Pup Creek
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| | Raps:7, max ↨220ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:Required 30 min Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 29 Jul 2020
"We did not run this but passed it on the way to Whale. Road is clear to the top parking. Water looked quite low- probably not worth doing. |
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| Best season: | Spring-Fall
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45.1328, -122.1117
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Introduction[edit]
Pup went through the Riverside fire in 2020 and was severely burned. Don't count on the beta below being accurate. The Clackamas River Trail remains closed so don't use it.
Approach[edit]
If you plan to swim across the Clackamas as your exit back to the vehicle, it is advised to first look at the water flow prior to driving to the drop-in point. Sunstrip Campground has many access trails to the river where you will want to take out. It can be a very easy float from about 100 feet downstream of the mouth of Pup to the campground beach, about 5 minutes. If swimming across the river looks dangerous, consider parking the vehicle shuttle about 1 mile further East as there is a downed log that can be crossed that spans the entire width of the river.
Park on a small pull out 0.25 miles before the dirt road crosses Pup Creek. Hike down to the creek through clear forest about 10 minutes to elevation 2600 feet.
Descent[edit]
- R1: @2600 feet elevation, Tree DCR, 25’
- R2: Tree DCR, 50’
- R3: Tree DCL, 70’, creek walk 15 minutes
- R4: Log DCL, 90’, creek walk 45 minutes
- R5: @1930ft elevation, Log Middle, 50’ into weeping wall cavern, creek walk 1 hour
- R6: @1370ft elevation, Tree DCL, 220’ (or rappel 150’ to ledge and take hiker trail DCR to base of falls)
- Optional R7: Log Middle, 60 (or take hiker trail DCL)
Exit[edit]
From the bottom of the falls, take the obvious hiker trail DCL about 800 feet to a trail junction. Take the right spur down to the creek, creek walk on the right for 300 feet to the river. 100 feet down river is a shallow entry below a large boulder mid-river. Float about 0.2 miles down ferrying right to the rocky beach at Sunstrip Campground.
Alternatively, hike 1.25 miles East (turn right onto the very scenic Clackamas River Trail) to where a downed log spans the entire width (110 feet) of the river. You can easily scoot (some have walked) across the river on top of this log which is about 20 - 30 feet above the river. Also at this point at about 100 feet down river from the log is a spot where an easy, short swim across deeper, calmer, and unobstructed water is possible. Once across the river, hike the short trail up to the road.
Red tape[edit]
Beta sites[edit]
CanyoneeringNorthwest.com (archive.org) : Pup Creek