Middle Granite Gorge, Deubendorff Rapid, Oct 18

Deubendorff Rapid at mile 131.7 is near the end of the Middle Granite Gorge. I didn't get photos in there, though it's spectacular. We had lunch below Deubendorff, which was another 1997 camp.

The rapid most discussed is Bedrock at mile 130.5 where almost all the discussion is about how you must run it to the right. Well, boatman Tom went right. This required his being on the right side of a wave train entering the rapid--a series of waves that leads directly to a dividing rock. Another, shorter wave train then goes to the right and you float easily out the end of the rapid.

But not all our boats got to the right. Erika entered the rapid on the wrong side of those entry waves and despite heroic effort, was taken left. We saw this from above, did our own run as Erika went around the eddy over there several times, and then watched her nose her boat into and down the channel that comes back to the right again. No problem.

Tom mentioned that at low water (like 5000 cfs) you have to go left. There's no way to get to the right side. Further, he said that if you intend to go left, it's fine. But if you accidentally go that way, you can get in trouble with a large hole over there. Such a hole is hard to imagine because I don't think there's much drop between the dividing rock and the slot, but I'll take Tom's word for it.

So, although this may be heresy, what's wrong with a left run at Bedrock? Every guidebook says no, but Erika's run looked to me like it worked out just fine. The slot back to the right may be narrow by Grand Canyon standards, but it's not narrrow for an oarboat (a motorboat would surely get stuck). I'd want to scout it in detail before I deliberately take my own raft over there. But from what I saw, it didn't look bad at all.

Comments are welcome from those who know more than I do about Bedrock.

The polished black rock of the gorge is wonderful!