This is a short and sweet run with a take out less than an hour from Portland that runs when the rain falls heavy.
Logistically easy and short enough for a half day trip. The first half of the trip is on Hagen Creek itself, with numerous bedrock drops that can be scouted. The only tricky spot is identifying the eddy above Euphoria if you are not following a guide , where the creek makes a sharp left with a small creek draining in on river right into the scouting eddy which is small and guarded by a rock.
Other than that most of Hagen is scoutable, forgiving and ledgy with Hagen Daaz being the tallest at just over 10'.
The run continues on the
North Fork Washougal for another 1.5 miles. Stay right as you reach the confluence to scout Teakettle which is immediately below the confluence. It is followed by Cracken before the standard take-out where Skamania Mines Road Bridge crosses the North Fork Washougal.
Flows: The Washougal gauge is nice for guessing when Hagen will run, but you never know what level you have for sure until you get to the creek.
There is a physical gauge at the take out for Hagen (at the Skamania Mine Roads bridge across the North Fork Washougal). 10ish inches is a fun, but lowish flow. 15' is medium, above 20' is starting to feel high and it's best if you already know the run and like juicy flows.
The run has been done as high as 29/30' a number of times and possibly higher, this is the high end of runnable and not recommended. Those flows are for paddlers interested in pushing high water limits.
Beta Pages:
First descent from Oregon Kayaking
The
perspective in 2016 hasn't changed much, but the put in has.