Northgate

[Hey Zeus]

What is the lowest you'd consider running Northgate? Kayak and raft flows would help. THX.

[Paddle Iraq]

How bad is the takeout at 6 mile gap for rafts? How steep? How long? Can you carry the raft inflated or is the trail too narrow? Sorry to hijack your thread Hey Zeus but I thought it was a better idea than starting another one about the same stretch.

[Chip]

Not a kayaker, so I can't answer that part.

In a ducky or Pack Cat, maybe 5-600 cfs, with a wary eye to potential pin/entrapment situations. Very close-set rocks in the whitewater reaches, and the boulders at the base of Narrow Falls might be pretty shallow– worth a scout.

After the peak, when the water's warmer and it's not so gripping to wade, you could run a duck in a few hundred cfs, if you were willing to wade it over bars and maybe portage some boulder jams. At that flow, it's a full day's trip from the Routt put-in to Six Mile Gap. Not much traffic.

For a raft (especially with a load) I wouldn't run lower than 800 cfs (and that takes a lot of oar-work to get through clean. I ran it with a narrow 15 ft. cat and one passenger: fun, but a workout.

541 cfs at the moment.

The Six Mile takeout is a) easy to miss because the channel splits (when you see a freestanding rock tower river left, stay hard left); b) has a steep but maintained trail about 1/4+ mile to the parking lot. It's about 5 ft. wide, so large rafts need to be deflated and rolled. Most people carry the frame and tubes up separately. Solo boating in a large raft might be a bad move.

[the_dude]

anyone know the condition of the road into 6 mile and bennett? drift free yet?

[Hey Zeus]

Thanks Chip. I go both ways and by that I mean I can paddle or raft. I've done the strech several times rafting but, never lower than 800.

I was up at the put in last weekend fishing. There was no snow on the road and I doubt there would be any on the 6 mile road. Because the TO hill is in the canyon I would think taking a raft up it right now, could be a bit challenging.