Gorge

Boulder Creek is a too-often overlooked steep creek that enters the Kootenai River at the Montana/Idaho Border.  The creek boasts one of the best 20-30 foot waterfalls in the region, Magnolia Falls. Warm up rapids lead to a double ledge drop called Red Lobster as boaters enter into a gorge, more rapids lead to a tricky waterfall called Grunge Poser, and still more rapids lead to a walled-in gorge that culminates in an unrunnable waterfall. THIS GORGE IS CLASS VI/UNRUNNABLE AND THERE IS ONLY ONE PORTAGE OPTION, THE FOLLOWING IS A DESCRIPTION OF HOW TO DO THE PORTAGE:  After running Grunge Poser, the river begins a gradual right hand bend and starts to consolidate again.  On the outside/river-left side at the apex of this bend is a gravel bar.  Get out on this gravel bar, which is less than 200 yards below Grunge Poser.  Downstream you will see the creek enter a vertical walled gorge.  Head into the woods near the downstream end of the gravel bar, looking for the low point in the saddle.  Go through the saddle and follow the path of least resistance into an ephemeral creek, and follow that creek downstream to where it confluences with Boulder Creek again.  This portage around the gorge is easier than it has any right to be considering what is being walked around, but DO NOT PASS THAT GRAVEL BAR.  Look in the gallery for a photo of the gravel bar. A seal launch or rappel will drop you back into the creek just upstream of the classic Magnolia Falls.  At low and moderate flows the falls offers an autoboof flake, but at high water you have to be a bit more creative to avoid a trip behind the curtain.  If you walk magnolia be prepared for a short rappel on river left. Immediately below Magnolia Falls is a drop often portaged and then wind-down rapids before you reach the Kootenai River, at healthy flows they are pretty fun, at low water the neat rock walls are more memorable. Access is via road from either Troy, MT or Bonners Ferry, ID, but the shuttle is extremely long around to the far side of the Kootenai River.  There appears to be no public access to the Kootenai River in the vicinity of the confluence with Boulder Creek.   Paddlers have hiked back upstream high on Boulder's river right along twenty mile/Leonia Rd to an access road that parallels the gorge, this road is drivable by ATVs but most stock vehicles, even those with clearance and 4WD should not attempt the Leonia Rd.   Another option is to set a shuttle far downstream on the Kootenai.  Possibly the best option is to paddle just a couple hundred yards down the Kootenai and then hike up to the left to connect with a trail/road that leads up to the shuttle road at its closest point to the River in that area. \*\*Treat each trip like an exploratory run, wood comes and goes, and there are some committing places. It's advisable to get local information before attempting this run.\*\* Boulder can be done in concert with the nearby Yaak River, Kootenai Falls, the Pack, or you can head north to Boundary and Smith creeks.  Prospect Creek is a nice halfway home run for Missoula paddlers. Look for _roughly_ 1000 to 1500 cfs on the Yaak Gage for medium flows.   The definitive gage is at the put in bridge on river left, 3.6' is  low on the in between, but the bedrock drops were paddling nicely. Boulder Creek was threatened by a hydropower proposal in 2010 that would have dewatered it. American Whitewater fought the proposal, and the proposal failed.