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Pouring over topo maps of the North Shore, my boating buddy 'discovered' what appeared to be a gem of a run. Having heard no rumors of any other runs, it was decided we would strike out to bag a potential first descent. Putting in off CR60 (northeast of Grand Marais), the early reaches of the stream were typified by swiftwater, and alder thickets encroaching on the river. Progress downstream was made using paddle shafts to fend-off the brush, and two phrases were born to describe the experience: Kung-fu boating (sing it with me, to the obvious old disco tune . . . "Everybody was Kung-fu boating . . ."), or (in honor of the creek's name) Kimballing. (Definition, Kimballing: plunging headlong in a boat through underbrush thickets, using forearms and your paddle to fend off branches as you go. More recently, this has been refined into a "Kimball scale", rating a river on the usual one-to-six range. Thus, if minor brushy-ness is encountered, that would be a 'one' on the Kimball scale, or a "K1" stream. If the stream is so full of alder and other living brush, in or overhanging the stream, as to make passage completely impossible, that would be a 'K6' stream.)
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Once the gradient picked up, we lost most of the underbrush, but encountered numerous snags. We'd boat a couple hundred feet, then have to get out around an unavoidable tree in the stream. Leaving our boats behind, we'd hike downstream to scout the next reach, only to find additional series of snags. Hike up, grab our boats, and hike back down. Boat a couple hundred feet, . . . et cetera, et cetera. We ended up 'triple hiking' most of the river.
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