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Whitewater timing varies with scouting, portages, and group pace. Use as a planning baseline.

Description

Expect numerous strainers and logjams (possibly a dozen or more) in this narrow (15-20 feet), fast-moving river. Even at minimum flows, the upper Pedlar requires constant vigilance for wood, and requires constantly locating micro-eddies to avoid being pushed into wood. In addition, be on the lookout for Panther Falls, a 10-foot drop near the halfway point (scout/portage river right). Other than Panther Falls and the rapid immediately below it, the upper Pedlar is fast, continuous class II-III, but probably requires class IV skills due to scrambling for micro-eddies above logjams. There's likely a very small window of 'just right' in terms of flow, to have enough water to avoid scraping rocks all the way down, and on the other hand being pushed downstream faster than is safe. The sweet spot is probably 250-300 cfs. Despite the multiple portages, this is a beautiful, very enjoyable wilderness run.