Friday, February 12, 2010

Upper New River (IV)

The Upper New River flows through a beautiful canyon upstream of the small town of Denny. During the late 1970s, Denny earned its notoriety during a standoff between the townsfolk and the National Guard, who had been sent with orders to disperse the small mining town that had cropped up on government land. The people of Denny asserted their claim to the land, and although it is nearly a ghost town these days, there are still many small ranches and homes set in this pristine valley.
This section of the New is full of bedrock mini gorges, good boofs, and fun boulder gardens. The largest two rapids come in the final mile before the take-out. The first of these, dubbed "Hand of God", contains a hole that can pack some punch at higher flows, and would be moderately difficult to portage.

Dan Menten running one of the first good rapids on the Upper New.

Melissa DeMarie lining up a nice boof.

Martin Belden running the first hole in "Hand of God".

Melissa in the run out from H.o.G.

Dan Menten coming up from the melt.

Matt Porter running the bottom of H.o.G.

A nice rainbow, and leprechaun crossing sign finish out the day...

Take-Out: From Hwy. 101, head west on Hwy. 299 about 40 miles to the town of Hawkin's Bar.
Turn North on the signed road to Denny, and drive about 18 miles to Denny. On the far side of
Town, there is a small dirt road on the right that leads to small grassy flat visible from the road.
Follow this road until it ends at the old dump.
Put-In: Continue driving upstream on the main road until a bridge crosses the New River. Put-
in just above the bridge for maximum fun rating.

Thanks to Ben York for taking Photos.

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