Upper Silver Creek

Tret & Shertl told us Silver Creek was a lay-up. I was lured in & on the hook with tales of bedrock & waterfalls. Shertl arranged for a NF valley resident to pick us up at the gated road closure, then it would be a quick drive up the road plus an easy 3-mile hike in, then just fly down the creek & be back in town in time for BBQ .. I had even gone so far as to make plans to drive to the beach afterwards to camp & surf that night.

Hmmmm ..

Truth be told, I played waaaaay too hard & waaaaay too late the night before, & was operating on about 3.5 hours of sleep. The realization that our day wasn't going to be expedient set in when, before we'd even started our hike, Drew pointed out that we'd already invested 4 hours into getting to that point.

Hmmmmmmm ..

Sometime after my gnarly hole beatdown & logjam swim, plus several hundred subsequent log portages (with my club-like frozen feet), all that was going through my head was that witches' line from Macbeth, Double double toil and trouble! .. Over & over & over like a mantra.

For those of you who've forgotten, here's the whole passage, to refresh your memory:

Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.
Harpier cries:—'tis time! 'tis time!
Round about the caldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!
DOUBLE DOUBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
DOUBLE DOUBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches' mummy; maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark;
Root of hemlock digg'd i the dark;
Liver of blaspheming Jew; (ED NOTE: Drew, no blaspheming!)
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse;
Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips;
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,—
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingrediants of our caldron.
DOUBLE DOUBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good.

Anyway, here's a couple shots from the day .. the real trip report & lots more photos will be posted at Bellingham Whitewater shortly .. so best you go there to check now.


The hike was so awesome!


Splashy whitewater sometimes frightens Shertl. This look of terror is something I've witnessed all too often.


On the hike up we couldn't help but notice the massive avalanche that bridged the creek. We were sure we'd have to climb out of the canyon & portage it. To our amazement, we were actually able to paddle beneath it. Bueno!






There IS a waterfall on this creek.

Remember, full TR at Bellingham Whitewater.

Also, Bryan's got some awesome stuff up at the Reel Water site .. "bergy bits" & such .. Go there!