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Put-in

Take-out

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

Description

A relatively calm and very brushy overnight trip through oak woodlands and cottonwoods, similar to Putah or Grindstone Creeks. There is a lot of private farmland along the way, so be aware of where you choose to put in, take out, and sleep. Expect cows and Class I-II paddling for most of the way, with some braided, tree-choked portages along the way, and especially for the middle 8mi. The views on the way to the put-in, which show the Yolla Bolly Wilderness in full glory against the valley geology in the forefront, are kind of the best part of this run. Additional Information: California Creeks SCHWIND GUIDEBOOK Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has reinitiated public scoping for its Northern California Integrated Plan (NCIP), which will determine the future management of 382,000 acres of public land in northcentral and northwest California. Protections for all of the forks of Cottonwood Creek are on the table; they were originally included in the BLM’s Arcata region study in 1995, but not in the 2018 inventory. Learn more at www.calwild.org.