Paul, I did the Clear Shade and the first section of the Shade on Saturday, as the Stony Canyon was a little high for the skill level of some of the paddlers in our group. There were lots of strainers at first, but we only portaged twice. The water level was likely at its minimum because it got rather bony as it picked up gradient (and difficulty) the second half of the run approaching the confluence with the Shade. It was spectacularly beautiful and is the cleanest stream in the watershed. I heard it was good fishing, too. The next day we finished the next 2 sections of the Shade and ran the Canyon. I would highly recommend the Clear Shade and possibly section 1 of the Shade for those in this club with class 2 or 2+ whitewater experience, but only at lower water levels like we had on Saturday. Check americanwhitewater.org for a brief description of the rivers if you want to know more.
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