Tuesday, September 26, 2006
South Fork American River
Just came off of my millionth trip on the good ol' SoFo river. Small group of high-end clients that drove from Southern California to Northern California in one day by way of Highway 1. Now that's a beautiful drive up the coast. The ocean on your left, surfers paddling from the beach and glorious weather highlights this drive on this world-famous highway.
The group came and met their college-aged son in the valley and then drove through Sacramento to the South Fork American river. The foothills are just starting to cool into a hint of fall. The flow was 1,700 cfs and hardly anyone was on the river today. The people just loved it and were surprised that this was the river that everyone says is sooo easy. It's not. Not really. Class 3 to 3+ rapids and some say that the Chili Bar section is Class 3 to 4... that's a river that requires technical expertise. Kayakers love this section because it is challenging to navigate and surf the rapids through this area.
The beginning of the run has a surfing section that is well-known in the paddling community. The Chili Bar Hole is home to the annual kayak rodeo and the spectators love watching the kayaker antics at this recycling hole. Even the rafters like to surf this rapid!
Well, we're back to square one again... hardly anyone out here except for private boaters, kayakers and an occassional commercial rafting companies. We love the fall... river is beautiful at this time of year!
The group came and met their college-aged son in the valley and then drove through Sacramento to the South Fork American river. The foothills are just starting to cool into a hint of fall. The flow was 1,700 cfs and hardly anyone was on the river today. The people just loved it and were surprised that this was the river that everyone says is sooo easy. It's not. Not really. Class 3 to 3+ rapids and some say that the Chili Bar section is Class 3 to 4... that's a river that requires technical expertise. Kayakers love this section because it is challenging to navigate and surf the rapids through this area.The beginning of the run has a surfing section that is well-known in the paddling community. The Chili Bar Hole is home to the annual kayak rodeo and the spectators love watching the kayaker antics at this recycling hole. Even the rafters like to surf this rapid!
Well, we're back to square one again... hardly anyone out here except for private boaters, kayakers and an occassional commercial rafting companies. We love the fall... river is beautiful at this time of year!
Labels: american river, rafting, trips
# posted by W.E.T. River Trips - raftWET.com @ 2:54 PM 
