Trip Report: East Fork Lewis (Class II)

Stewart Landing to Daybreak Park

Trip coordinated by Bryan Stewart January 22, 2022 

This was the inaugural paddle of what we expect will be a monthly Class II’ish paddle. Bryan Stewart, the Trip Coordinator, was hoping for a level of 1500 cfs or below. There was a lot of rain on Wednesday prior to the trip, which took the river up to 3000, but it was dropping at a steady pace and it was estimated it would be around 1700 by Saturday. So like Ike on D Day, Bryan issued the “Go.”

It was a beautiful sunny day and spirits were high at the put in. Ten paddlers showed up for this inaugural float: Chuck Wilkison our only canoe, Karla Bergstrom, Emily Hooker, Leon Lieser, Sam Faile, Travis Cook, Sue Scheppele, Eric Runge, Lance Swanson, and Bryan Stewart. Emily captured the day beautifully in the video below.

There was of course a safety talk prior to launching, establishing lead and sweep boat, and then the group headed to the put in. Bryan committed sacrilege by stating that there would be no lunch stop on this ”LunchCCC” trip, but he did also commit to providing delicious appetizers and drinks on his riverside deck after the successful completion of the run. This was met by the group with some rebellion, but the task at hand took precedence.

The put in rapid, Bryan’s Play Place, is a juicy Class II that gets your face wet right off. The next rapid down, Nick’s Swimming Hole (Bryan’s nephew Nick swam there on his first kayak trip), did not disappoint. There was one swimmer, but he did a marvelous self-rescue to the applause of the whole group.

The rest of the seven mile run was chill Class II with all the group admiring the beauty and saying how fun it was to paddle such a fun run. Points of interest were hikers waving at us while paddling through Lewisville Park, Surf City Rapid where there are a couple of perfect glassy surfing waves, and numerous Bald Eagle sightings.

The afternoon ended with a nice riverside deck happy hour with sunshine and a toasty fire provided by Michelle Stewart, followed by brats on the grill.  Thanks so much for all the attendees and hopefully this will be a nice monthly event. There is a possibility of breaking down to two groups, adding another group who wants to run the Class 3+ section above Stewart Landing. 

Want to participate in the next one? Club trips are posted to the club Google Group. See also the club’s event schedule for upcoming trips.

SYOTR!