07. Highway-89 to Riverdale

This is a rather long stretch, about 8 miles, and can take quite a while at lower flows when its not moving fast. Putin below the Eggs takeout dam, for the full stretch. This dam is much safer than it used to be after it was reworked, which reduced the dangeous hydraulic, but you will still want to stay away from the dam hydraulic. There can be heavy wood load on this stretch. There are some fun wave trains below the I-84 on ramp bridge, which are almost-good surf waves, and can be caught at some flows. 1500-1700 has some fun wave trains. At the higher flows seen in 2011 (3000-4000+cfs), the river becomes so wide its hard to find the main channel, and gravel bars and log jams can move and change quickly. The Unita bridge signals the main drop of this run, which is an unfortunate jumble of concrete rubble (the story goes that this was dumped in the river on purpose to keep kids from jumping off the bridge). This is a possible putin as well. Be careful where you park, and respect the abundance of no trespassing signs. After the Uinta drop there are many class 2 meanders. A footbridge over the river signals the approach of Slide One, which is usually good to go on the right. A little bumpy at 350cfs. At higher flows look for a surf wave across the top of this slide. Slide Two follows shortly thereafter. This is a much steeper slide, and is probably the crux of the run. Wood has accumulated on this drop before, and a road scout or bank scout might be worthwhile.  This drop is really fun once it pads out more. If you wanted to try out your kayak backpack, you could hike up the bike trail to these slides from the Riverdale disc golf course parking. The disc golf course parking is another possible putin for a short run, and there is a little front surf wave just upstream from this parking area. Below the next bridge is a 3/4 riverwide tree that has fallen in on the right in 2014, with room on the left. That fallen tree marks the high point of an attainment section at lower flows. The Riverdale Wave, or the Riverdale drops (since the wave broke in 2011), is still a highlight of the run, with pushy ferries and swirlies below the first drop, in a pool that is used to be deep in most areas, before the city put boulders in the pool to discourage kids from rope swinging and swimming. The former wave can still be surfable at some flows in a fast boat, and a second wave sometimes forms. Behind the old wave location (below second drop) is a deep pool, still ok for roll practice if you are careful about where it is deep enough.