General River Information

Siletz Access
There is still no access to the road Monday through Friday. This is the same as 1994's restrictions. The road is only open to the public from Saturday at 4am to Sunday at 9pm. Be aware that many of their other roads are restricted and they have fined people $1,000 for being on them without a permit.

Runnable Waterfalls

Caution: If you land wrong from even a 5' drop, you can hurt your spine
Salmon Creek, near Oakridge 14' falls. Drive right to falls, run it, Class I lead-in. Class II-III below.

Upper Brice, 20' over all, 12' vertical, Class III lead in just above the falls, Drive 4 miles above Champion Creek Bridge, carry down, steep narrow path, carry back up if you're not up for the tight, technical class V below.

Brice Creek, Class IV, has 2 12' falls and 4 other ledge drops

Upper Row, at Wildwood Falls, 15' falls, Class I above and below
This is the take out for Layng Creek

White Salmon River, BZ Corners run, 14' Husum Falls, Class III.

White Salmon River, Green Truss Bridge to BZ, Class IV-V, 2 12' falls. The one 30' falls has been run, but don't go too far left, it's shallow.

Little White Salmon, Class V+, TNC vertical drops 10-15', including the 30' Spirit Falls first run by Jens Mullen in 1994

Canyon Creek in S WA., Class V-, one 20' falls, 3 15' ledges. May be dammed soon. Get it before it's gone!

N. F. Alsea River

Eagle Creek, runnable Falls

Little North Santiam: 25' falls at put-in on the Upper section in Opel Creek, 20' falls in the middle Section of the upper

McKenzie River, Upper, Sahalie Falls Section, Numerous 10-15' drops, 68' Sahalie Fals, 50+? Koosah Falls.

Sweet Creek, near Mapleton, OR, as series of 5 falls 8'-15', class V

Impact Physics
It turns out that as the height of the falls increases, the air time and the velocity at which you hit the water increase only slowly. (The rate is proportional to the square root of the increase in height). The kinetic force on your body as you hit the water is a function of the square of the velocity, but the velocity increased as a square root function, so the kinetic force is also a linear function of height:

     Height(x)       Time     Velocity (y)(mph)    Kinetic force(z)

	10'    1 x  0.79 sec 	  17    1 y     	  1 z
	15'  1.5 x  0.96 sec 	  21  1.2 y   		1.5 z
	20'    2 x  1.12 sec  	  24  1.4 y     	2.0 z
	30'    3 x  1.37 sec  	  30  1.7 y    		3.0 z

For Sahalie Falls, if you missed the last eddy, you'd arrive at the bottom in 2 seconds at a speed of 45 mph.

Let me know your thoughts. Any additions or corrections would be much
appreciated.

Navigability, River Access, Landowner Rights. 3/3/92 by Jim Reed

All of the flowing waters of Oregon are in the public trust. This means they belong to the state and everyone can float on them. Access to the water and safe passage around obstacles is currently not guaranteed in Oregon. If an individual has title to the land adjacent to and beneath a river, then even stepping out your boat in the middle of the river, let alone walking on the bank to scout a drop or portage, constitutes trespassing. However, if it is a navigable waterway, the state owns the river bed up to the ordinary high water mark and everyone can access these lands and trespassing is no longer an issue.
Navigable rivers can be defined as ones that have been or are currently being used for commercial purposes. These include but are not limited to barge traffic, commercial fishing and the floating of logs and railroad ties. Some feel this also includes commercial rafting or
recreational fishing where a guide is paid for services rendered.

The state has clear title to six sections of the following rivers: the Rogue, McKenzie, Nehalem, Columbia, Snake, and Willamette. In
addition, the state also owns sections of rivers where the tide ebbs and flows.
Presently, the state has laid claim to all navigable waterways in the state but does not have free title to the lands. These claims are in conflict with claims held by the streamside landowners. This issue can be decided only by the US Court of Appeals or ultimately the Supreme Court. The state is currently (1992) gathering evidence for what may be a landmark case to set precedent and decide this issue for once and
all. For now , though, this means if you are cited for trespassing it could be a long and costly court battle to prove your innocence.
In areas where there is no ready public access, be courteous and ask permission to cross private land. Failing that, the only access may be along the state right of way by a bridge. Typically, the state owns a10' to 15' swath on each side of the bridge as well as the roadway. To be sure, check the assessor maps at the County Surveyor's Office before you tread.
Rivers with hostile landowners include:

sections of the North Umpqua
Nestucca

N. Fork of Trask River Road washed out
12/30/95 The Trask River Road is closed from a washout about 50 feet across about 2 miles east of the takeout. Looks like it could be quite a while before it will be repaired. You can still run the lower run on the N. Fork of Trask. Mick Chase, 102634.2027@compuserve.com

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