Mchugh Creek

I had passed McHugh Creek dozens of times on my way to and from Girdwood and was eager to paddle it. McHugh is a short (about a quarter mile), fast, rocky ride with three distinct drops. These two class IV’s and V will get your adrenaline pumping with minimal effort and a short drive. I called Tyler who was just as stoked as I was and then we were off. After a quick scout we established the only the top and bottom drops would be runnable after minimal wood removable, but the middle was just to clogged to clear at the time. The first drop, Snap, is a short, twisting slide about fifteen yards long and required a short rappel to put in. Tyler went first and made it look easy. I went next and was amazed at how fun such a straight forward slide could be.
above from an early season run of snap


We each ran it a couple more times before moving on. The bottom drop is named Pop and is a little more difficult. We stared at for a few minutes before agreeing on the proper line, start far left then get right and hang on. The drop was a lot more intimidating than it really was and after a short conversation with myself I shoved off and in a blur, I was at the bottom. Tyler went second and stuck his line but missed a boof and hit a nasty piton that resulted in the bow of his boat being dented. After a couple more successful trips down the drop we packed up and called it a day. Now when ever I feel the urge to paddle but don’t want to make a mission out of it, I have this perfect little gem to turn to.