(By Jim Good/photos by Mike Hagadorn): From out of the darkness the first twinkling lights appeared. We were overcome with relief, then jubilation. It was 1989 and after seven hours and seven portages, Bob Duffner, Matt Davidson, and I had paddled Ernie’s Gorge in one day. It was 6:30 by the time we reached the vehicle. Starving, we picked up a pizza and drove up to the launch to retrieve Bob’s Sin Bin, a 1963 Dodge Power Wagon, where we recorded on the back of the pizza box the names given each major rapid. Ferry Land, Raft Cache, Sampson and Delilah, Room of Doom, Stump Jumper, Big Nasty, Big Ben, and other rapids that acquired names later that year, all had routes that we can still see when we close our eyes at night.
Matt wrote me two days later. “I just can’t get this bug out of my head, and I know I won’t be satisfied until it’s been run many times. What can you say about the most challenging and rewarding experience of my boating career?”
Meeting Ernie’s for the First Time
A few of us constructed a slalom course on a Class II rapid a short way up the North Fork Snoqualmie River in late September of 1988, and weeks later held a slalom race. There, I heard rumor of an unrunnable waterfall downstream. On October 22, after paddling the upper North Fork and training on the gates, I suggested to Matt that since it was only mid-afternoon we could paddle on downstream. After all, it was only a few miles, there was plenty of water at 1,300 cfs, and we could just portage the falls, right?
Fifteen minutes later, Matt tagged a mid-stream boulder in a Class III rapid and the stern of his Prijon slalom boat was flopping loosely and gulping water fast. The river was incredibly scenic, and it was a beautiful afternoon, so we figured out how to press on. We duct-taped the stern and fashioned a splint out of a Teva sandal and a couple of flat sticks – good to go!
Photos by Mike Hagadorn
A retired resident of Ernie’s Grove later told us of witnessing great changes in the gorge caused by several huge floods and an earthquake that sheared off part of the north face of Mount Si. A few bends down the river Matt and I were stunned at the sight before us. The hills had closed in to form a gorge choked with giant boulders. We got up on one rock and could look several hundred yards downriver at a continuous cascade of big drops unlike anything we had ever seen. There were some lines, so we continued scouting, running small sections, and portaging many others. It was completely unrealistic to be doing this in race boats, but I think we were just awestruck by this unique gorge and couldn’t pull ourselves away. When we got down to a more difficult portage and dusk was settling in, we stashed our boats and started a long bushwhack to the dirt road. Trailing behind, when Matt needed relief from the confines of his one-zipper drysuit, he was too tired and just let go. But our enthusiasm was not dampened, and we were eager to return.
Who’s on First?
The question of who is credited with a first descent is sometimes complicated and depends on how you define it. Matt and I did not consider our slalom boat adventure to be a first descent because we didn’t finish the run. Sprague Ackley described his run with Scott Matthews a few weeks after my first trip with
Matt. They encountered around 250 cfs and noted 8 portages including 6 drops that he rated Class VI. They also stashed their boats in darkness, getting out the next morning.
Unable to wait for spring, we launched with 300 cfs and snow on the banks on January 28, 1989, the first time that Ernie’s Gorge was kayaked in one day. But was that the first descent? What we do know for sure is that, for better or worse, Matt Davidson, Bob Duffner, Tom Templeton, and me are the people that opened Ernie’s Gorge to the paddling community and established it as a special Class V destination in the PNW.
The Secret’s Out
“What’s with you guys today?”, asked Rick. We looked at each other with a sly grin, “should we tell him?” We had all been casual in nailing our lines through Lobster Claw, Tom Tom and Rickslide, and Rick Williams could tell something was different as we approached each drop of the Carbon River completely at ease. It was the summer of ’89 and by then I had 4 runs down Ernie’s Gorge under my sprayskirt with Bob Duffner, Matt Davidson, and Tom Templeton. We called ourselves the Portage Brothers because our measured approach to the river included unwavering support for anyone that wanted to walk around a drop. For the big ones, we all grabbed our throw ropes and scouted together, returning to our boats one by one while the others set safety.
News of Ernie’s Gorge was still closely held in our little group, but there was nobody we were more excited to show it to than Rick, the ringleader of Class V boaters in western Washington throughout the 1980s and until he left for Portland in the ‘90s. For some of us, Rick’s mentorship in Class V paddling was a critical complement to our slalom training in preparing us to paddle Ernie’s Gorge in our 12-foot boats. He was one proud Papa when we took him down Ernie’s gorge and introduced him to our lines through each big drop.
On June 1, 1989, Pacific Hydro filed an application to study constructing a dam and diversion that would have left only 53 cfs in Ernie’s Gorge. The Portage Brothers quickly formed Friends of the Snoqualmie Rivers, were interviewed on front page articles in the Journal American and the Valley Record and collaborated with Doug North of Northwest Rivers Council who had led the fight against a previous dam proposed by the City of Bellevue.
We realized we had to get the word out about our secret kayak playground and build support for its protection. That summer we started running Ernie’s Gorge often, reducing the number of portages, and introducing the river to more friends. Drama ensued. In late June, we ran Ferry Land for the first time. A week later we were joined by Bruce McGaw and rescued him in a small boiling eddy just above the river left sieve at the bottom of the last rapid, thereafter known as Bruce’s Boil. Vertical Vortex was also named that trip when I corkscrewed deep and rolled while running it for the first time. The portage count was down to five. By early October I had a three-portage run after pioneering a big ferry move in Stump Jumper and completing a run down the right side of Bruce’s Boil. The next trip introduced Rick Williams and Poul Erickson to the gorge. Word got out to Doug Jones and Al Albright who attempted the gorge but hiked out when Al pinned in Bruce’s Boil.
Our most eventful trip in early 1990 included Bob, Matt, Tom, Rick, and Andy Corra from Colorado. Our 1989 trips were all between 250 and 500 cfs. But this day the river was rising fast when we launched at 600 cfs and it was 1,300 cfs when we finished the run. We were scouting the yet-to-be run waterfall when Matt, lagging, got stuck in the last hydraulic just upstream. When we headed back to our boats Matt was still having his private rodeo and I reached the bank just in time to grab him as he washed out. Executing the seal launch after our portage, Bob drifted across the calm eddy to the house-size rock on river right. Suddenly his boat started sliding down the undercut slope of the boulder and disappeared. Bob abandoned ship and swam under the rock through a triangular hole at the river bottom, emerging on the other side for a hike out while his boat decided to stay for a week. And when Tom swam out of the hole at Endoplastic Recirculum and washed toward shore, Andy reached under the back of his helmet and pulled him out of the river like he was picking up a wet tomcat. The Portage Brothers pushed their limits that day!
Soon Ernie’s Gorge had become a paddling destination, while the Portage Brothers got busy with families and careers. Pete Flanigan ran the waterfall that came to be known as Jacuzzi. Routes were discovered through Raft Cache and Last Nasty and top paddlers including Steve Cameron joined Rick in making zero-portage runs. Other locals were taking a lap after work! Still others came from back East and Europe to investigate the growing legend of Ernie’s Gorge. Knowing that tragic accidents have happened in much stronger groups of paddlers with far better equipment, I feel very fortunate that the Portage Brothers got out of there with only a few close calls.
Epilogue
I’ve passed my 50th anniversary of paddling rivers last summer, and my time on Ernie’s Gorge will always be remembered as the pinnacle of my paddling career. It is impossible to place a value on the lifelong friendships and personal growth that resulted from our exploration of this special place. I hope that it won’t be long before we are celebrating permanent protection of this backyard river from further threats of dams or diversions.
River Condition Update
By Nick Terry
Ernie’s Canyon is still as beautiful and challenging as ever, with numerous high-quality rapids. That said, the river and surrounding area have experienced substantial change since its initial exploration. Changes to the rapids within the canyon, as well as lessened convenience of access, have contributed to a recent decline in its popularity. With less frequent traffic, changes to the river may go unnoticed. Boaters venturing into Ernie’s should come prepared with recent beta, or be prepared to scout thoroughly.
During a recent trip to Ernie’s on April 7, 2024, we discovered a new landslide just downstream of Big Nasty. The river-right wall has collapsed, depositing a handful of massive boulders, a large scree pile, and a few trees into the river. The resulting constriction creates a new rapid which leads directly into Vertical Vortex. There is a small eddy above the rapid on river-left which is guarded by rocks. Reaching this eddy to scout, portage, or sneak the drop seemed challenging from our vantage point.
There are several new hazards in the vicinity. Extreme caution is warranted around the landslide. We witnessed several instances of active rockfall onto the scree pile, including car-sized boulders, which would have been lethal to boaters attempting to scout or portage at river level. We also saw a tree lodged vertically in the right side of Vertical Vortex, with many other logs both upstream and downstream, near the top of Toilet Bowl.
With any luck, a few high water events will help clean up the mess and curb the rockfall. Until then, if you go to visit Uncle Ernie, bring some ropes and good hiking shoes.
Photos below by Nick Terry showing the changes.
