Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Bull Run Adventure

Back in March we did a little local adventure up Bull Run Creek. Kevin Smith and I had run it back in 2008 during a rain storm; this year's big snowpack allowed us to venture back up there during much more pleasant weather to get another run down.

The old Brick Factory on Bull Run

Bull Run is not a convenient run; it is just short of a 2 hr hike in with your boat through some rugged terrain (and yes, there are ticks). Still, it makes for a fun adventure as you pass the old foundation of a brick factory (shown above) and some interesting old mining remnants (shown below)

An engine of some sort

You also get a nice overlook of Kernville as you head up and over a saddle into the main part of the run.

Taking a rest and overlooking Kernville

After a little bushwacking and a recommended tick check, you get to the start of the run, indicated by a sweet falls into a giant pool with rope access to the top.

The Start

Using a boat to negotiate the falls is optional, but since we brought them all the way up, it seemed appropriate to go ahead and use them

First Lap


Second lap (with a boat this time)

The run also has a pretty sweet 20 foot falls

Nice Falls
And some fun slide/slot sections as well (watch out for the sticky hole at the bottom of one particular section)

Blocking the hole makes it harder for the next boat...

The finale is a set of fun slides before the river starts to loose its bedrock character and turn into a rocky jumble. At this point it is probably best to just put your boat back on your shoulder and hike back out to your car.

Ryo sliding the Bull

Overall it is a lot of work, but there are some fun drops and it makes for a fun adventure on a nice March Day. Did I mention to make sure you check for ticks?..

Last drop before walking out




2 comments:

Josh said...

Hey, where exactly is that rusted machine? We've been up there a bunch and never seen it -- is it somewhere near the stamp mill (which isn't a brick factory, by the way)?

Unknown said...

Another 45 minutes or so up the trail (up and over the saddle). I guess I always assumed that foundation was a foundry due to all the fractured brick around there. So a stamp mill huh...