Thursday, February 23, 2006
New access point adds 3 mi of whitewater on the Cache Creek Rumsey Run
Bill Tuthill describes the Cache Creek Rumsey Run "from Yolo County regional park to Rumsey bridge. .... putting in at Buck so-called Island extends this trip with 3 more miles of good whitewater." (Yolo County, California, United States)
Yolo County Dept. Public Works says that the County Road 40 access from Hwy 16 to Buck Island closes every year in mid-Oct and reopens mid-April (county bulletin - road closures). Call 530-666-8775 for current road conditions.
Using Buck Island Campground as a put-in and/or take-out may turn out to be a great spring/summer resource for kayaking (Cache Creek area maps - South section - download map as PDF). The campground has some shiny, new bathrooms. Plan on packing out your trash and bringing your own drinking water. Call the BLM office in Ukiah for more information about facilities available (Phone: 707-468-4000).
Putting in at Buck Island and taking out at the Low Water Bridge would make a nice daytrip, overlapping with the standard 6 mile Cache Creek Rumsey Run. I'll be interested to kayak the section above the Bear Ck/Cache Ck confluence at spring/summer flows. In the past I've only paddled this section at winter flood flows of 3,000 to 10,000 cfs. Kayaking this section at summer flows of 500 to 800 cfs will be like exploring a new river. Because it has a reliable release for irrigation this extra 3 miles on Cache Creek will be a great addition to our limited list of summertime whitewater river runs.
Taking out at Buck Island Campground may also extend the season on the Cache Creek Wilderness Run, either by enabling a shorter daytrip to be completed at lower flows and/or by enabling an overnight trip to be done.
As soon as they reopen the County Road 40 Low Water Bridge crossing over Cache Creek lets go up there and check it out!! Let me know if you are interested to join the exploratory boating trips.
Tags: kayaking, whitewater, rivers, paddling.
Labels: trip
