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to the right and the boat headed for the bottom of the hole. I don't know how far I wet down, but I felt my ears were being squeezed as I floated away. Everyone else was flushed off the boat while only the newbee, oarsman stayed in his seat. The guy standing with the throw bag snapped a picture with the oarsman's head floating in water. No sign of anyone else or even the raft he was sitting on. You need to respect this section.

I did swim this section once as well. But I really don't recommend it. I was in an inflatable kayak at very low water (8.8') and was planning on running just the top drop through the narrow slot. I wasn’t paying attention as I was pushed up against the big rock on the left and flipped before I even got there. I swam out just above the big drop at the bottom. But then I reached for my kayak as it was going by and it pulled me back in. Boy, was that stupid! As this was extreme low water the hole at the bottom was recirculating violently. The guys on the bank said my hand came up twice. I do remember bumping the kayak once as well.  I was finally spit out after what seemed like an eternity without air. Probably only about 20 seconds in reality. I will not play around above this drop again.

Just below Staircase and around the left wall is a sharp left, a small drop and then a sharp right. Usually fairly easy if you've made it this far.  Right about now you need to be looking for Suck Hole. You don’t want to miss it. Take a look at the map.

There is then another blind turn to the left that isn’t very sharp, and about forty yards below this is Suck Hole. It is often not seen until it is too late, so pay attention. Just above are two other drops. The first one is really just a mid sized hole on the right side of the river. Then there is a larger, river wide ledge that is steeper on the left side but reaches all the way across.  This would probably be named if it were on the upper canyon. Here it’s just spice to slow your descent. But Suck Hole is more than mere spice. It is generally considered to be a class V drop and at higher flows you may not be able to keep your image intact. At low water it is a narrow chute with a moderate drop, that must be hit straight as you charge at it from river right. If you do it right you will wonder what all the fuss is about. Some rafters approach this section backwards with there stern against the right bank, and let the small eddy just above it on river right spin them around. This puts them in line for a direct shot at the narrow chute. This maneuver might not be easy on a paddle-powered raft.

However you do this, you must approach this drop from the far right side, right up against the right wall.  Just before the Suck Hole drop there is quite a lot of water being directed to the left side of the large rock.  This left moving current will pull your boat sharply to the left just before dropping over the edge.  Most new people miss this hydrological fact and end up doing a last ditch effort to align themselves with the chute.  They rarely make it, and often go over the edge sideways and get stuck in the reversal, or the left side of their boat climbs the rock as they slide through the chute for a quick flip.

At mid-water levels Suck Hole has a slightly wider chute, and a big drop.  You must run it with speed keeping toward the right side or it will charge you money. Three hundred bucks the last time I tried it. Right there, I paid the river; oars with clips, pins and mounts, as well as paddles, seats and assorted other parts, as toll for being stupid on the water. Still, this has to be considered cheap when bargaining for your life. I have this on video as well. Great roll footage. It was almost worth it.

If the water is high enough (about 10.4') you should run this on the extreme right, but only if you wont get hung up on the partially submerged rock to the right of the chute. Somebody, that shall go nameless, did get hung there and that's why I had to swing left and do the aforementioned roll as entertainment for all. Another safe route at high water might be the extreme left, but this would be difficult to get into and if you missed, you would roll for sure. If you choose to run it straight ahead at mid to high water, keep your speed up as you go over this thing, and stay to the right side. This drop sucks more at high water than Staircase does at low water. Catarafts, with their superior hole punching abilities, should be better equipped for this than conventional rafts, but it didn't seem to help me any.

Kayaks have a cheat route on the extreme river right that should be used unless the river is running below 9.5'.  Of course if you think you know what you're doing...

Suck Hole can be accessed for viewing via a steep trail coming down from mile 5.8 on the Hope Road. It's hard to find the starting point in a small gravel pull-out and the trail deteriorates into a scramble down a cliff near the end. There is a rope dangling over the edge to assist in your climb near the bottom, but it's still a hard walk.  Also, from this same area you can walk/climb down to Staircase for a look at it if so desired.  To find the Staircase trail walk back up the road (head south) about ¼ mile and look into the woods for the trail.  The trail winds up a small hill and then over the edge and down a rope to the bottom.