Creek Time: 2 - 3 hours
The Lower Upper "Gorgette" run starts as a undefined boulder bed of polished granite. The river rips down the valley as a class III non-stop blurr of micro eddys, holes and small waves. In the upper stretch, keep a sharp eye out for logs since things are happening pretty fast.
About a mile into the run, you will come to a congested sweeping left turn filled with broken ledges and boulders. This signals the approach into the class IV - V Gorgette as you will soon see the canyon wall up and dog-leg to the right hard. Eddy out to the right quickly and scout the whole Gorgette from the right bank.
After the Gorgettte, the river continues as mostly undefined boulder dodging but don't let your guard down as logs may lurk anywhere. Enjoy!
Directions:
The Upper Pack is easy to find. Drive North from Sandpoint towards Canada on Hwy 2 and turn left on the Pack River road just after you see the meandering and well marked Lower Pack pass under the highway (this is where the
USGS Gauge is located). 4.7 miles after turning off Hwy 95 you will cross the Pack River for the first time since turning off Hwy 95, 4.2 miles after this first bridge is a convenient take out option for the Gorgette on the right, though there are other options both upstream and downstream while the road is close to the river.
Keep following the Pack River road upstream, when you come to a second vehicle bridge you have come to the put-in for the
Gorgette and the take-out for the
Slides. The rock gauge is located at this bridge.