About Redside Rapid
Redside Rapid is in the middle of a corridor of somewhat continuous whitewater through an especially stunning section of Impassable Canyon. What makes Redside unique to the Middle Fork is the geology, as large boulders require finesse to maneuver around with a final rock called Sevy’s Rock, that you need to avoid that can cause flips or wraps. At high water, these boulders are covered presenting large holes. It’s a good idea to run close here as the current is swift between Redside and Weber Rapid, which is just downstream. Just above Redside, there’s a somewhat large eddy on river left, that presents a good opportunity to regroup and even do a quick boat scout if you would like. If you are looking to scout from shore, do so from the left bank at low flows in the eddy just upstream. At high water, it is a bad idea to catch this eddy for the scout, as it can be very hard to pull back river right, which is where you want to be for the rapid. Stop higher up and hike down
How to run Redside Rapid
At low flows the current is slow enough where this rapid is less significant, but still requires careful maneuvering.
At medium flows, you will want to enter center between the large, staggered boulders. You should be working left to ensure you don’t hit Airplane Rock, which is the boulder staggered on the right. As soon as you clear this you need to choose if you’re going left or right of Sevy’s Rock which is the tall, downstream boulder on river left. Indecision is what makes this a wrap or flip rock, so it’s important you stick with a direction and go. As the water drops there is less current pushing directly into this feature.
At high flows, the line is far right, squeezed to right of Airplane Rock and the right bank. It’s going to be big.
