The All-Outdoors Whitewater Rafting California River Blog » Merced River http://blog.aorafting.com Read up on everything related to whitewater rafting on California rivers with All-Outdoors Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:00:22 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 The All-Outdoors Whitewater Rafting California River Blog http://blog.aorafting.com/feed-logo.jpg http://blog.aorafting.com 100 100 The All-Outdoors Whitewater Rafting California River Blog - http://blog.aorafting.com Kaweah and Merced River Rafting Over for 2010 http://blog.aorafting.com/kaweah-and-merced-river-rafting-over-for-2010/ http://blog.aorafting.com/kaweah-and-merced-river-rafting-over-for-2010/#comments Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:16:45 +0000 Malina http://blog.aorafting.com/?p=2745 That’s it!  No more Kaweah, no more Merced.  We’re cleared out of the bug,  said goodbye to Dorletta and her tasty burgers for the year, and put the Merced t-shirts in storage until next year.  If you missed these rivers this year turn your attention to the trifecta of summer-long reliability that are the South and  Middle Forks of the American River, and the Tuolumne.

]]> http://blog.aorafting.com/kaweah-and-merced-river-rafting-over-for-2010/feed/ 0 Merced White Water Rafting: Final Weekends! http://blog.aorafting.com/merced-white-water-rafting-final-weekends/ http://blog.aorafting.com/merced-white-water-rafting-final-weekends/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:00:21 +0000 Malina http://blog.aorafting.com/?p=2722 The end is nigh for the Mighty Merced River this year.  Even this year’s wunderbar snowpack couldn’t hold up forever….

The next two weekends we’ll have fun water on the Merced and then the river will become too low to raft for the rest of the summer.  So, if you were hoping to add a Merced white water rafting trip to a Yosemite outing this year, hope your bags are packed because the end is in sight! 

Not sure this river is for you?  Don’t forget you can take a virtual gander by checking out our Merced white water rafting video!

]]> http://blog.aorafting.com/merced-white-water-rafting-final-weekends/feed/ 0 High Water on its way…….finally?? http://blog.aorafting.com/high-water-on-its-way-finally/ http://blog.aorafting.com/high-water-on-its-way-finally/#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:40:41 +0000 Malina http://blog.aorafting.com/?p=2623 It doesn’t take a genius with a degree in meteorology or geophysics or whatever to see that this spring the weather has been WHACK!  Hail, windstorms, humidity, rain, blazing sunshine, huge puffy clouds, grey haze and freezing nights.  We’ve been seeing it all.  And the weeds are LOVING it.  Bumper crop of furry-burries, star thistle and foxtails coming your way.  (Also vet bills if your animals are anything like mine and like getting pokey things in their eyeballs this time of year.)

Anyway, given all this roller-coaster action in the heavens I hesitate to say anything concrete about water flows and temperatures, but it does indeed seem to be heating up and unless things have really gone crazy and ice has a new melting temperature, that means the snowmelt is poised to begin.  Soon.  I’ll try to keep you up-to-date on what’s going off where, but for you highwater and adrenaline junkie types this is your moment.  At least I think it is.  We have lots of snow ready to melt and rush into rivers like the Kaweah (our crew is headed down early for a little extra highwater training tomorrow because we anticipate that river rising soon), the Tuolumne, and the Merced.  Our staff in Walnut Creek will have all the deets so give them a ring!

]]> http://blog.aorafting.com/high-water-on-its-way-finally/feed/ 0 Good Night Merced, Goodnight Redbud Rafting http://blog.aorafting.com/good-night-merced-goodnight-redbud-rafting/ http://blog.aorafting.com/good-night-merced-goodnight-redbud-rafting/#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:45:34 +0000 Malina http://blog.aorafting.com/?p=1940 And we’re out.  We’ve gathered gear near and far, emptied the trash, and rolled the sleeping bags:  no more Merced River rafting in 2009.   They powered through high water, extended trips,  and had a flip here and there, but the Mer-Men and Mer-Maids are now off to new assignments on the South and Middle Forks of the American River and the Tuolumne . . .

]]> http://blog.aorafting.com/good-night-merced-goodnight-redbud-rafting/feed/ 0 Merced River Rafting: The Extended Version! http://blog.aorafting.com/merced-river-rafting-the-extended-version/ http://blog.aorafting.com/merced-river-rafting-the-extended-version/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:20:45 +0000 Malina http://blog.aorafting.com/?p=1878

Click here to view the embedded video.

Word on the street around here is that the Merced River is going to have a slightly extended season.  It’s hot now, but the cool beginning to the summer means that the snowpack lasted a little longer than we’d usually expect. Sooooo……if you thought you’d missed your chance for a little rafting on the Mighty Mer, think again and make some plans.  We’re currently booking Merced rafting trips through Sunday, July 12th.  Check out our Merced rafting video and whet yer whistle!

]]> http://blog.aorafting.com/merced-river-rafting-the-extended-version/feed/ 0 Warm Temps = Higher water on California Rivers http://blog.aorafting.com/warm-temps-higher-water-on-california-rivers/ http://blog.aorafting.com/warm-temps-higher-water-on-california-rivers/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 01:37:56 +0000 Malina http://blog.aorafting.com/?p=1764 mf-aGood news for spring rafters!  The strong snowpack from winter 2009, combined with this week’s warming trend, mean water levels are rising on springtime rafting trips.  This might mean free-flowing rivers like the Merced will have slightly shorter seasons, but conditions are wonderful right now.   It’s really an even trade in the end–especially if you’re looking for high water, big hydraulics, and powerful currents.   Dam-controlled rivers have plenty of water for long, solid seasons.

Be sure to catch the North Fork of the Stanislaus while flows are up there.  (After the melt is over, the North Folk will be too low for rafting trips.)  Don’t forget the South Fork of the American either–the hills are still green, wildflowers are still out, and higher flows make the South Fork extra fun.  Faster spring water also makes whole river trips–rafting all the way from Chili Bar to Salmon Falls–a fantastic day.  If you usually raft the South Fork in the summer months, this time of year will give you a whole new perspective!

]]> http://blog.aorafting.com/warm-temps-higher-water-on-california-rivers/feed/ 0 Merced River: Fare thee well until next year! http://blog.aorafting.com/merced-river-fare-thee-well-until-next-year/ http://blog.aorafting.com/merced-river-fare-thee-well-until-next-year/#comments Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:49:54 +0000 Malina http://blog.aorafting.com/?p=1047 Well kids, it’s time to pack up your sleeping bag, brush the cookie crumbs out of your tent, and head on home–the Merced River is officially out of commission until next spring when its rolling waves trains will reverberate with the happy hollering of soaked-to-the-bone whitewater rafters once more.  Until then, if you need a fix of class IV whitewater you have two great options for Northern California rafting left this year.  First, you have the Middle Fork of the American River, whose 17 miles of rafting goodness will surely satisfy your need for speed.  If its incomparable class IV rapid Tunnel Chute doesn’t do it for you, then I really don’t know what to say.  Perhaps skydiving is your thing?  You also have the Tuolumne, with its beautiful clear water, gigantor boulders, and the highlight of Clavey Falls, a class IV+ drop that creates wall-to-wall whitewater…… 

]]> http://blog.aorafting.com/merced-river-fare-thee-well-until-next-year/feed/ 0 Merced River Update: Quarter Mile now in the House! http://blog.aorafting.com/merced-river-update-quarter-mile-now-in-the-house/ http://blog.aorafting.com/merced-river-update-quarter-mile-now-in-the-house/#comments Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:30:53 +0000 Malina http://blog.aorafting.com/?p=1046 The Mighty Mer is a fickle river, with a character as inconstant as the moon depending on flows.  Until recently, we’ve had flows of around 2200-2000 cfs.  This amount of water creates the huge rolling wave trains that make the Merced such a fun whitewater river, but it also makes it inappropriate to run the lower section of the river, which is called Quarter Mile.  Now that the water is starting to drop to approximately 1500-1600 cfs, we can start running the Quarter Mile section.  This includes s a long class IV rapid with a 3 remarkable drops to the river trip, and also a 25 foot waterfall to the day!  We scout the different sections of the rapid–and we push the boats over the falls and walk around to the bottom.  Current flows, combined with the level of the reservoir below the raftable section of the Merced, means there is now an additional 3 miles of moving water we get to float after lunch.  It isn’t 3 miles of whitewater, but it’s still a lovely way to end the day.

Based on the season so far, and the amount of snowpack that remains high in the Merced watershed, we think there will be two more weekends of great whitewater rafting on the Merced.  We anticipate trips running into the July 4  holiday weekend, but will keep you updated if it appears that the situation will change.  Hot weather, of course, would likely shorten the season because it would melt the snowpack faster, while cooler temps would stretch out the season a little longer by preserving the snowpack.

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