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Diamond
Creek
IV-IV+
A tributary of the North Fork Smith River.
IV-IV+
A tributary of the North Fork Smith River.
Diamond Creek is a gem of the Smith River watershed. Unfortunately it's a flawed gem. Wilderness scenery, crystal clear water, a handful of class IV rapids and two hard class IV rapids make for a fun section of creek. The flaw is the last six miles of shuttle road are very rough and a truck or truck based SUV is suggested, and even then you'll be crawling.
Images just don't do
justice to rough
roads, but we hit bottom at least ten times.
Beautiful North Fork Smith scenery.
Beautiful North Fork Smith scenery.
We started just above the confluence at a three tiered drop on the North Fork of Diamond Creek. A bit more water would have opened up the river right line and made it a lot better. As it was, it was not as fun as it looked.
David Maurier
approaches the lip.
Kyle Hull digs a good stroke in above the hydraulic.
Looking downstream, the Diamond Creek confluence is just a hundred yards away.
Once at the confluence the creek more than doubled in volume and we made rapid progress downstream through continuous class II-III with stunning scenery and good wildlife; several eagles.
Easy miles and nice views.
Waterfalls fell into the creek every few hundred yards, even more per mile than the North Fork Smith. Daniel Brasuell and David Maurier enjoy one.
The large riverbed could handle gross amounts of water.
Kyle Hull digs a good stroke in above the hydraulic.
Looking downstream, the Diamond Creek confluence is just a hundred yards away.
Once at the confluence the creek more than doubled in volume and we made rapid progress downstream through continuous class II-III with stunning scenery and good wildlife; several eagles.
Easy miles and nice views.
Waterfalls fell into the creek every few hundred yards, even more per mile than the North Fork Smith. Daniel Brasuell and David Maurier enjoy one.
The large riverbed could handle gross amounts of water.
Two
larger rapids got out heartbeats up and we assumed that we'd entered
the final two miles of class IV, but no, that was it. Minutes later we
paddled onto the swollen North Fork Smith and enjoyed the big water to
take out.
David Maurier in the Golf Course of the North Fork Smith.
David Maurier in the Golf Course of the North Fork Smith.
Diamond Creek is worth
doing, but due to the lack of rapids and long, rough shuttle, not
something I'll return to any day too soon either. You don't want to
drive your own shuttle on this one, hiring Barefoot Brad in Gasquet is
worth every penny; 707-457-3365. We had about 12.5 feet on the North
Fork Smith pipe, aka 3,700 on the dreamflows
estimate.
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