[JimK]

In case anyone is sitting at home with no idea what to do today let me suggest:  The Old Robe Trail.

Located at the top of the hill between Granite Falls and Verlot it is only a mile or so to the river. When the river is almost up to the railroad grade it sounds like standing next to a jet on the tarmac. Every few years we get an opportunity to see this "little stream" go totally wild. The gorge is very narrow and the water rises very fast.

One huge warning: Do not go beyond where you reach the river if the level is near the railroad grade and rising! There is nowhere to hide and you will be swept away as the water rises. The gauge height is found here: SF Stilli Water Level.

The level has risen from 7 3/4 feet at around 11:00 pm last night to over 18 feet at 9:00 am this morning. The gauge is "near Granite Falls". At 18 feet the railroad grade may be underwater. If you can go farther down the gorge be prepared to cross several creeks. When the water is this high the creeks run backward inland. Keeping dry feet is very hard. All in all, it is one very wild river right now.



--------------
Hiking Northwest

[Backpacker Joe]

Thanks James.  That doesnt look any fun for swimming.

--------------
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

- Abraham Lincoln

"Backpacker Joe...There are some people even bears won't eat!"

-Dave Workman

[Andrew]

The river is mad!  I don't doubt that it sounds like a jet.

With all this rain, something has to give up in the mountains.  I wonder what trails will be closed for the '07 season.

[Backpacker Joe]

I heard this morning on the radio that they are expecting 6+" of rain today.  That will be the most *ever* on record.  I think youre right.  Something is going to give.

--------------
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

- Abraham Lincoln

"Backpacker Joe...There are some people even bears won't eat!"

-Dave Workman

[peppersteak'n'ale]

I heard on the news they were going to evacuate Robe today.

[hermes]

would that be disRobe? (sorry, couldn't resist)

[SlowWalker]

At 11:48AM I checked the site and it reports 20.94 ft.

Flood stage for the river is 14 feet.  Yikes!

[JimK]

It was 21.49 at 11:30. Still rising. I wish they still listed the flow rate so I could compare it to the 1990 level. Go today or tomorrow? Hmm.....

--------------
Hiking Northwest

[Elvis]

My Old Robe Canyon Trip Report from May 2005 with a much lower river level, just for comparison.

--------------
Sedro-Woolley:  Where butter is a spice and gravy is a beverage.
"Ill habits gather unseen degrees, as brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas."  ~John Dryden
My Trip List

[SlowWalker]

Rose to 22.26 ft at 12:30 PM.

This sounds like trouble is brewing.

[Sore Feet]

Trouble might be an understatement.
Check this:

As I write this, this is the current streamflow of several major rivers in the area.

Queets - 111,000 cubic feet per second (Historical peak flow was in 2000 at 135,000 cfs)

Skykomish @ Gold Bar - 92,500 cubic feet per second.  The only other time the river has EVER been recoreded this high was the 1990 floods, when it broke 100,000.

Snoqualmie @ the Falls - 35,000 cubic feet per second.  Strangely, this one isn't nearly as high as some of the others.  Peak was the 1990 floods at around 80,000 cfs.

Middle Fork Snoqualmie @ Tanner (roughly 5 miles up the MidFork Road) - 28,300 cfs.  Historical high appears to be about 30,500 cfs, so this could hit a new high.

Skagit River @ Concrete - 121,000 cfs.  Not anywhere near the historic high of what appears to be 500,000 cfs, but this was when the gauge first started recording, so it might be inaccurate.  Another reading of 350,000 cfs occured in the late 1850s.  Highest modern reading was the 2003 floods at around 170,000 cfs

Some more readings from unofficial gauges:

Wind River estimated at 7000 cfs
Taylor River estimated at shy of 5000 cfs (normal snowmelt flow is 700-1100 cfs, it'll drop to 50 cfs in the early fall)
Suiattle River estimated at 78,000 cfs (based on the Sauk River gauge), this might be close to what it hit in 2003
Solduc River @ Hot Springs, estimated at  18,000 cfs (if this is accurate, Sol Duc Falls is likely submerged at the moment)
Ohanapecosh River @ La Wis Wis Campground estimated to be 25,000 cfs - most likely highest ever recorded
NF Nooksack @ Nooksack Falls estimated at 10,200 cfs.  This is likely getting close to flowing over the bridge and is probably adding about 10 feet to the height of Nooksack Falls.

Now, to give you some perspective, the COLUMBIA RIVER at The Dalles is currently registering at 115,000 cubic feet per second.

I may sneak out after work tomorrow to see what I can't see out towards North Bend.  Certainly won't be nearly as burly as right now, but it'll still be mighty impressive.

--------------
Bryan Swan
Pictures - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bryanswan
Waterfalls - www.waterfallsnorthwest.com

[Alan Bauer]

The Snoqualmie River from Snoqualmie downstream is a much slower river to react to things...flood crest isn't likely at the falls until near 4am tomorrow @ 70,000CFS. All time high at Carnation is 60.5'...forecast is for 61.5' but again, not until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. It won't drop below flood stage until late Wednesday at the earliest.

[JimK]

I couldn't resist. No way to get anywhere near the canyon today. It was impressive at the edge of the river. The edge was about 150 feet inland. Here is a look.

Youtube Movie

--------------
Hiking Northwest

[jimmymac]

Jim,
Is that the same area where the tributary creeks were running backward during one of your earlier flood surveys?

--------------
Sometimes I think I glimpse eternity.

[JimK]

No, that is where the trail first reaches the river. The river bed was another 150 feet away. With the exception of the raised bed I was on the water was much farther back inland. There were no creeks as the entire trail ahead of me was underwater. Even the raised grade I was on was underwater beyond that point. The creeks you are thinking about are another quarter mile or so down the river.

--------------
Hiking Northwest