The All-Outdoors Whitewater Rafting California River Blog

The roller coaster continues!  We started out the 2009 California river rafting season with  a serious “sky-is-falling-drought-of-biblical-proportions” message from the California government.  Then, it became clear that while it wouldn’t be a high water year, it was hardly going to be a disaster–and we’ve had outstanding trips on all our spring rivers as a result.

As temperatures  started to rise the snowpack began to melt, leading to higher flows on rivers from the South Fork to the Merced.  Flows had recently started to drop to summer levels on most rivers–and spring runs began to drop out entirely.   This week’s unexpected thunder storms are the latest shake-up, adding water to several watersheds like the Kaweah and the Merced.  We’ll just have to wait and see how long the storms’ effects last.

The Tuolumne had unexpectedly high water this week–over 7,000 CFS!  Flows will come down on T in a couple weeks and we’ll get to start rafting the Upper Tuolumne, or Cherry Creek.

Bookmark This!

Based on the 2009 snowpack and current temperatures, we anticipate that this weekend, June 6-8, will be the last chance for rafting trips on the Kaweah River.  After that, flows will likely be too low for good whitewater.  HOWEVER!  There are some possible thunderstorms on the horizon that could very well extend the season by another week.  We’ll keep you posted. 

But, bottom line:  If you’re in the LA area and want a last-minute adventure close to home, check out the Kaweah while you still can!  Watch our Kaweah rafting video to see if this technical and high-speed run is for you.

Bookmark This!

It’s curtains for another springtime California river.  The snowmelt in the North Fork American River watershed is over for 2009 and flows are now too low for rafting trips.  The North Fork isn’t dam-controlled so it always has a shorter season–but we’ll be back in 2010, ready to rumble.  Until then, you can still get a class IV fix on spring Tuolumne, Kaweah, and Merced trips where flows are good!  The Kaweah has a few more weekends left but don’t put it off too long–the snowmelt won’ t last forever.

Bookmark This!

The snowmelt pumped lots of extra water into the Merced River this spring, and although our guides report from their riverside lookouts that we’re no longer in “peak flow” time, we still have plenty of H20 on the mighty Mer. 

The Tuolumne River is also still seeing good n’ high water, so don’t miss the boat there either.  The flows in the Tuolumne watershed are high enough that we’ll have to wait until later in the summer than last year for class V rafting trips on Cherry Creek.  But higher flows on the “T” are fantastic and more than make up for the wait.  Even our Creek guides would agree (maybe just a leeeeetle bit grudgingly) with that one.

Down south toward LA, the Kaweah River has normal water at this point, but remains the technical and challenging class IV run we know and love.  This intermediate-advanced run is an adventurous way to escape the smog of So Cal.

Bookmark This!

Here’s a great (and free!) add-on to a South Fork American River rafting trip this coming weekend.  The good folks down at the American River Conservancy are hosting a guided hike for kids in the Coloma Lotus Valley this Sat, May 30th.  Hike on Sat, camp overnight, and then join us on Sunday for a rafting trip.  If you have little kids, look at our all class II Tom Sawyer float trip later in the season, but for this weekend, if everyone is up for some adventure, check out the Upper or Lower section.  Flows are great and the weather is mild!

For more information on the free guided hike,  call the American River Conservancy at 530-621-1224 or contact julie@arconservancy.org

Bookmark This!

The fabulous folks over at Sierra Rescue just announced two dates for Wilderness First Aid Classes taught on the South Fork American river this May and June.

Here’s the flyer they sent us:

Greetings from Sierra Rescue!

Don’t miss our One-day Wilderness First Aid Classes
coming up, Friday, May 29 or Friday, June 5 at the Sierra Nevada
House in Coloma.

This OSHA compliant First Aid and CPR class will be
held 8am to 5:30pm and offers students a basic
first aid and CPR card from Environmental Health
Services and American CPR.

DATE: May 29 or June 5
LOCATION: Sierra Nevada House, Coloma
TIME: 8am to 5:30pm
COST: $55

Please visit our website @ www.sierrarescue.com
for additional information or to register!

CLASS FLYER ATTACHED IN PDF FORMAT FOR PRINTING
AND DISTRIBUTING!

If you have any questions please contact us!

Sierra Rescue
800-208-2723
deanne@sierrarescue.com
Julie Munger & Abigail Polsby – Sierra Rescue – (800)208-2723 – (530)284-1004 – www.sierrarescue.com

Bookmark This!

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!

Bookmark This!

The annual American River Music festival is back for another weekend of music and rafting.  The festival will feature as always Americana, folk music, and a little rockin’ blues.  The headliner for this year’s line-up is local possibly-legend-in-the-making Jackie Greene.

This year’s festival is September 18-20.  The main stage is again at the Henningson-Lotus park, with more intimate venues scheduled at participating campgrounds.  Another carry-over from the first two years is a South Fork rafting trip (yes, you can go with yours truly) and a guided hike along the American River.

For all the details–including photos, video clips and the full line-up–check out the festival website.

Bookmark This!

Now that we’ve had a little more time to crunch the numbers I have an update for you about how the recent storms are affecting California rivers.

As you know already, we had wild water on a number of rivers over the May 2nd weekend.  What we’ve learned now is that the storms added significantly to the water content in the Sierra.  At high elevations we got more inches added to the snowpack.  Lower in the mountains, where it rained, the rain was cold enough that it didn’t melt the snow–instead the snow was able to absorb and hold the water, meaning when the weather does warm up, there will more more to fill reservoirs and raft on. 

Temperatures were a little warmer in the North Fork of the Stanislaus watershed so we’ll have to keep an eye on that situation.  For now, we still believe we’ll be out there until late May.

The Merced River and the Kaweah both benefited a great deal from the recent weather, so we’ve extended their seasons by a few days.

Bookmark This!

It was a heckuva weekend on  California rivers!  We had high water on the Merced–got up to 11,000 CFS for awhile there–bigger flows down on the Kaweah, and the Tuolumne shot up to 6,000.  The North Stan got so high we actually re-routed folks to the South Fork of the American which is running at an awesome 4,000 CFS–a really fun flow for this river.  These are the highest spring flows on the South Fork that we’ve seen in a few years.  Perfect flows for running the whole river in one day.

Why the sudden increase you ask?  Oh, just the torrential downpours from on high.  Great example of how quickly things can change for whitewater rivers.  From good n’ solid spring rafting to hope-you’re-holding-onto-your-hat high overnight!  It’s supposed to continue raining here for a bit and then temperatures  should rise as well.  So if high adventure is your thing this is not the moment to miss!

 If you missed all the excitement over the weekend you can tide yourself over by sneaking a break to watch our river videos.

Bookmark This!