Little River Levels
Sinks to Elbow Section

by Trent Pearce

[Readings on NOAA Townsend Gauge - now online!]

2.0 - Bare minimum. Scrapy, shallow, lots of F.U. rocks. Very technical rock-dodging skills needed. Screaming Meanies have bizarre currents, pinning or broaching is easy. Main sinks drop has good pinning potential on river left chute. Boof at Silver Diner is small and easy to piton on rather than boof. Pinning is also possible on river left at Eddy Out rapid. Some small pools in between shallow boogie water. Elbow rapid is at maximum difficulty, overhanging rock on river-left is about head-level. River classification: III+

2.5 - Starting to pick up. Still shallow and scrapy, generally slightly deeper water. Pools still exists throughout run. Screaming meanies are easiest at this level, with decent recovery pool in between. Right lines are beginning to open up at the main sinks drop, though shallow. The boof at Silver Diner is getting better. Pinning potential still exists at Eddy Out. The elbow is starting to fill up; the overhanging rock is at about elbow(!) level. Wear protection if running. River classification: III

3.0 - Things are getting fun. Screaming meanies are starting to get beefy; consider sneaking on river right. The main sinks drop is big; lines exist right and left. Many scrape down the far right or run the right to left flume. Watch the rocks at the bottom. The boof at the Diner is almost completely covered; hit it with a right angle to avoid the left bank. Eddy out is getting pushy, but the eddy is bigger. The launch pad is still good to go. Random holes are appearing throughout the run, with small wave trains replacing the pools. The elbow is becoming more forgiving; the overhanging rock is now at boat-level, and the center boof is opening up. River Classification: III+(IV)

3.5 - Yee-haw. The Meanies are huge, especially the hole at the base of #2. Seriously consider sneaking on the far right. The sinks are also huge; the hole at the base of the left line is becoming malevolent. The center super-boof is now running, as well as all manner of lines down the slide on the right. The boof at Silver Diner is almost underwater, but still doable. Angle hard right going off it. Eddy out is approaching class IV, with big holes in the entrance and exit. The launch pad is not visible for a large wave just above it, but it's still there. Large wave trains replace all the pools and calm sections. Some holes are beginning to get trashy. The elbow is huge, but friendly. Watch the hole at the base of the center boof, it likes to send boats airborne. Bring the playboat if you're brave, the water is deep. River Classification: III-IV

4.0 - Some rapids are beginning to wash out. The screaming meanies are ridiculous; tweeze your way down the far right side and stay away from those holes. The main sinks drops is beginning to resemble a huge pourover. Use caution and stay away from the left line. Large holes exist throughout the run, some of them quite sticky. Silver diner is a big pourover; if you run the boof, hit it hard. Eddy out is a solid Class IV, with big holes in the entrance and runout. Good luck finding the launch pad. The wave trains are getting pushy, and there is no slack water on the entire run. The main elbow drop keeps getting better, but the holes in the entrance are getting mighty big. Don't swim above the main drop. River Classification: IV(+)