Jefferson Creek

Got lucky with catching the tail end of the bubble on Jefferson with spring-like conditions on Saturday. Shane & I couldn't convince anyone from Seattle to go kayaking until we reached JD & Jeff Robinson, who apparently are out getting it done all the time. It still kills me that on any given day, there are many local runs going, but motivating anyone to go boating is next to impossible. At any rate, JD & Jeff were gung ho & they know this run as well as anyone ..


Jeff & JD .. duct tape gasket repair at the put-in

Jefferson Cr., which flows into the Hamma Hamma out on the Olympic Peninsula, had been on my hit-list for awhile. And since it's been difficult to get it while it was poppin' over the winter, & given my new free agent status, I figured I'd better take advantage of the opportunity. We couldn't have asked for a better day -- bluebird skies & 60 degrees.


Shane soaking up some UV at the takeout bridge


C-dog doing the same

This run is super high quality, pretty mellow, & full of technical moves with a nice mix of bedrock & boulders that commands your attention for the length of the run. The canyon becomes very deep & features vertical gorge walls that tower several hundred feet overhead in places .. in others, the creek is shaded by a canopy of foliage from the surrounding trees .. & for the duration, the creek charges continuously downward thru slots & over great slides & ledges. In places it reminded me of a miniature version of the Little White without the big waterfalls.


JD cleaning the first drop


Jeff Robinson in a nice triple slide series. The pic doesn't do the drop justice ..


Jeff heading into a super fun bedrock slot

Some local Pt.Angeles guys have done a proper job of cleaning the channels of big timber that used to cause some portaging. So for now, you can get down through the canyon with one wood portage & one non-wood portage. Once you're familiar with the run, you can pretty much rally it with only a couple eddies. Our second lap took us approx. 40 mins. from top to bottom.


Me on what JD & Jeff were calling "the Colby line" .. an airplane turn / boof over the sticky part of a meaty ledge hole