Somewhere Out There - California Whitewater Boating

"It is difficult to find in life any event which so effectually condenses intense nervous sensation into the shortest possible space of time as does the work of shooting, or running an immense rapid. There is no toil, no heart breaking labour about it, but as much coolness, dexterity and skill as man can throw into the work of hand, eye, and head; knowledge of when to strike and how to do it; knowledge of water and rock, and of the one hundred combinations which rock and water can assume - for these two things, rock and water, taken in the abstract fail as completely to convey any idea of their fierce embracings as the fire burning quietly in a drawing-room fireplace fails to convey the idea of a house wrapped and sheeted in flames."
Sir William Francis Butler, 1872

Projectile Vomiting
Upper NF Kaweah River

Runs at a Glance

Thumbnail descriptions and photos of obscure runs.

Brush Creek: Short but sweet, a must-do trip down a spectacular granite gorge.
Dinkey Creek: Wonderful high-elevation run near Fresno.
Headwaters of the Kern: Expedition boating at its finest.
Upper NF Kaweah River: Four miles might seem a long way to lug a boat, but trust me, this one's worth it.
Elizabeth Lake Canyon Creek: They can't all be classics.
Upper Piru Creek: A new Southern California classic.
Middle Piru Creek: Wilderness boating an hour from LA.
Santa Clara River: Big water, Class II-III fun in Ventura County.
Sespe Creek: Southern California's best multi-day trip.
Temecula Canyon: An excellent granite canyon in the Inland Empire.

Trip Reports and River Descriptions

Long-winded accounts of various adventures and favorite runs.

Santa Ynez River: Mellow cruising near Lompoc.
Costa Rica's Rio Pacuare: Just how international is the river rating scheme?
Dinkey Creek: We were miles from the takeout, an unknown distance from the rim of the gorge, and the evening light was fading.
Dry Creek: The phrase "first descent" usually conjures up images of remote canyons and pristine wilderness. Not so on Dry Creek, where barbed wire and hostile locals guard the run.
Piru Creek: The crusty old fisherman took a drag off his cigarette, squinted at the kayak atop my truck, then gave me a thorough onceover. "Not thinking about running the creek, are you?"
Sespe Creek: A seldom-run, multi-day wilderness expedition two hours from LA.

River Lies

Half-truths and fabrications about life on the river.

Wipeout in Cataract Canyon: For a brief moment I thought to myself, "We've been in worse situations".
The Flying Paddle of Deer Creek: Walk it or run it? Sometimes neither option works out...
San Antonio Creek: What are friends for?
You've Gotta Run It: Keith had warned us about the rapid long before we started the trip. `It's called Helicopter, because, when you see it, you'll wish you had a helicopter. You've gotta run it.'
The Lek: Ken Strickland presents an eloquent study of fascinating river mating displays.
My First Wet Exit: I thrashed and twisted, trying to free my lower body from the kayak.

Current Conditions

Retrieve current flow and weather data for selected runs.
California Rainfall Maps Critical data for creekers.
Dream Flows California flows at a glance.
Utah Flows

Links

Tell 'em I sent you!

Guidebooks

Guidebooks and other useful references.

Flow Information

USGS California Water Info: Realtime flow info

Organizations

American Whitewater Association: River conservation and cutting-edge boating in one easy stop.

Friends of the River: California's leading river conservation organization.

Whitewater, etc.

Boof.Com: Paddling in the Sierra Nevada.

Vince's Idaho Whitewater: Flow info, conditions reports, weather, and lots of good links.

Health

Shoulder Rehabilitation: Exercises for rebuilding and maintaining injured rotator cuffs.

Current Conditions || Trip Reports || Runs at a Glance || Links || Guidebooks || River Lies

This document was last updated on Friday, February 23, 2007