About First Bend Rapid
First Bend Rapid is appropriately named as it’s immediately there as you exit the Boundary Creek eddy. It is very important that before you push off you do a careful check of your equipment. Not so much that it’s rigged well (it should be though) but more so that your oars feel good and you are comfortable with your setup. This is because First Bend Rapid, especially at low flows, requires precise maneuvering as the channels are very skinny and the current is swift. If you miss this opportunity, your next decent eddy for a tuneup isn’t until Teepee Hole, which is a ways downstream.
How to run First Bend Rapid
Low flows: As you exit Boundary Creek the river goes in three different places. The right channel is often shallow and is not recommended. Far left closes out too and is not a good option. The middle channel is your best bet and at lower flows can just barely fit a 16 foot oar boat through the drop. Immediately after this drop, the river bends slightly to the left and you will need to carefully read the water to not bump any rocks as you are moving pretty quickly through here. If you are not used to rowing low-volume rivers then this will be wake up call to watch your downstream oar and to always take shallow strokes.
Medium flows: Below 5 feet there are two fairly large holes that are easy to read
High flows: Washed out but moving extremely fast.
