Siletz Runs ~ Beware of Temporary Cables Across River

Sat 7 Dec a group ran the Siletz Buck Creek to Moonshine Park run.  They talked to a logger on their way up to Buck Creek who said they planned to log the basin up to the ridge and would be using a haywire line (3/8" cable) to pull the main cable. This means there will be a 3/8" steel cable strung perpendicular to the channel and usually just below the surface (the swift current lifts the cable off the channel bed). The cable is only used temporarily to move the main cable and is removed from the stream afterward.  It does not stay in the stream for long but it is extremely dangerous when it is in the stream.
 

The cable was not an issue for us on Saturday's run, the loggers had moved it hours before we came through that area, which was close to Moonshine Park. Over the next weeks though, the cable should be moved higher in the watershed -closer to the Buck Creek put-in.

These cables are marked by orange flagging along the banks but an easier indicator is the large clearcut with a tower on the ridge. As logging proceeds up into the basin, the tower, cables and equipment will be moved along with it and my understanding from the logger was that this was likely to be done on Saturdays.

This shouldn't be an issue for alert boaters but extra caution is always smart.

Happy boating,

~Jay