Chasm Creek Abandoned

With a heavy rainfall warning out for Monday it was shaping up as a good day for a bit of boating.  By 1:30pm Shea and I were heading north out of Westport with high hopes of getting on to Chasm Creek for the first time since mid January.  Things were looking good as the Waimanagaroa River was definitely up and running at a high flow - a must if the Chasm is to have enough water.  The weather was definitely stormy with plenty of wind, rain, and occasional thunder and lightning. 

On the drive to Seddonville and the Chasm none of the small side creeks we passed were particularly high.  But with plenty of time in hand we were determined to at least go and take a look at the Chasm.  And if there wasn't enough water there we could always head back to the Waimangaroa.  Arriving at the Chasm Creek Bridge No. 2 (the take-out for the Chasm run) the water level was on the low side of good, but nonetheless runnable and definitely worth a go.

Chasm Creek at the Bridge No. 2 was at a reasonable flow

We drove up the old forestry roads and walked the last section with boats and gear to the Chasm put-in area.  Half and hour after leaving the Bridge No. 2 we stood on the Upper Chasm Bridge. It was very clear that there had been some serious rain in the hills as the creek was raging and getting close to a full blown flood.  A wall of water was currently descending the Chasm.

Looking downstream from the Upper Chasm bridge with the river in high flow

With some uncertainty about the high flow - it being many times higher than on previous trips - and the obvious dangers of putting on to a rising river, we decided to wait a while and see what happened.  We wanted it high but not quite that high.

In the mean time we decided to leave the boats and walk up to the Upper Chasm section for a look - accessed via the 4WD at the start of the Glasgow Range track.  This upper section is steeper and has most likely not been previously paddled.  At this super high flow it was looking like a very serious proposition.  Steep and very continuous with no eddies and no margin for error.  We made our way down the side of the Upper Chasm, bush bashing and checking out the river as we went.

The steeper section of the Upper Chasm

A wider angle view

Shea at one of the nicer looking drops

The same spot as above during the February droughts earlier in the year.  Just add water!

Arriving back at the Chasm put-in area after about an hour and a half, the Upper Chasm was now higher than it had been previously, and Tate Creek had turned from brownish to greyish.  With no sign of the rivers dropping to manageable levels until some time during the night, we abandoned Chasm Creek in favour of some boating on the Waimangaroa River on the way home.
 

Back at the Upper Chasm bridge the river had risen even higher

The forestry road was now a little running stream and the Mokihinui River was a huge monster indicating there had been some really heavy rain in the headwaters.  By 5:30pm we were putting on below the under-cut rapid for some fun big water laps of the lower Waimangaroa River.

Back at Chasm Creek Bridge No. 2

Full flood on the Chasm

The Mokihinui River near the coast

This trip highlights the difficulty of catching the west coast heavy rain runs at the right level.  If only there was 24 hour daylight and you could just sit and wait at the put-in for the river to drop to the right level.  Perhaps this will be the biggest rain event of spring with the Buller River peaking at 800 cumecs @ Longford during the night.  Hopefully it won't be too long before we are back at the Chasm with a little less water and a little better timing.  Watch this space!