The All-Outdoors Whitewater Rafting California River Blog

If you want an unusual trip this year, some challenging whitewater, and some good old fashioned adventure you’re gonna want to can that spring break trip to Acapulco and head north with us as we charge up to raft the Cal Salmon this spring.  We won’t have drinks with umbrellas in them, or make your towels into palm trees or swans, but we might be able to lay a wildflower on your wetsuit! In anycase, you can bank on an outstanding time–we are super fired up about this trip because we don’t get to run this river near as much as we’d like, it being so far from our home base and all. 

You’re going to get plenty of opportunities to raft Cherry Creek this summer if you want an extreme rafting trip, but excellent spring rafting like this will likely have a shorter window this season.  The point is–if you want an advanced rafting trip in 2009, don’t miss this opportunity.

Right now, we’ve planned a one-day trip April 25th, but if your group is interested in a two-day trip, let’s talk–we’d love to stay up there longer!  For more info, call us at 800 24 RAFTS.

Check out more pics from the Cal Salmon on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64790&id=9894452343

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Friends of the River is hosting their annual celebration of All Things River this March.  The festival will be held on Sat March 14th starting at 10am with a used gear swap meet and continuing into the evening with a silent auction.

The festival is FREE and will feature documentary films, workshops, and as always, tasty BBQ.  You can bring your kids, get some cool gear, and hobnob with whitewater luminaries like kayaker Scott Ligare who will be screening the award-winning film The Last descent.  Ron Hunter (of Patagonia) and Tom Meckfessel (of Clavey River Equip) will also showcase images and stories from a recent expedition to Alaska.  Other cool presentations include info on the ex Auburn Dam, the Mokolumne River, and a Wild and Scenic River road trip!  Learn more at FOR’s website.

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Like the snow, the good news keeps getting better!  In case you haven’t noticed, we here in Northern California have been getting pummeled with wet weather, whipping winds, and rushing water.  The South Fork of the American River, which flows along our River Center property, is fat and brown from rainwater and run-off and all the local creeks are pumping!

When it comes to the snowpack in the Sierra, things are looking fine and dandy.  California really really needs all the water it can get right now, and we’re so happy that Mother Nature is hearing the call!  It’s still true that reservoirs are low from  just average precipitation and very dry ground (which soaks up a lot of water before it runs into rivers and then into reservoirs) over the last few years. HOWEVER, these last few storm cycles have really helped out.  As of now, we’re looking at about 80% in the Sierra, which is good news both for California rafting this year and the state in general.   If we continue to have big storms that number will go up, and if the weather dries out, we’ll probably stay in that range.

For now, we continue to predict solid water on dam-controlled rivers like the South and Middle Forks of the American River and the Tuolumne.  We’re also very confident about a strong class V season on Cherry Creek.

We’ll keep you posted as the winter progresses and we know more about what kind of flows we can expect in 2009.

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Sorry to say–because we know rafters near and far are dying to know– but it’s still too early to give you a super accurate sense of what we’re looking at as far as snowpack and summer water flows for 2009 go.  However, like you, we’ve been anxiously watching the skies and happily watching snow pile up in the Sierra over the course of the past few weekend’s storms.  What we can tell you so far is this:

Last year was a “normal” year for the California snowpack, so reservoirs didn’t get as full as we might have liked.  And so far, this winter hasn’t been super “wet.”  So, the reality is we have some ground to make up this year.  Thus far, we’re doing ok, but don’t anticipate this will be a high water year by any means.  Instead, we anticipate solid water on dam-controlled rivers like the South and Middle Forks of the American Rivers and the Tuolumne.  Lower run-off in the Tuolumne watershed means a longer season on Cherry Creek, so that’s great news for class V rafters. Spring run-off rivers will likely have shorter seasons. 

The bottom line is that we have several more weeks of winter to build on the current snowpack, and what we know so far is that we will have plenty of water for rafting in California this season.  As we get more information about the current snowpack and water content levels, we’ll let you know.

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It’s always fun for us to see our name in print…..(well, in computer screen pixels and flickering light…) so we were excited to see ourselves featured in an online article on the Kaweah River.  The Kaweah’s class IV rapids and technical hydraulics create excitement every spring and is one of our guides’ favorite springtime runs.

Check out the article at:

http://www.rundown.com/article.php?article_id=476&article_title=Weekend-Runaway:-Whitewater-Rafting

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We just got word that our friends over at ETC are hosting a Wilderness First Responder Course at their beautiful riverside campground.  Here’s what they told us about it:

Wilderness First Responder Course

What?  Aerie’s 72 hour Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course, designed for outdoor professionals and outdoor enthusiasts, preparing them to care for injuries and illness in remote, challenging environments. The course is fast-paced, challenging, hands-on and fun. Once complete, this certificate can be renewed every two years in any two day Wilderness First Aid course with major organizations such as Wilderness Medical Institute (WMI). This course also included and American Heart Association Heart Saver Certification. (CPR)

Where? ETC River Camp: 6700 HWY 49, Lotus CA.

When? March 27^th – April 3^rd  2009

How Much? $550.00

Reserve your space: Call  Deanna or Kyle @ (530) 626-6789 or email deannakj81@yahoo.com

This will be a small, intimate class, of approximately 10-15 people. Make your reservation soon! If we don’t get enough people the class won’t happen!

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It’s a little early in the season to have a very good grasp on the snowpack in the Sierra, or do much predicting about what kind of rafting season we’ll have in 2009, but lots of people are curious and starting to ask.  I decided to call up our resident Flow expert, the Duke of Dam-Control, the Sultan of Snowpack, the His Highness of Highwater, and see if there’s anything to report.

It turns out that California water authorities have released a little bit of information about where we’re at so far.  As of this week, we’re about 9% below average for this time of year.  We also know that a high pressure system just moved over California which typically keeps big storms at bay for a couple weeks.  This means we don’t anticipate big storms until February.  This might sound discouraging at first but it’s actually not.  The key thing to keep in mind is that we can’t jump to conclusions this early in the winter–we actually have several months left to build up snowpack and get ready to raft.  It’s like we’re at the very beginning of the big game and there are just too many quarters left to play–we just have to sit back in our seats, eat another hotdog, and keep watching.

(Above: AO guides Brooke and Robyn don’t seem worried about the snow in Tahoe…in fact they seem rather pleased!)

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 The Auburn Dam saga I’ve been writing about recently is just one of many such controversies over dams, water rights, flood control, and conservation issues raging all over the West.  One particulary sticky one involving all the standard issues PLUS farmers, Native Americans, and an important Salmon fishery is the situation on the Upper Klamath River.  The really cool thing here is that groups that have traditionally battled one another have begun to try to collaborate instead.

AO guide Tessa reports:
This is a fascinating time for California’s rivers, and rivers all
over the Western United States, as the government and agencies are
relicensing and relooking at the hundreds of dams that were built over
the past century. The Klamath River, in the far northern reaches of
California, is an especially interesting story. For decades, the
various groups of people that depend on the river for their
livelihood, including the Native Americans, farmers, and commercial
fishermen, have battled over water rights to the Klamath. Recently,
however, with dwindling fish populations and a decreasing availability
of water, the groups have been collaborating to find a solution for
many of the river’s problems. One solution they have come up with is
to remove four major dams in the upper section of the river, restoring
the river to it’s natural state and hopefully reviving the Salmon
runs. This month’s National
Geographic Magazine has an excellent article outlining the
different issues and overviewing the ongoing debate.

I have been priviledged to enjoy rafting trips on the upper section of
the Klamath River, a beautiful Class IV stretch that runs throughout
the summer. I hope the powers that be come to a resolution that will
keep the Klamath flowing and healthy for generations to come.  For pictures and more info on this watershed visit http://www.klamathriver.org/ .

Here is another interesting article on the Klamath water situation from The Oregonian.

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Auburn Dam–the project with more lives than an alley cat–has been dealt a mighty blow: on December 2, the California Water board voted unanimounsly to revoke the water rights it granted over 30 years ago to the US Bureau of Reclamation.  This means that the federal governement would have a seriously uphill battle to sucessfully build the dam, a project richer in controversy than the American River used to be in gold.  With no rights to store water, a dam would be largely pointless so it looks like the project is doomed.  But before you peel that sticker for or against the dam off your bumper, remember that this is one fight that dates back to the Cold War era so I don’t know…..could be resurrected yet.  In the meantime–and I confess this might betray a bias here–I’m stoked that we know the Middle Fork of the American river will be echoing with the sounds of rafters, fishermen, and gold miners for summers to come.

To learn more about the Water Board’s decision and see some photographs, read the article in the Sacramento Bee:

http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/1444275.html

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You can pout all you want, but the facts are the facts: California river rafting is officially done for 2008.  Gusty winds and the first rains of the season, golden leaves, and ripe apples tell us fall is good and here so it’s time to pack up for the upcoming winter.  However, should you desire a very private rafting trip, and want to experience the South Fork of the American this fall or winter give us a call–we still have guaranteed water on the weekends and would love to take you and your group out for a little “off-season” rafting!

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