BALTIMORE RIVER (Otonagon Co., MI, 7 mi. south of Rockland)

LENGTH: 7 mi., CLASS: IV, GRADIENT:

SEASON: A week at most in early spring. This one drops fast.

PUT-IN: Hwy. 45 bridge across Baltimore Creek

TAKEOUT: Hwy. 45 bridge across the Otonagon River

GAGE: Tape measurement from the low steel beam on the downstream river left side of the bridge. At 4' the river is too high and at 12' it is too low.

FUN FACT: incredible canyon with beautifully sculpted sandstone

FIRST DESCENT: 1996 by Steve Corsi, Mike Giddings, Harry House, Tom St. Germaine

SHUTTLE: From the put-in drive north on Hwy. 45 to the takeout, a small parking area on the river right upstream side of the Hwy. 45 bridge across the Otonagon.

This creek has a narrow window in the spring. We have observed it drop 8' in one week from an unrunnable torrent to a scrappy marginal run. This could be a great run if you catch it before all the water is gone. We still haven't found the perfect level.

The run starts out and ends with a long stretch of flatwater. The meat of this run is in the middle. Creamy Peanut Butter Falls, a river-wide ledge, is the first drop on the river. Several different routes are available depending on the water level. We generally head somewhere near river right, but scout it out and decide for yourself.

Just downstream is Okundekun Falls, a fairly significant waterfall (maybe 25') that could be runnable except for the pile of rocks at the bottom. You would not find much water at the bottom if any. Portage it on river left. The footbridge bridge below the falls will give you a good look at what the next stretch of river is like. Fairly continuous ledges that scrape the plastic off your boat at low levels but develop absolutely monster holes at high water. We call this section "Let us pray" . It is the spot where the group decided to take out and hike to the road on their first attempt at this river.

Towards the end of the ledges comes Cyclops. An island in the middle of the river forms the eye and makes a good landing place to scout this drop as long as the water is low enough to leave it exposed. It consists of a pair of slides that drop about 10' on either side of the island.

After a short distance the river passes under a footbridge, makes a hard turn to the left, and enters the canyon section. You can go beyond the point of no return if you are not paying attention. The bridge signals the best spot to take out for scouting the canyon, which is done from the river right bank, but the bridge will not last forever so stay heads up. From the bank high above the river on river right you can get a good look at the long slide which funnels right between some undercut rocks. We call it "The Mass has Ended". The undercut rocks can often hold trees and other debris as well as careless boaters. Most people portage this first drop into the canyon and lower their boats down to the bottom of this first slide. If you continue along the bank on river right you can find a couple of spots to lower your boats, but it is not a trivial portage.

The canyon floor consists of beautiful sheets of sandstone. It makes a great lunch spot and the little ledges make a nice set of rapids which continue for a few hundred yards into "Go in Peace". Unfortunately the river spreads out enough here that at low water you can hardly find spots to float your boat. When you do get your boat floating in careens out of control for a short distance until you lodge yourself on the next shallow spot. This canyon could be really fun at low water, but nearly every boulder is undercut so use caution.

After the canyon comes to an end there are a few more ledges and a slide or two before you come to the Otonagon River which takes you for a mellow float to the takeout.

21 April 1996, Guy Babbitt, Steve Corsi, Mike Evanston, Mike Giddings, Bill Obrien, Annette Trebitz, Ed Holladay, Bruce Bradshaw (run ended at Okundekun Falls), 3'11"

2 May 1996, Steve Corsi, Mike Giddings, Harry House, Tom St. Germaine, 12'1" at noon and 11'5" at 6 pm

19 April 1997, Steve Corsi, Mike Evanston, Ken Glaeser, Harry House, Bill Obrien, Tom O'Keefe, 12'2" at 11 am