For The Chronicle DRYAD - Its reliability is nearly as famed as that of the post office and the Perseid meteor shower. No matter the weather, temperature, flooding, or even obstacles, the annual Pe Ell River Run abides. "Originally, people would go bridge to bridge throwing eggs and flour on the people in the boats," said Jeff Yeager of Pe Ell. "The one that had gotten drunk and fallen in the water - the flour just sticks to them and leaves this crust." This year's River Run on Saturday was cold, with temperatures in the low 50s, and it rained. There weren't as many people for the run, but some truly dedicated folks helped ring in spring. Being true to that River Run reliability, Yeager has been either cheering or floating since 1989. "I'd say there is probably half of the people than usual," he said. "If the sun would've been out, more would've come. I think people thought it was going to be nastier today." The event is renowned for its wild but good-natured antics and beer drinking, but Deloris Lee, a 30-year resident of Pe Ell, said she believes the people who participate in the River Run do it, in part, to appreciate nature. "I've never seen beer cans floating in the river,' she said. "I don't think people want to leave that in the river. That's kind of against the point. But I have seen a lot of beer cans in the bottom of the boats!" Lee, who was at Rainbow Falls with her 17-year-old granddaughter Brittany Tschakert, was waiting for her daughter to complete the eight-mile journey to Rainbow Falls State Park. "Even when I was young I wasn't stupid enough to do it," Lee said with a laugh. And things have changed quite a bit in the past few years. The course, which begins at the state Route 6 bridge just beyond downtown Pe Ell, snakes past properties recovering from years of water damage. Floodwaters haven't been able to remove the famed Rainbow Falls rock walls, but the trees, towering above the banks, still hold old rafts and lawn chairs stuck in branches. "(The flood damage) has had a major effect on the park," said Yeager, who along with other longtime supporters, has helped clean up after the floods. Until they were ripped off the banks, a foot bridge and a car bridge used to link travelers on the state highway to the Rainbow Falls State Park entrance quickly. Now only rubble remains. After launching at about noon, boaters and rafters braved the falls around 4 p.m. Some years, it will take up to six hours to complete. "You might have to get out and walk in couple of (shallow) spots," said Evans. Onlookers scurried down the rock cliff and helped the soaked participants drag their vessels out of the water. Jason Pickett, whose father was one of the founders of the River Run, was the first to cross the falls. "It used to be really about homemade boats. Some people made them out of milk jugs ... (or) a giant net bag of empty two-liters," Yeager said. Never organized or really promoted, the annual Pe Ell River Run is held the second Saturday of April. Whatever the weather, the River Run is what it has always been: an event for the inebriated, warm-blooded and brave. "It's something to do," said Jacob Evans of Pe Ell. "You drink beer, get drunk and float down. Unless you have a quad, there isn't much to do. And I guess this doesn't tear anything up."
