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Greetings,

I'm taking a small group of scouts to the Supes this weekend for a slow backpacking trip from Canyon lake to Peralta via Boulder Canyon, Calvary and Dutchmans. We plan to camp in Boulder Canyon on Saturday night and Labarge on Sunday, exiting on Monday morning.

I'm looking at the NOAA forecast for the weekend and I see this storm is forecast to drop about an inch of rain in the Supes with 1/2" of it on Saturday night. http://bit.ly/2kNuHrB

I've not hiked through this area in rain and I'm slightly concerned about the Boulder Canyon trail with its crossings over the creek. We could always bail back to our car at Canyon Lake if the creek is too sketchy to cross or we end up with a dangerously cold/wet scout.

The trip is only 2 adults and 3 scouts. My son and I are experienced backpackers and our gear is proven in heavy rain and snow storms. The other three people are less experienced but they are strong hikers, have pack liners and rain covers for their packs, know not to wear cotton, have rain jackets (and I'll carry a couple ponchos as backup).

I'm not inclined to call the trip off. I think scouts (and adults) can learn from adversity but I don't want to be foolhardy.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I wouldn't worry about anything becoming impassable or dangerous. Worst case scenario is you get your feet wet. In my experience, the LaBarge crossings on the Cavalry are tougher to do dry when the water is high.

@matthewkphx
Curious how it went? Our troop was going to BP in the Sups but decided to postpone until next weekend after we saw the forecast. We canceled somewhat from an abundance of caution when we heard there were flash-flood warnings and partially because the leaders were not excited about hiking in the rain all weekend.

Hi,

We decided to cancel the trip due to the flash flood warnings. I was curious about conditions and hiked from the First Water trailhead to Boulder Creek this morning (Monday). Boulder Creek was flowing vigorously. I didn't see a way to get across that wouldn't have involved fast moving water that was about hip deep. There was grass on the bank that was laying down about one foot about today's water level so I'm glad we chose to postpone our trip as well.

This leader was really bummed we didn't go this weekend. I like hiking and camping in the rain. I almost went out on Sunday night by myself just because I was jonesing for a night out.

@matthewkphx
It wasn't as bad as it looked this morning. There were no crossings deeper than just above the knee and no water moving faster than my dog could safely handle. Better safe than sorry though!