before jump 5 but you might get sucked over j5 falls if you get in there. getting to j6 was the crux for me but was manageable solo and very manageable with team assist.
9 Oct 2022	Good	Moderate	Drysuit	Normal	7 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	Beccap (43 reports)
Comment: Thundercat party! There were 3 teams in there - ours in front, a team of 4 right behind, and a team of 3 behind them. We all knew one another, and ended up exiting together. The water levels were probably an unprecedented low, since its been dry for so long this year. Still, pushy in places, but no hydraulics to speak of. We lost an iPhone 14 pro and weren’t able to find it despite looking for long enough that we caused a bottle neck with the groups behind us. Very grateful for the friendly community we have! Despite some mishaps, a fun day with a great group!
3 Oct 2020	Poor	Very High		Advanced			Jakehuddleston (35 reports)
Comment: We made the approach on bikes (highly recommended) 1 week after heavy rains. Much to our surprise, the water was still very high, and much higher than I had seen it on any trip before. We ended up deciding to bail at the first jump. The canyon probably could have been done with a very competent team, but swiftwater skills must be very dialed in.
23 Aug 2020	Amazing	Moderate High	Thin wetsuit	Normal	8 hours	3 people	Norhex (24 reports)
Comment: Thunder Cat Creek*, obviously. Bring bug spray and skin coverage. Skeeter clouds followed us for close to all of the approach and exit. Moderate high flow got pushy in narrow sections. Slimy creek walking and slick jump platforms add some sketch. A recirc in J1 swallowed our rope bag and sucked it into a cave (saved it), have strong swimmers in your team. Must meat anchor a couple spots to check depth of jumps in areas with little options for natural anchors. Some jumps are in committing areas, be comfy with 15-20’ drops. Always check depth before jumping. Exit was a steep bushwhack on a user trail out to the old road. Lots of stinging nettles. Bringing bikes next time if only for the skeeters
15 Aug 2020	Good	Moderate High	Thin wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	8 people Intermediate to Advanced	Blueshade (54 reports)
Comment: A little pushy in places but over all not too bad. Be aware as much as anything that there are quite a few places where (possibly slippery) scrambling, boulder hopping, and/or down climbing (sometimes in the flow) is necessary that is probably difficult for a beginner or possibly intermediate canyoneer. Lines or spotting may be necessary for some. Slips and falls or screw ups on downclimbs could have consequences. A couple slides were done that were probably ill advised as catching a foot or hitting a hip etc is quite possible. One or two of the possible jumps likely have small and/or shallow landing zones - such as, I think, current R2 that mentions getting off half way and jumping. Also, current J3 (more like 20'?) has a recirc (doesn't appear to be dangerous) that you must swim across (some may need a line). Bushwhacking exiting right is a bit of a pain for about 300' vertical with some nettle, but eases at the logging road. Not as awesome of a canyon as it was made out to be but some decent jumps.
18 Aug 2019	Amazing	Moderate High	Full wetsuit	Normal	8 hours	3 people Intermediate to Expert	Jakehuddleston (35 reports)
Comment: Beautiful canyon and so much fun. Water was high but easily navigable. Tested and confirmed a slide in the lower section of the canyon. Great day. BRING BUG SPRAY. We encountered mosquito swarms from hell on the hike in/out.
9 Sep 2018	Amazing	Moderate High	Full wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	3 people Beginner to Expert	Kevinsteffa (2 reports)