The All-Outdoors Whitewater Rafting California River Blog

Dave and Jason, Playa Uvita, Costa Rica

Seems we may have a migratory pattern evolving with our AO staff.  Ever since Pam, former guide and manager of AO’s Merced operation, established a unique beach-side hostel in Playa Uvita, Costa Rica the AO migration has only increased. It’s no coincidence she calls it The Flutterby House. We’ve got AO guides migrating there like a bunch of Monarchs.

While many AO folks of past and present have visited, two of AO’s favorites are spending their winters “working” at Pam’s brain child. In the Spring Dave manages the North Stanislaus River and in the hot summer months he’ll guide you down Clavey Falls on the T or drive you up the narrow Middle Fork take-out road (beads of sweat dripping from his brow!). But today, my friends, he is on a much-deserved stay-cation. He is reported to be as  giddy as a carefree 12 year old whose biggest concern is fitting in surf sessions in between fresh ceviche, karaoke en español, and a little “work”.  Seems Dave has really taken to heart the local saying in Costa Rica, “Pura vida” (pure life).

Dave and Jason donning AO threads!

Also roughing it the tropics is Jason, one of our favorite South Fork/Middle Fork  guides. Armed with some Rosetta Stone Spanish lessons and a smile  Jason is learning about toros, purrujas, and surfing(ocean-style).

We miss them both and can’t wait to see them in April for early season rafting.

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Cue Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman singing “Time tooooooooooo Say Goodbyyyyyyyyyyyye…….” because our season on the North Fork of the Stanislaus is over.  The Stan had an incredible run this year, and we had thought that it would be continuing well into August, but the Powers That Be made some changes so presto!  Season over.  We’ve learned to roll with it–no choice!–but this was unexpected for sure.

One bright spot in the class IV dept though is that Goodwin Canyon is running right now.  Another surprise!  We only get to run this striking class IV river every few years, so strike while the iron is hot if you’re interested.  Call us for more info and possible trip availability.

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If I had to pick a river that gives me butterflies every time I hear its name… brings back memories of high sides, steep drops, twisty technical turns, and quite the adrenaline rush, it would be the North Fork Stanislaus. Oh what a gem!

It was my third time rafting and I was excited for my first Class IV+ challenge. Little did I know, I would fall in love with this river. The high-alpine scenery and feeling of being on a fast creek, rather than a big river, was so different than anything I had experienced.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy my interpretation of a perfect day on the North Stan. This new video features snippets from a high-water trip (the highest we had run this season), on June 26, 2011.

For best quality, watch in HD

Were you on this trip? Or any North Stan trip? Share your experience with us by writing a review!

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We just got a bunch of official numbers from the Powers That Be on the North Stanislaus River and let me tell you, this is an unusual season.  We’ve had high water well-past the normal time zone, snowy rafting trips, massive logs across the river to contend with, and now, an end date that is practically unbelievable.  Usually, we’re packed up and out of the Stan by early June. This year though, our guides are pretty much having to get PO boxes and change their driver’s licenses because we have plenty water for Stan trips well into August! 

The North Stan is a class IV river with beautiful scenery and lots of technical drops.  Plenty to amuse the experienced rafter, and a good old-fashioned challenged for the adventerous first-timer.  Teenagers who are ready to get after it are also welcome on the Stan–the age minimum is 15.

Want a sneak peak before you commit? Check out our river video:

http://www.aorafting.com/river/north-fork-stanislaus/video.htm

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The end is nigh for North Stan rafting trips this year!  Based on the snowpack in the North Stan watershed and the weather forecast we think there are only two more weekends of raftable flows on this outstanding class IV run.  What I’m sayin’ is, it’s time to quit yer hemmin’ and hawin’ and make your plans before it’s too late. 

Don’t forget you can watch our fabulous North Stan rafting video to see what this river is all about.  Also check out our photo gallery from this year’s SNOWY STAN trips, too!  (Don’t you worry, no more snow to contend with for the last trips of the year)

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Good 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!

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The North Stanislaus River flows only during a short period in the springtime, usually in late April and May. Unlike other Class IV Sierra runs, the North Stan is a high elevation run (nearly 5000 feet at put-in), lined by redwood trees and filled with enormous granite boulders. The North Stan is one of the most picturesque rivers in California and becomes a favorite run for anyone who gets the opportunity to raft there. We recently launched a North Stanislaus rafting video produced by Ben Zupo, one of the camera men for the hit TV show, The Deadliest Catch. You can watch it here:

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We all thought we had seen the last of the Stanislaus River for this year, but lately it’s had a few surprises in store for us…

We had left the North Stan for “dead” this year– dried out, done, finito. We were sure, a few weekends ago, that we had seen the last of run-able flows on that river, and that this year’s incredibly huge snowpack had finally exhausted itself. But then, being the nerdy river addicts we are, we did what we do at least once every few weeks: went online and just for the heck of it looked up the flows for all of California’s rivers… (more…)

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Wrap (n): The less-than-ideal situation in which a boat is held against a rock or boulder in the river for an indeterminant amount of time by the force of the current.

When I and seven other guides got to the North Stanislaus this last Sunday morning and hiked down to look at the boat that was wrapped in the first rapid, we were amazed. I personally had never seen a wrap anything like it before. Most of the boat was under water, with a hole backing up on it and pounding it further and further against the rock. Literally half of the boat was wrapped around the left side of the boulder, and the other half wrapped around the right, giving no advantage to pulling from either direction. Of course, the boat had had two days by that point in time to get itself good and stuck: The initial wrap had actually occured Friday afternoon, when four boats set off to do All-Outdoors’ last trip on the Stan before flows dropped to a level too low to run. In the very first rapid of the day, Beginner’s Luck, two of those four boats wrapped. One of them came off fairly easily, and the other one,well, the other one is still there…

On Sunday, eight of us (none of whom had been on that trip on Friday) met at 9 am on the North Stanislaus with a lot of ropes, pulleys, carabiners, and throw bags. Our mission? To recover that wrapped boat and bring it home. (more…)

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We may have seen peak flows on the North Stanislaus this last weekend. It was incredibly fun, but definitely a more challenging, and at times crazy, day. (I think that the river had just as much fun with us as we had with it!) That said, I’ll let these pictures do the rest of the talking.

(more…)

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