HURON, WEST BRANCH (Baraga Co., MI, 20 mi. east of L'Anse)

LENGTH: 5 mi., CLASS: III-IV, GRADIENT:

SEASON: A week or two in early spring.

PUT-IN: Black Creek Rd. bridge across the river

TAKEOUT: Big Erik's bridge across the river

GAGE: Tape measurement from second rebar from the left bank on the upstream side of Big Erik's bridge

FUN FACT: Intense river with an intense road to the put-in

FIRST DESCENT: Hoofers: Bob Obst, Harry House, Matt Kuckuk, John Baumann.

SHUTTLE: From the takeout, drive west onto Skanee Rd. Approximately 1.5 miles from the takeout, turn south onto Black Creek Rd. Follow this road approximately 5 miles south to a bridge that crosses the river.

One of the more exciting features of this run can be the road to the put in. In the spring Black Creek basically flows onto the road creating several ruts and water channels. Bring your shovels, wood, tow ropes, and civil engineering ingenuity.

The river starts out with class III rapids, but continues with a range of rapids and ledges until you reach West Branch Falls. This is a formidable drop of approximately 30' high with a few class IV drops below it. You can portage and put in below a 10' shoot pointing into the canyon wall with a large hole. The wall to the left at the bottom of this drop tends to attract bodies.

22 April 1996, Guy Babbitt, Steve Corsi, Mike Evanston, Mike Giddings, Harry House, Bill Obrien, 6'2"