experts proclaim Budweiser among the worst

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Chip Down
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Joined: November 8th, 2014, 8:41 pm

experts proclaim Budweiser among the worst

Post by Chip Down » May 10th, 2021, 7:15 pm

"Budweiser is currently a contender for worst creek in the PNW."

- Ropewiki

With a glowing endorsement like that, I had to go check it out.

Ropewiki also says "Budweiser Creek would be a delight if it were not for the fact that some timber company went through the drainage like a pack of crazed voracious beavers. The drainage, when visited in 2016, was just a mess of cut logs and blowdown. The rappels are all great -- with the unusual note that all four are overhanging - but reaching them requires substantial effort."
I'm not trained or equipped to rappel the waterfalls, but I took a couple ropes to help me with bypasses. I never bothered. The bits and pieces of Bud I visited were sufficiently miserable to dissuade me from continuing.

Still, it was a fun day, most of it anyway. From SR14 between Bridge of the Gods and Stevenson, I headed north (just east of Greenleaf Peak) and parked near the end of Budweiser, where it meets Rock Creek. I could have driven further, but I wanted to take a loop route on a gated road, and some side trips, so I parked on the south side of Rock Creek at 550'ish, and headed up/north on my bike (CG2030 per Google Maps, but I'm not sure that's correct).

My first access to Budweiser was road CG2035 (per sign). It came to an abrupt end, but I followed a rough trail until I came to the continuation of the road, a mossy segment chiseled into a cliff, with a nice view. This was one of the highlights of the day. Perhaps 1/8 mile further, I heard Budweiser, but when I arrived at the creekbed, it was dry. A couple minutes of bushwhacking upstream took me to the end of flowing water. I vowed to check out the foot of this creek, at the Rock Creek confluence, but at the end of the day I forgot. I suspect Budweiser is above ground again at some point below here (this was 1850' per Ropewiki, consistent with Google Maps).

I backtracked to the main road, and continued to the next access point, where the road crosses Budweiser at roughly 2270'. I followed the creek up and down, and explored a few other points of interest.

I was going to look for the source of Budweiser (2750'ish per Google Maps), but decided it was just a little too brushy to suit me. If there was a nice spring, it would be worth it. But more often than not, creeks just seep out of the ground in ugly marshes choked with Devils Club.

My descent loop, and exploring along the way, was more arduous and time-consuming than expected, due to a map error, and a road that was so overgrown I questioned whether there ever was a road.

Ropewiki page: http://ropewiki.com/Budweiser_Creek
Attachments
1.jpg
I haven't had a Budweiser since high school.
2.jpg
Nearly missed this early morning view behind me.
3.jpg
This looked enticing, but I came to realize it's Greenleaf Peak.
4.jpg
The fun scenic abandoned road CG2035.
5.jpg
Seven feet tall, 175 lbs!
6.jpg
Deliverance meets Dali.

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