By Don Cheyette
On Sunday, June 7th, Leslie Mix, Ed Hand and I ran the Middle Sauk River, from the Whitechuck River Confluence down to Backman Park outside of Darrington. We had a leisurely non-alpine start at 10:30, and loaded everything into one car and headed up to the top. Leslie and I were in canoes, and Ed was in his kayak. It was Ed's first time on the Sauk. The flow was prime- the lower gauge read 4000 cfs. The water was cool, not cold, and the air was hot. I wore wetsuit pants and a short sleeved paddle jacket. Also a blue shirt, if you care. Leslie swamped in the opening rapid, and self rescued to shore on the island. We made our way past Howard's Rock enjoying the weather and avoiding fishermen.
We then approached the top of 6 of One, which we all ran cleanly, and immediately dropped into Half Dozen. I took an "interesting line" threading rocks all the way down, then braced myself slowly into a swim in the midst of a rather large hole I didn't remember about 2/3 of the way down the rapid. I self rescued to river right. I also rescued a lost beer (not mine), which was delicious.
Jaws we scouted and all styled. Whirlpool we also styled. Leslie and Ed ran both the upper and lower straight, while I stopped to drain in the middle. We had lunch below Whirlpool and watched a couple rafts and a WRRR group come through. They all looked like they were having fun. We did not find Kris' old bootie, yet again.
There is a log about 3 rapids below Whirlpool, perhaps 1/2 mile, crossing the entire river. It looks relatively fresh and was talked about in the last Sauk report. Again, most current pushes into the tree but there is a large eddy on the left. It is a very easy and short portage over a few rocks into the eddy, where you can paddle under the left side of the tree.
Another great day. Get paddling!