The East Fork Trinity River drains the western side of the Trinity Divide, ultimately reaching the upper portion of Trinity Lake which buries its confluence with the main river. The Trinity Divide is a less-visited corner of the already lightly visited Klamath Mountain, and few paddlers know of the East Fork Trinity despite its excellent whitewater and easy access (once you are out there).
Putting in off Ramshorn Road at Crow Creek allows a brief warm up section before the gradient picks up when the river passes Mumbo Creek (which is the site of an alternate put-in). It is also possible to put-in upstream of Crow Creek about 2.5 miles to add a difficult stretch of whitewater (see
trip report).
Below Crow Creek, the rapids are continuous, constant gradient for another half mile or so before the river channel begins to form bedrock rapids. The action ebbs and flows but with an average gradient of nearly 120 feet/mile, it is never dull. The final gorge has some of the best rapids of the run and a rapid formed over an old dam signals its beginning. It's a good idea to scout this gorge--particuarly the section that is hidden after a right-hand bend in the gorge, especially if flows are up. Eddies are scarce in this section but portaging is possible on river right and left.
Flows & Season
Medium flows on the East Fork are 600-900 cfs. There is no gage on the East Fork Trinity but the Trinity River above Coffee Creek gauge gives the best idea of trends and general level. At flows over 1,000 cfs this run becomes class IV(V). The East Fork runs on winter rain/snow and on spring runoff.
Logistics
_Put-in_
Putting in off Ramshorn Road at Crow Creek allows a brief warm up section before the gradient picks up when the river passes Mumbo Creek (which is the site of an alternate put-in). The rapids are continuous, constant gradient for another half mile or so before the river channel begins to form bedrock rapids. The action ebbs and flows but with an average gradient of nearly 120 feet/mile, it is never dull. The final gorge has some of the best rapids of the run and a rapid formed over an old dam signals its beginning. It's a good idea to scout this gorge--particuarly the section that is hidden after a right-hand bend in the gorge, especially if flows are up. Eddies are scarce in this section but portaging is possible on river right and left.
_Take-out_
The take-out is on river left at the truss bridge over the river near Alpen Cellars vineyard (which is on river right).
It is also possible to continue downstream for another couple miles to the East Fork Road bridge and take out there. The river in this section is broad and low gradient.
Additional Information
Best guidebook: The New School Guide to Northern California Whitewater (Menten, 2016), p. 159.