Quartzville Creek
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| | Raps:3-5, max ↨30ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:Optional 5min or 2mi Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 14 Sep 2024
"This canyon is no very technical as far as rope work goes, but its still lots of fun! Easy exit and approach(we did the shorter approach) lots of fun |
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| Best season: | July-Sept
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44.5837, -122.2259
44.5845, -122.2263
44.5836, -122.2399
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Weather forecast
Waterflow
Introduction[edit]
This is an incredibly fun canyon filled with exciting jumping opportunities and a couple short rappels. Without the rappels, every local person within 50 miles would be coming here on weekends to do this amazing stretch of canyon. It has spectacular sustained narrows and fantastic rock formations with crystal clear (but cold) water. There are a lots of swimming pools, jumping from logs into pools, and jumping from cliffs into pools. While it does not have thrilling rappels, it's another Oregon gem and makes for a fun, relaxing day out. Excellent for beginners and really fun for experts as well.
Be aware: Quartzville Creek is a big drainage and sees high flow in the early season. Once into the gorge, the creek narrows up significantly and could be quite dangerous in high water. Use caution before entering. The flow becomes more moderate later in the season and should be beginner-friendly in July-September.
- A good checkpoint for waterflow reference photos is probably a shot of Quartzville Creek taken at the bridge about 0.5mi downstream of the exit parking.
- There is a lot of swimming and water can be cold, even in August. Bring adequate thermal protection.
- Quartzville can be combined with nearby Parkett Creek or Lost Creek for a full day's adventure. Also check out the nearby South Santiam River. No rappels but a similar flavor to Quartzville.
- Watershed: 20.5mi^2.
Approach[edit]
Directions: Lower Parking[edit]
From Marion Forks, head south on Hwy 22 for 2.9mi. Turn off right/west onto Straight Creek Road, aka NF-11, aka Quartzville Scenic Byway. Follow this for ~18mi to where it crosses Minniece Creek and continue south to a large pullout at a curve in the road above the confluence of Minniece and Quartzville Creek. If you reach the bridge crossing Quartzville Creek, you've gone too far (athough this can also be your exit, adding about 0.5mi of enjoyable pool splashing). A GPS is handy for identifying the correct location.
Directions: Upper Parking[edit]
You can shuttle or hike the road.
- Helser Direct (Short Approach): Head back east on FR 11 for 1.2mi and find a place to park. There's room for a couple cars off the pavement. From the cars, head immediately south through the trees on a moderately steep, easy bushwhack down into the creek. Approach takes all of 2-3min. Quartzville narrows up about 5min downstream.
- Original Beta (Long Approach): Head back east on FR 11 for 1.9mi to a small pullout immediately west of a spot where a dry creek crosses the road, and the vegetation yields to a rocky slope. Upon reaching the creek, follow it downstream. Quartzville is your typical streamwalk for about 30-40min (1mi) until it narrows up. There are occasional pools and short sections of interesting bedrock along the way.
Entering the Creek[edit]
It's recommended to put on wetsuits and harnesses on the road, as the approach to the water is less than five minutes. This way you will not even need to bring backpacks on the descent, except for the person who carries the rope, and another person with water/snacks for the group.
Technical Notes[edit]
- Groups should be familiar with how to rig unlinked bolts. Please do not add webbing or other connective material to them.. Quartzville sees massive floods in the winter and early spring. Giant logs may appear and disappear from year to year. Any webbing or connective material may present an opportunity to snag flood debris getting washed down the canyon. The relentless force of the water leveraged against the bolts can weaken, damage, or even destroy the anchor.
- Jumping into deep pools can be tremendous fun, but always send someone down first to check the depth and look for underwater obstacles (ex: underwater ledges, boulders, and impaling logs). Jumping is a leading cause of canyon injuries (i.e. broken ankles and legs). The bottom of Quartzville is a bad place to have an accident.
- Beginners "leading" beginners is a common cause of canyon accidents.
Descent[edit]
When the creek narrows up, you know you're entering the actual gorge.
The rappels are all right near the start of the gorge. Evaluate flow conditions prior to entry as this area could be dangerous in high water conditions, and it's your last chance to escape upstream.
- R1: 15ft from unlinked bolts DCR.
- R2: 20ft from unlinked bolts DCR about 100' downstream of R1. Cross a pool to R3.
- R3: 6ft from single glue-in bolt. (Update 2023: Bit bent from flood damage, but still usable.)
- It looks inviting, but do NOT jump R3! The pool below is full of irregularly-shaped rocks hidden just under the surface. Breaking a leg in here would be a whole barrel of no fun.
- If the bolt at R3 is unusable, you'll likely need to extend the rope from R2. This requires about 60ft of rope (SRT) per the horizontal distance. Be aware: this drop can be a rope-eater. Rappellers should take special care to keep the rope from getting stuck in a crack on the DCR side of this drop.
- The signature photo for this page shows the R3 drop; R2 is just behind it and around the corner to the left.
Below R3: Swim out through the narrows. This is a fantastic place to swim and play, as well as stop for lunch! There is also a fun opportunity for a slide here into a pool, and climbing up on the cliffs DCL and jumping into the deep pools in the narrows.
After R3, all other rappels are optional, but keep an eye out for good jumping spots... there are quite a few. Folks who are not into jumping may still want to rappel from the occasional log jam. Continue downstream through the narrows with all manner of interesting rock formations, pools, and downclimbs. There are at least three places where you can walk out on large logs and jump into pools. A giant undercut carved out by extreme flooding (almost a cave) on DCL is a signal that the end is drawing near. When you reach an obvious tributary entering DCR via a large bedrock ramp, this is Minniece Creek and your exit.
Exit[edit]
Head up Minniece Creek for about 50ft and exit on a faint use trail on climber's left. This leads directly up to the road and your parked car. The exit hike takes all of two minutes. Alternately, you can continue downstream for another 0.5mi of enjoyable easy pools to the bridge crossing Quartzville Creek. If you accidentally pass Minniece Creek, just exit at the bridge. From here, there are many campsites downstream along the creek.
Red tape[edit]
None.
Beta sites[edit]
- Super Amazing Map : Pure Hate Gorge
- CanyoneeringNorthwest.com (archive.org) : Quartzville Creek
- Kayaking Quartzville Creek
Trip reports and media[edit]
Background[edit]
The name "Pure Hate Gorge" was given to this section of the creek by whitewater kayakers disappointed with conditions within. While it may not be a good whitewater kayaking objective, it's a great one for canyoneers and photographers.
Further Explorations[edit]
- Little Meadows Creek is a smaller tributary that enters the Gorge from the north. It appears to have its own short intriguing narrows - possibly some rappels? Using this tributary to enter Quartzville Creek will drop you in below the rappels and much of the fun unfortunately.
