Upper Mamquam

Class: III+, some continuous stretches
Character: medium volume, many boulder gardens
Season: snow melt May-June, and after rain
Time: 3-4 hrs
Distance: 10 km
Gauge: On the river left, downstream side of the take-out bridge. 30 is low, 50-65 great level (Caution: gauge consists of two 100 cm sticks - if you see only the upper it means its probably too high).
Scenery: great, few paddlers
Special hazards: There is a cable across the river just below the put-in and always the possibility of wood.

Directions: The takeout is at a bridge 13 km up Mamquam Forest Service Rd (the same that you take from 'Sea to Sky' highway 99 just South of Squamish when driving to the lower Mamquam put-in). The put-in is another 10 km further on the same road (at another bridge, where the road crosses over to river-left again). However, for the last 500 m of the road you will need a high clearance vehicle, as it is ditched.

Description: The run starts with some entertaining boulder gardens just below the put-in bridge. Further on it flattens out and you're bumping over rocks. The next third is a canyon-like section, followed by some steeper gravel drops (which can be seen from the road). The last third is mostly a float.