Cascade Creek

Cascade Creek (aka 3rd Gorge of Lime) is a great single day adventure. You get some hiking, 2 miles of creeking, 6ish miles of Upper A wavetrains, the option of the Rockwood Box with healthy flows and then some more hiking. The adventure starts with a 1-2 mile downhill hike from Purgatory to Purgatory flats.

We were a little dubious on the flows after everything spiked overnight, but a quick peek at the Cascade Slot and Lime Creek at the highway assured us that flows would not be too high. Too high does not really refer to the rapids on the run, which would be sweet at flood, but rather to the eddy above the 5+ portage and one limbo log at the bottom of a rapid most of they down the creek. These photos are from med-high flows (est 600+ in the creek, 1600 on the Tacoma gauge). Purgatory flats- your put-in and first opportunity to get a real visual on flows.

A couple wavetrains and a roll under a log bring you to the landslide portage. Maybe it would be just easier to run...maybe not (it has been run).

The launch out of the portage is the most gripping part of the run. It requires a seal launch right where the current slams into a wall. However, it goes better than it looks and is actually the best rapid on the run.

The only rapid that really stands out in my mind below this is the ledgy drop a few hundred yards downstream of the portage. At this level the hole looked horrible, but the ledge appeared to be a good boof. We proved ourselves completely wrong as four of us plugged the hole and paddled out one after another. Big Eric gets ready to displace some backwash.

The rest of the run is all straightforward Class IV, but it is wall-to-wall water in places and pretty continuous, so a swim would be bad. After you hit the Animas, you have six miles (maybe 45 minutes) to the Rockwood Box, which will be harder than Cascade at pretty much any level.