Class V Packrafting: Thunder Creek high flow with the Alpacka Valkyrie

The final section of our packraft linkup of Bridge Creek, the Stehekin River’s Tumwater Canyon and Agnes Creek, Thunder Creek cuts an incredible gorge through dense forest beneath the glaciers of Eldorado peak. We timed our weeklong traverse to coincide with a mid-summer high elevation cold spell, though Thunder Creek only bottomed out at about 950 cfs which is towards the high end of hardshell flows. We portaged the upper steep slides, the crux move on Mandarin Palace, and a log in the big drop above Dim Sum. Trial Falls, Dim Sum and Triple Threat were run successfully. Thanks to JB, WB and DT for contributing footage.