Flooding on the White Salmon River

So much rain, so fast; following a snowfall in the mountains and a pineapple express.  Rivers in the Pacific Northwest are as overwhelmingly full and destructive as the fires of summer this year.  Exacerbated by the erosion caused by the fires, the rivers are full of debri from upriver run off and landslides.

December 9, 2015, I took an afternoon drive up to Trout Lake, with stops in Husum to see the flooded Husum Falls.  Sure enough, with the wild waters and occasional big log, a group of kayaks were running these temporary chocolate milk colored class 5 rapids.

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In Trout Lake, parts of town had flooded as well, although downtown did not get hit with floodwaters as bad as the 1996 floods had caused.  The water level was actually higher this time, but ditches had been improved and there were no piles of snow this time blocking off drainage.

There is a cabin in these photos, home of Perry Stephens.  He said his house is fine so far, although water surrounded it up to the deck level due to a big log jam just above his house that is diverting the flow of the river.

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Last but not least, Here is a rainbow I saw along highway 141 as I traveled up the White Salmon River!