The run on the lower Silver starts with easy class I-II boulder-bed rapids, leading quickly into a small dells (shown at left). Since the river runs straight ahead and there isn't that much drop here, the tendency is to just 'run on-the-fly', but a pair of holes with back-feeding eddies can be deceptively problematic. Scouting is recommended at moderate or higher levels.
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| Immediately downstream the river twists to the right, trips down a jagged drop, encounters a wall of rock and is diverted sharply to the left down a narrow aisle (above left). A brief pool is backed up by a final rock ledge. At high flows, a boney run to the left is possible. Otherwise, the more 'usual' move is to cross to a hanging pool far river right, then paddle aggressively toward the center rock to drop into a folding hole (backed up by shoreline/rock below) angled toward center-river below (shown above right). |
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The next significant action is a 'twisted triple' drop. The entrance (shown in the background of the photo above left) can be run well to the left, where most of the flow passes the jumble of rock in center-river and is diverted to the right through a couple of offset holes. An alternate route is to run far right (background left in photo) to 'boof' into the pool below. (Be forwarned, there are some rocks in the pool to land on or piton into if you miss your 'boof'.)
A bit of slackwater precedes the second drop, where a hump of rock center-river divides the flow. The right side (shown near-ground above left) drops off into a boiling hole (which has always looked more problematic than it has ever proven to be). The left side (not shown) is generally quite an obstacle course of shallow (and/or exposed) rock, thus is seldom (if ever) run. The flow is next diverted across to the left before dropping down the third drop of this triple. A sweet line to to hug tight to the left wall to take a sweeping 'off-ramp' slide into the pool below (as shown above right), though various other lines are certainly equally viable. |
Next up is another triple-drop, much more straight-forward than the first. While historically run in a 'tight-right, tight-left, center' fashion (with a caution about a piton rock at the base of the first/right drop), we have more lately been fond of a 'left, left, center' route. After running this drop, do not miss the opportunity to turn and look back upstream to take in the view of the impressive amout of drop you have just come down!
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A long, dead-flat stretch of river follows, broken only once or twice by minor riffles and rapids. At length, you finally come to Trestle Falls (recommended scout, river right). The river twists left through a narrowing between remnants of a railroad trestle (above left) and drops through offset waves and holes before reaching a hanging pool. Paddlers generally will wish to break out of the strong outflow to line-up for the lower part of this drop (shown above right). The majority of the steep slide looks quite uninviting, with much angular, upturned rock to gouge and trip-up a boat and paddler. Tight to the right, a narrow slot between shore and a rock leads to a line (angling left, away from shore) down the face of the falls. A few more short ledges and waves (shown in the background of the photo) finish out the drop.
A brief paddle brings you to the finale, Silver Falls. The river is funneled into a narrow dells with a number of waves and holes before spreading out to trip across shallow splines of rock before a dogleg left. Boaters are advised to get out at this point, as the lower part of the falls is quite intimidating. While it has been run, most boaters will be content to take out before it. |