Davis Creek is probably the most popular technical creek in Washington state. This half-day creek is accessible from both Seattle and Portland, has a minimal approach and a trivial exit with a short and easy car shuttle. What’s not to like? But there’s more! As one of the most highly rated creeks in Washington, Davis is spectacularly beautiful with deep fern-covered basalt walls, gorgeous waterfalls, fun rappels and jumps and an iconic log that spans the canyon. I think I’ve used all my superlatives already and I’m only on the first paragraph 😊
Our first trip to Davis this summer was at the beginning of August with a group of Utah friends who were visiting as well as my nephew Aron, also visiting us at the time. We had been working up to Davis for most of the week with smaller and easier canyons and finally we felt like Aron was ready. Our merry party of seven set off to experience Davis, many for the first time. Our second trip was in mid-August with Eric and Iris, also visiting from Utah. I do have to say that doing Washington canyons with our normal desert crew feels very special but a little like descending a slightly uncanny valley.
Davis starts out with two rappels off logs. The second anchors off a large logjam that goes into a deep pool where we avoided some large logs and scrambled onto a rock ledge. The next rappel is the longest, down a huge cliff that brings us into the depths of the canyon. At first when I looked down the rappel, I saw a huge waterfall pounding into a fairly confined area. This looked quite terrifying until I realized that we are actually supposed to go around a nose and to the right, down a mossy but dry slope that takes us down to the bottom. On our first trip with Aron, this was definitely the longest rappel he had ever done, with the added difficulty of having to change direction mid-rappel. With the help of Michael Haberle who was providing a fireman belay and guidance from a shelf mid-slope, he did great! On our second trip, the rope wound up in a hydraulic pool below the huge waterfall. I was the first person to go down since I knew where I was going. I stopped halfway up the slope to retrieve the rope and realized the power of the water had tied it into a knot with a large branch stuck inside the knot. I tied off and was barely able to haul the rope up to remove the branch and untie the knot. If the branch had gotten stuck, I would have had to reascend and try to get the rope from the top. Fortunately, it all worked out.
Below this rappel, the canyon walls deepen and spectacular waterfalls appear. Green mosses and ferns cover every surface. Giant trees tower on top of the walls. The canyon feels primeval and totally removed from civilization. A creekwalk later, we arrived at a short but spicy rappel with strong flow. This was so far the strongest water that Aron had ever rappelled in. He loved it!
Up next was a rappel off a steep cliff into a deep pool. We realized that this was actually a slide, so on our next outing, I went down first to check the water for obstacles and everyone else slid (actually more like dropped) right into the pool. At the end of the pool is a huge logjam that we had to climb up and over. This was definitely the most challenging part of the canyon as the logs are unbelievably slippery and are stacked high above the ground. The last downclimb off the logs required a partner assist for the shorter among us.
We were now in the crux of the canyon. The next rappel was into a deep and swirling pool that flowed into another waterfall, with a small lip to get out. We sent a strong swimmer ahead to help people out of the pool if needed. Soon after, we saw the bridge that crosses the creek high above our heads at the top of the bank. The next rappel, alongside a large waterfall is one of the prettiest in the whole canyon, ending in a deep pool with the waterfall pounding your head and pushing you far out to the end of the pool.
A short creek walk later we encountered a huge logjam featuring the famous “Davis log” that spans the canyon. It is very slippery and needs to be scooted down on your rear end until you get to an obstacle and need to climb over another log. At this point you wind up back on the log but facing backwards and then need to scoot to the end of the log and climb down. Fun! Fortunately, there is an alternate rappel available as well.
The last creek walk took us to a short rappel into a very interesting alcove, and then up a bank to the waiting cars at the exit. What an amazing place! All of our visitors loved Davis and it was very fun showing them one of the gems of Washington.
