So why not double your fun on an All-Outdoors 2-day trip down the Middle Fork? There are so many reasons why the 2-day trip will rock your world, but the main thing is the added amenities. For example, instead of just lunch on the river like a normal 1-day trip, how does lunch both days with delicious dinner and breakfast in between sound?

You may be wondering how we run the same section of river that takes one day normally and break it into two, while still maintaining the crazy, enjoyable aura of it all. Well, the coolest part of doing a multi-day trip on the Middle Fork is the remote wilderness camping experience of the night in between rafting days. After the top half of the river is completed, we will set up camp on a beach next to the river and eat, relax and socialize by the campfire. The expansive, hushed canyon will be yours to explore for the night; take a dip in the river, go fishing, play cards by the fire.

We aren’t done spoiling you yet, however. After an unforgettable night camping out, you’ll pile back into your raft and take on the second half of the Middle Fork. We will make a pit stop for lunch part way down and make our way up the side of Canyon Creek for your final bonus adventure.

So, next time you are planning on hitting up the Middle Fork with All-Outdoors, be sure to consider a 2-day itinerary. Raft the thrashing white water and enjoy the scenic beauty of the secluded canyon all in one trip! Trust us, you don’t want to miss out on the chance to experience one of the most action-packed trips white water rafting in California has to offer!

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Chunder is enough to rattle any rafter’s brain, but the sight of Ruck-a-Chucky a little further downstream just makes it that much more awesome. Ruck-a-Chucky is an un-runnable class VI, and we require all rafters to portage around it. Fear not though. That doesn’t mean you have to lug the huge raft on slippery, wet rocks. Instead, you will watch our AO guides do a tricky maneuver across a few big boulders as they pull the raft down through the rocks before jumping down back into the raft at the bottom of the rapid.

The perfect way to start the second half of your day is splashing through the big drop on Chunder with Ruck-a-Chucky looming on the horizon. You’re going to have to shake off the post-lunch coma and make sure you are in good form to handle Chunder and avoid flipping at the bottom! The last thing you want to do is swim in the section of river before a waterfall. So, make sure to prepare yourself for a wild bottom section of the river, starting with one of the best drops on any river, Chunder!

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Needless to say, Kanaka immediately became one of my favorites. Drops, bumps, turns, rocks; you name it, Kanaka’s got it. Some guides will even give more of a pre-rapid talk for Kanaka than Tunnel Chute because it’s so unpredictable. There is usually a pretty gnarly hole at the bottom of the rapid (the one that did in my raft that fateful day) that you have to avoid unless you want swimmers.

The river at Kanaka roars to the right over a line of boulders and into a cliff of more huge rocks, which causes the huge, churning whitewater. Kanaka is a huge rush and will be a perfect ending to the first harsh section of the river. As I mentioned, there is a long stretch of small rapids and calm water in the middle of the river after Kanaka. So there is no better way to finish off the top section than by hitting one of the fastest, bumpiest, most technical rapids on the whole river!

Want an even bigger taste of the Middle Fork’s class IV whitewater?  Take a break and watch our river video.

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Once on the Middle Fork, there isn’t much time to prepare for Tunnel Chute. Just a couple class III rapids is all  that stands between you and Last Chance, which is more of an entryway to Tunnel Chute than anything else. On AO trips, we require everyone to take a stroll to the edge of the rocks above Tunnel Chute to scout out whether or not one is comfortable enough to take it on. Guides will encourage all rafters to go for it, because it really is the highlight of the day. But if one feels uncomfortable with what they see, they may elect to walk around the rapid and meet the rafts after the tunnel.

The frothing edge of white water that precedes Tunnel Chute is both thrilling and terrifying at the same time. Walls of sharp rock surround the raft as it takes a slight left turn down the huge chute and to the big drop at the bottom. AO Guides will call for a “get down,” where all rafters get all the way down in the raft and hang on to their paddle with one hand and a secure strap in the raft with the other. But make sure not to look too scared, because a photographer will be posted up on a perch above the rapid taking pictures of your group. 

Overall, nobody should miss out on a chance to experience this magnificent rapid. When I talk to rafters on the phone about their trips on the Middle Fork, it’s rare to have a conversation that doesn’t include the Tunnel Chute. The best advice I’ve heard about hitting the Chute is from our owner Gregg Armstrong. He told me before my first time rafting the Middle Fork, “Just don’t swim Tunnel Chute.” Luckily, unlike him, I haven’t. And I don’t plan on it. But I do plan on continuing to go back to the Middle Fork to experience the exhilaration of a perfect line through the chilly spray at the entrance to the tunnel, signifying success. And that’s just the first section of the river!

See what other rafters have to say about this see-to-believe rapid on our MF reviews page.

Above: Rafting Tunnel Chute!  Middle: The scout…… Bottom: The tunnel itself

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 Barring some other weird weather phenomenon that comes out of the clear blue sky, our anticipation is that flows will continue to be near that all-important 2000 CFS mark this  weekend. I can’t believe we actually need a disclaimer here but my word, this spring-summer . …. ….wait….. springer? sprummer? . . . . whatever…..the weather lately has been beyond bizarre!   Anyway, with that said, we have been busy setting up our Middle Fork rafting gear, opening up our meet spot, and getting ready to take you rafting!  Good thing too, because we know there are a-LOT of y’all out there who have been chomping at the bit to get your taste of the MF this year.

 (Above: One of the magical things about the Middle Fork is that it’s such an easy drive from the Bay Area but it feels totally remote and isolated.  Look at all that beauty!)

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When flows get over 2000 CFS on the Middle Fork of the American, we typically don’t run it for a host of logistical reasons.   For example, there are a number of rapids–including the iconic and beloved Tunnel Chute–that we literally cannot run.  Instead we have to”portage” them, meaning carry the boats around.  Pretty sure that’s not your idea of fun.

So this year, with the awesome snowpack, we have to wait it out until early July to run this class IV river.  Luckily for you, there are waaaaaay more options than there usually are this time of year, so don’t shed too many tears for the Middle Fork.   Use this as motivation to finally check out the Merced or the North Fork of the Stanislaus. 

But of course we’ll be the first to let you know when we do start running trips on the  Middle Fork in 2011.

(Above: Tunnel Chute in full summer glory)

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We admit it–there’s nothing like a summer rafting trip with blazing temps and sunburned kids running all over the place, but fall rafting…………….well, it has a magic to it.  The leaves are turning, wildlife is creeping out from its hiding places (you’d hide too, if you lived on the banks of the SF and watched thousands of lobster-red homo-sapiens bomb down the rapids day after day all summer long!), and the air is often filled with the calls of geese high high in the clouds above.  And the privacy–you just about get the river to yourself this time of year–something that is beyond possible in July and August.

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