Layla and I met at Wilson Creek at 10:30. The creek was running 14" when I got there and rose to 15" when Layla got there about 5 or 10 minutes later. I had wanted to do Harper's for years and luckily Layla was down with that. I had heard about a good access point from Dennis Huntley and I knew the area well from many MTB rides crossing North Harper right where we put in, it all worked out exceptionally well.
While I was at the Wilson Creek gage, I met a guy with two young kids that read the gage 3" lower than I did so when we were driving up the road towards Harper Creek, I stopped to let him know and to warn him that it was still rising. They were in the process of scouting from the road and the adult didnt think it was "unmanageable". After I told him the correct level he provided me with the quote of the day: "I didnt know if the accurate gage was the one of the bridge or the virtual gage". I warned him but had no reply otherwise.
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| Layla on one of the N Harper drops before the volume pumped up. |
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| Setting up to run one of the small North Harper Creek drops switch style |
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| Scouting and leaving a rope at the bottom |
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| Dropping into the Top Drop |
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| There is a rope in the bottom and it is long enuf to wrap you up. I got my roll and was able to sling it off but it is sketchy. |
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| View of the falls and the big slide from the bottom. |
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| Nikki did a write up on Harpers in a guide book and called everything a class 3 after the falls... |
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| Layla in the middle of one of the juicy drops. |
It was a great day and glad I finally got to paddle Harper Creek after hiking, biking and swimming there all these years. It was a goal I have had since the first time I saw the falls!
