The All-Outdoors Whitewater Rafting California River Blog

What a great way to rock September–a weekend in the Coloma-Lotus valley at the 3rd annual American River Music Festival!  The festival is here in Lotus and runs September 18-20.

As always, the weekend promises all kinds of fun: from big-name artists like Jackie Greene, to El Dorado County local Jonny Mojo, workshops, riverside harmonies, and tasty food.  The weather should be mild and lovely and the company just fine–I mean who likes folk and roots music if not nice people?

And don’t forget: as always there will be a Friday rafting trip with yours truly, AO Rafting, on the lower section of the American River.  Rafters will be treated to a special riverside concert with Sid Lewis and Jonny Mojo.  Should be unforgetable!  Buy tickets and get more info at the American River Music Festival website.

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Now that we’re in the middle of the rafting season our early summer rafting guide school seems far far away…….our most promising and motivated graduates have become familiar faces around the office as they continue to work on their training. I asked one of them, new guide Maria, to write a story for our blog about her guide school experience! We’ve also posted a gallery of photos on our ao rafting Facebook page!
AO Rafting Guide School 2009:

It all started out so simple. A description of the main features of whitewater rafting: rapids, holes/reversals, rocks, how angles play a role in missing or hitting key features of the river, etc. All the information was a bit overwhelming and I found myself zoning at times (something I later regretted immensely). The first day was slow going, looking back now after another month of rafting I understand just how slow it was. With a stop for lunch on a commercial trip it usually takes about 4.5 hours to get from the All-Outdoors put in to the Salmon Falls take out. It took us closer to (more…)

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This could possibly be the ultimate whitewater trip for experienced river rafters in California: a combo trip on the Tuolumne River and Cherry Creek.  Ok ok I admit the Kern River has a pretty awesome range of sections and there are certainly other canyons with incredible beauty like the North Stan…..but just because you want the extreme challenge of Class V rapids doesn’t mean you want the class V put-in experience of hiking in gear or following a mule train down into the canyon.   And just because you want beauty doesn’t mean you want to raft at a moment’s notice in the spring. 

 With our Tuolumne River combination trip you get, well, the combo of extreme whitewater on Cherry Creek and the beauty of the upper and lower Tuolumne River Canyon.  Plus you get our awesome guides with their years of experience and winning personalities.  Hello, what’s not to love?

On these trips you also get away and really take a break–camping overnight in a river canyon puts a lot in perspective.  Like how many stars there are when you escape city lights, and how loud an ocean of crickets is….

(Top: Cherry Creek! Middle: Cooling off on the Tuolumne River,  Bottom: Guide Boat on Cherry Creek)

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We just updated our web-specials–there are new discounts on rafting trips ranging all the way from class III family trips on the South Fork American River, to die-hard-adrenaline-rush-Class-V madness on Cherry Creek.  Last-minute bookings are welcome–we’re standing by with life-jackets, paddles, charming, tan guides, and all the fixings for deli sandwiches.

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I don’t know what you all think, but how is this for the perfect way to end a day on the American river–no, no, not a cold beer and a slice of pizza over at Marco’s pizza or a fantastic steak at Cafe Mahjaic……No I’m talking serious fun here: a history lesson over at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park!  Come on now that’s a party! 

No but really, think about it–you have the kids, you just had an exciting day on the water, you got a little too much sun and you want to kick back and have someone else do the entertaining of said kids for awhile.  So, hop in the car, drive 2 minutes from the AO River Center and let Kimberly Shiningstar take over with an evening of storytelling and Native American history.  The event starts at 7:30  and runs ’till 9pm–that’s kid bedtime in my world, and then the adults can stay up around the campfire and chat under the stars.  Marshmallows optional.

For more info on the event, visit the Marshall Gold Association website.

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The River Store (right next door to the AO rafting river center in Lotus) is hosting another year of river shuttle service for the local boating community!  They have a couple vans, custom trailers, and the right price–only $7 bucks for a shuttle on the upper or the lower South Fork American River.  Get more info and the latest schedule from the River Store website.

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Here we are in the height of the summer California River rafting season and you have lots o’ options choose from–great news, but also part of the mixed feelings we in the industry have about dams.  On the one hand we tend to be conservation minded and are well aware of dams’ many drawbacks ecologically.   On the other hand, dams dramatically extend our rafting season and make water flows much more reliable.  We’re able to organize trips and logisitics around scheduled flows and can give guests a pretty accurate idea of what to expect because we are so familiar with rafting the same flows summer after summer.

The mixed bag of dams aside, the end result is that we have three rivers that flow consistantly all summer–the South and Middle Forks of the American Rivers, and the Tuolumne River.  The Tuolumne is really a two-for-one deal because not only do we get the class IV section of the main T, but we also get the class V section of the Upper Tuolumne, or Cherry Creek, as it’s more commonly known.  We will offer consistant trips on all these rivers for the rest of summer!

(Above:  Summer is the perfect time to explore California Rivers with side-hikes and overnight trips!)

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If you’re headed to the South Fork American River to cool off and rehydrate this weekend stay overnight and check out this free event in Coloma:

The good folks over at the American River Conservancy are sharing their passion for this area and the wonders of nature once again–but this time, at night!  Join them for an evening of star gazing and conversation over at the Magnolia Ranch (public land along the lower section of the South Fork of the American River).  Featured constellations are: Saturn, The Hercules Cluster, Ring Nebula, Lagoon Nebula, Eagle Nebula, Dumbbell Nebula, Galaxies M65 and M66 and the “Double Double” star.

The evening begins at 9 pm and meets at the Magnolia Ranch parking lot.  Bring snacks, chairs and questions! For more info call 530-621-1224

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If you’re a private boater or one of our rafting guests coming up for a trip on the American River this event could be a cool add-on for the weekend.

The Tahoe Paddle Festival is a brand-new events hosted on the shores of lovely Lake Tahoe.  There will be all sorts of “paddle-able” floaty things, including hand-crafted surf boards, kayaks, and body boards. 

Here’s more info from the festival organizers:

Tahoe Paddle Fest will showcase indigenous and non-motorized watercraft from around the world, on the shores of awe-inspiring Lake Tahoe, in a fun and engaging celebration of water sports, arts & culture.

Morning Yoga:
Check back at the website.  We are planning to start off each day with FREE Yoga in the park and on the beach!

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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 . . .

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