Fall Foliage on the Toxaway

Gareth getting pumped for the day loading up at the take-out

Last week I checked off a new Southeastern classic from my to-do list. I had been wanting to do the Toxaway for a while, but was waiting until the right day to do it. I'd say that a late October day with sunny, 70 degree weather during peak leaf season could not have met my requirements for a perfect day any better. The level was -4" (medium-low) and the team solid.

The Toxaway fullfilled every expectation I had for it and more. Slide after slide after sweet slide we moved our way down the beautiful gorge, making sure to take the time to stop and enjoy the fall colors surrounding us.

Drew Duval at the put-in slide

Drew Duval at the bottom part of the put-in slide

Gareth scouting Energizer before firing it up

Chad Pickens in the meat of Energizer

Chris Baer entering the Feeding Trough

Gareth Tate about to launch into Landbridge

Jakub in the middle of Landbridge

Beautiful fall colors looking over the lip of Wintergreen

A spectacular view from the bottom of Wintergreen

Can't wait to go back next time it runs!

Make sure and check out the video Gareth put together from the trip below.

California Trip Report: Lower Tuolumne and West Cherry Creek

Taking a "California Lunch" on the Lower Tuolumne

After picking Gareth up from the airport in Sacramento we were both fired up to get back on the water after each taking a week off. Our plan had been to head down to Cherry lake and get on Upper Cherry. Unfortunately, the weather/water did not cooperate with us and due to a heat wave, the water levels rose back up, making upper cherry out of the question, and even making West Cherry too high. So we were forced to wait it out and take another few days off the water. Gareth headed into Yosemite to hang out with some friends and I spent the weekend on the coast with my family who happened to be in town.

Following the weekend we were dying to get back on the water so with West Cherry still too high, we opted for a big water class 4 day on the Lower Tuolumne. After getting some questionable beta on the run/shuttle, we stashed our bikes at a rafting place half way down the shuttle and drove to the put-in to camp for the night. The next morning we were met by "straight charger" Tim Collins and we put on for what turned out to be a really great day on the river. Since all three of us generally opt for low volume creeking over any big water runs, it was fun to change it up a bit and bust through so huge holes opposed to the creeky verticle drops we'd been paddling for the past month. We were told it'd be really easy to hitch from the takeout to where our bikes were stashed however that turned out to be very incorrect. We almost got stuck at some sketchy bridge far from our bikes but fortunately the one rafting trip that was taking off that day finally decided not to leave us stranded and gave us a ride. Gareth and I then hopped on the bikes and rode the 10 miles down to the cars.

The next day consisted of doing our research and pulling together all the beta we could to figure out just what was going on with the water levels on the Cherries. Eventually we concluded that the water level on West Cherry was somewhere between high and good and the three of us decided to hike in the next day. Tim Collins had done the run once before and became our fearless leader for the trip, successfully navigating us to the trailhead and down the two mile mosquito fest hike to the river.

Taking a break from the hike

Tim hiking into the granite planet

Me hiking in

We arrived at the put-in earlier than expected, but instead of paddling down decided to simply enjoy our time taking in the beauty of the area. We spent the afternoon relaxing, fishing, hiking around, and scouting some of the rapids for the next day. As soon as dusk set in the mosquitos came out in full force and caused us all to retreat to our sleeping bags before it was even dark. That was the most intense mosquito attack I have ever experienced.

At the put in- campsite #1

Tim admiring the scenery

Exploring the gorge after our hike in

Sun set on West Cherry Creek

Using the nomads to set up the mosquito net

The following morning started off with lots of low angled slides followed by this sweet twenty footer that falls off with rock ledges on either side. The line is to boof off the middle narrowly missing the "goal post" rocks on the sides. Just below the that rapid is a big 15 foot drop with a meaty hole at the bottom that you would not want to be stuck in. After a few more class 4-5 rapids we arrived at one of the bigger runnable rapids on the stretch, known as Charlie Beavers Mega Rapid. Only Tim decided to fire this one up (which involves four big drops back to back) but after watching him style it I am fired up to run it next year.

Tim running the "goal post" twenty footer

Gareth at the same rapid from above

Tim stomping the boof below the twenty footer

Tim firing up the second drop of Charlie Beaver's rapid

Our lunch spot looking up at Charlie Beaver's Mega Rapid

Eventually we got down to what most people call "the big portage" on West Cherry which includes the Edge of the World slide. I can definitely see why the slide has that name because as you come around its edge, you get the most spectacular view of the Cherry gorges and Cherry lake in the distance. It was the most dramatic portage I've ever walked.

We decided that the scenery was too good to not stop to camp, so we ended up putting in and paddling down to the spine that separates Upper Cherry from West Cherry and camped there. This spot gave us a view of Upper Cherry creek and West Cherry creek as well as Cherry lake.

Gareth hiking around the Edge of the World slide with a beautiful view of Cherry lake

The crew

Part of the big portage

Gareth relaxing at camp #2

After a beautiful night at our second camp, we hiked down to the river and put on at the confluence of Upper and West cherry. The level was stompy for the Red Rocks gorge and gave us an early adrenaline fix for the day. Eventually we made it down to the final gorge which we decided was too high for us and did our final portage of the day around it before putting in again just above the lake.

West Cherry turned out to be hands down the most scenic run that I did in California. Its high sierra granite nature made it unlike anything I'd ever see before. And the whitewater wasn't so bad either...

The final rapid leading into the lake

California Trip Report: Hiking Yosemite with my Mom

My mom and I at the top of Quarter Dome (right before the big push up to Half Dome)

After driving up to Sacramento from the Kern, I dropped Gareth off at the airport (he had to fly to Philadelphia to teach a swiftwater rescue course for a few days) and picked up my mom so that we could spend a few days exploring Yosemite National Park.

From the second I arrived in Yosemite valley I was blown away by the scenery. I was immediately surrounded by so many huge waterfalls and granite domes that I did not know how to take it all in. The first day we took a hike up to the Cathedral lakes (located at almost 10,000 feet). The hike was interesting as a good bit of it was in the snow and we managed to get pretty lost to the point that we almost turned around. Fortunately we found our way back on the trail and were able to enjoy the breathtaking views from the lakes (my camera was malfunctioning so no pictures).

The following morning we went for the most epic day hike ever, and the most famous in Yosemite- the Half Dome hike. The hike up to Half Dome involves over 17 miles of hiking and an accent and descent of 4,800 feet. My mom had been a little nervous about taking on such a hike, but was also the one that really pushed us to do it. Following the advice of others, we woke up at 4am to start our epic day in order to avoid the afternoon storms and masses of people also attempting the hike. The trail began without much warm up as we climbed up over 2,000 feet of elevation in our first three miles past two spectacular waterfalls.

Eventually we made it up out of the Yosemite Valley and across the Little Yosemite Valley, before starting to climb again, this time headed towards the top of Half Dome. Before reaching the infamous cable section of the climb, you must first walk up the steep granite steps of Quarter Dome. Because of her extreme fear of heights, this was extremely difficult for my mom, as the steps are not exactly lined with railings. I was very proud of her for making it to the top of Quarter Dome and approved of her decision to stop there. The climb up to the top of Half Dome looked steeper than I ever imagined, and I was nervous for myself, let alone my mom.

Deaths on the climb up to Half Dome are not uncommon, and there was actually a death there last Saturday (which was comforting to hear as we were about to start the hike). The climb involves a very steep granite grade, lined by cables which you use to literally pull yourself up the rock. It was full on to say the least. I cannot believe so many people do it, and I am surprised there aren't more deaths. I made it to the top without many troubles and took some time to take in the 360 degree view of Yosemite Valley and its surroundings.

A view from the top of Half Dome

Another view from the top of Half Dome

Me looking down into the valley from the top

The infamous cables (this is on a not so steep section, there was no way I was pulling my camera out during the steepest part)

A view from the hike down

After such an exhausting day, My mom and I decided to spend our final day in Yosemite a bit more relaxed. We started off with a drive to Glacier Point where we were granted some spectacular views of the park.

The Yosemite Valley including upper and lower Yosemite Falls

A nice view of Half Dome (the left most granite dome) and Nevada Falls

Following Glacier point, we drove a little ways and arrived at the trail head of Taft Point, a little 2.2 mile hike with relatively easy terrain. At the end of the hike we were given some great views of the valley from a different perspective.

Me hanging out at Taft Point

After an awesome lunch at the grand Ahwahnee Hotel (the most expensive hotel in the park), we decided to head over to El Capitan to watch some of the climbers do their thing on the world's largest piece of granite monolith rock.

Me free climbing the first twenty feet of El Capitan

El Capitan

The climbers slowly but surely making their way to the top

Eventually it was time to say goodbye to the stunning Yosemite rocks and head back to Sacramento to pick up Gareth from the airport. Upper Cherry here we come!

A parting view of Yosemite

California Trip Report: The Forks of the Kern

Testing out the backpack system on the Forks of the Kern hike in

While camping at the Kaweah we met a nice couple (Rebecca and Eric) from Kernville that suggested Gareth and I go check out the Forks of the Kern run outside of Kernville. Because Gareth's shoulder was tweaked (he hurt it on the South Merced and aggravated it during his swim on the East Fork) we had been looking for a mellow option for the following few days and the forks seemed to be just what the doctor ordered. We were told it was an amazingly beautiful class four run that could be done as an overnight with some sweet side hikes. Sounded great to us so after taking off hospital rock we followed Eric and Rebecca south to Kernville.

Following a night camping out at the take-out, we were met by Bob (our shuttle driver) who took us the 20 miles up river to the put-in. The run had a two mile downhill hike in that Gareth and I decided would be a good opportunity to practice using our backpacking systems in anticipation of the 12 mile Upper Cherry hike in our near future. Turns out the carrying a loaded kayak on your back really isn’t as comfortable as one might imagine. I am glad that I got the practice using my backpack system but I am really not looking to ever putting it on again.

The river turned out to be just as beautiful as we were told and was filled with granite walls and tall peaks. We took our time moving downstream and managed to squeeze in some naptime by the river. After paddling over half of the total 18 miles of the run, we finally found a nice campsite and settled in for the evening.

A view from the hike in

Gareth on the hike

Gareth enjoying some of the 5 liters of wine we (aka Gareth) hiked in

Me hanging out in the hammock at camp

We spent the next morning relaxing at camp and catching up on some reading. When we eventually got back in our boats we only paddled for a couple hours before seeing a creek coming in that Gareth wanted to fish. After further inspection we realized it was the Dry Meadows creek side hike that had been mentioned to us. We decided to go check it out and man am I glad we did because it was absolute paradise. There were about ten teacup style drops, most of which were beautifully sculpted circular potholes. We probably spent around four hours just hanging out at this spot fishing and hiking and napping. The fishing was unbelievable considering we caught over thirty total trout within the pothole pools, one of which was over 13 inches (Gareth got that one). After catching four fish that we thought were sizeable enough to eat, we hiked back down to our boats and cooked them up over a granite slab fire by the river.

Thats me unhooking one of the fish I caught

Gareth fishing the pothole pools

Gareth reaching out for a fish that fell off the line at the last moment

Cleaning the trout

Fresh trout cooked over a granite slab...delicious!

Gareth cooking up the fish

Eventually we decided we had to keep moving downstream and finish up the river. It wasn't much further before we arrived back at the truck. We decided the best way to finish up such a great day was to hit up the Kern River Brewing Company, owned and run by Eric and Rebecca, the couple that brought us down to Kernville in the first place. We ate, we drank and we slept in the parking lot.

California Trip Report: The Kaweahs (East Fork and more Hospital Rock)

Relaxing out on my bother's apartment's rooftop terrace in San Fran

After taking the weekend to relax and enjoy the beautiful city of San Francisco, we were antsy to get back on the water. Although we were a little unsure of the water levels, we decided to head back down to the Kaweah drainage with the hopes of getting on the East Fork of the Kaweah, said to be one of the best day runs in Cali.

Upon arriving at the camping area we talked to some boaters who ran the East Fork the day before and said it was low but going, so we decided to head up to the put-in the next morning. When we arrived we were excited to see that due to the hotter weather of the previous days, the river had come up to a nice low end of high level, which was absolutely perfect.

Gareth, Matias and I spent the day picking our way down the 4.5 miles of classic class 4-5 rapids. The portages were a bit epic but the abundance of clean rapids made up for them. The only carnage of the day involved Gareth getting thrown into an undercut pothole wall that after multiple attempts to roll (it would have been impossible to roll there) caused him to swim and lose his very important paddle. Knowing the paddle was still being recirculated in the wall, we decided to send me in after it. So Matias held a rope, which was attached to my PFD, and I jumped in and swam in the wall until I managed to knock the paddle out. Gareth still owes me a beer for that one….

Me at the bottom of a sweet East Fork rapid

Matias styling a big slide on the East Fork

Matias at the lip of another drop

Eric from Kernville perfectly hitting the line at Triple Drop

Matias scouting as Eric makes his way through the second drop

The next day we decided to take advantage of the higher flows and get back on the hospital rock section of the main Kaweah. Hospital rock is one of those sections that is so classic that it can be enjoyed over and over again. It was a beautiful day on the water.

Gareth and Katie coming through the 420 gorge

Gareth stomping a boof in the 420 gorge

Team Swain North: Checking In

I almost paddled with Laura....A contingency from Oregon swept south in route to Fantasy Falls when Laura politely declined my offer to go for a paddle. We had been on the road for about ten hours when we accepted the fact that we did not have a shuttle for the river we were traveling towards. Despite the many, and often creative, scenarios we created it was now clear that he was not going to call. Our shuttle driver had fallen off the radar and I was now faced with living up to the remark I had made earlier. Trying to stay positive, I said something to the degree of, "if we can't get a shuttle I will just leave some shoes at the takeout and run it on Sunday." Tasting the potential ramifications of my comment, I called Laura and pleaded with her to come join us. The Fantasy Falls section of the Mokelumne River is a classic 3 day trip in the Sierras that, similar to other rivers, requires a fairly significant shuttle. Though I truly wanted to paddle with some old friends; the honesty reality was that I didn't want to run 50 miles on Sunday, nor did the boys want to sit around ALL day and wait. Following her decline, Laura did Mention that Tim Collins was in the area. So, even though I did not get to paddle with Laura I will give her credit for saving the day. "Onward to Salt Springs Reservoir!"

After exploring some of the areas finer logging roads, sometimes twice, we finally arrived at the Salt Springs reservoir. The frustration of driving around for hours and being less then 15 miles from our destination was washed away upon seeing Tim happily asleep in the dirt. The next morning we geared up and packed into Alex's truck and began our drive up to 7,000 ft.

For the next three days we made our way through one of the most beautiful river valleys I have ever witnessed. Long quality gorges mixed in with equally long quality portages offered no shortage of challenge. I could ramble on, but sometimes words can not explain how rewarding it is to just to get up, push off, and work your way down the river with a great group of friends! So, I will leave it at that!

To offer closure to our shuttle saga; upon crossing the lake we were happily surprised to discover that the someone (possibly the previously mentioned missing shuttle driver) had driven Alex's truck and left it at the put-in?

Hope to paddle with you soon Laura!

Breakfast day #2

CA Gorgeous!

"You only get to run something blind once." -DD

Camp #1

Group scout

Looks good!

Elevated perspective


Alex


Rob

Tim

CA limbo

High portage





Tim getting ready to go DEEP on Fantasy Falls!







Jeff



Salt Springs Reservoir

California Trip Report: The South Silver

Camping out with the truck

After spending a day in the big city of Sacramento getting some much needed errands done, I was ready to get back in the California wilderness. So Gareth and I decided to head up into the Eldorado National Forest to camp out for the evening.

The following morning we took a short drive up to the South Silver to check on the level. At first inspection it seemed low, so we relaxed by the lake for the afternoon hoping it would come up as the day warmed up. Eventually we drove back over to the takeout and hiked up the river to find a better level as well as couple of boaters out there that needed a ride back to the put in. This turned out to be very convenient for us because we didn't have a shuttle vehicle either. We made a trade and drove them up to their cars and they drove ours back down.

Chilling by the lake

The truck loaded down to the max while giving the other boaters a ride

The South Silver is only a mile long, but within that mile the river drops over 650 feet. Its hard to believe that a section of river that is 650 feet per mile would be good to go, but the South Silver is exactly that. The run starts off with a long series of slides before dropping into the teacups section, a series a waterfalls dropping down the bedrock channel.

Me at the top of the teacups

Me in another teacup drop

Gareth scouting

Gareth in the teacups

After finishing the teacups section (and the portage that follows) Gareth and I were set up to run the last big rapid of the day. It was at this time that I saw what is probably the coolest thing I have ever seen on a river before. As I was literally about to peel out into the class five rapid, Gareth started yelling at me to look at something. It was then that I looked up to see a big brown bear coming down the mountain side on the opposite side of the river. The bear then proceeded to jump across the river in the middle of the rapid! This all took place about 25 feet away from the eddy we were sitting in. Had I peeled out when I had planned to, the bear and I would have been hitting that spot on the river at the exact same time. We then decided to get out of our boats and see if we could sneak a peak at the bear and possibly get a picture, but no luck.

Gareth pointing to the spot where the bear jumped across the river

Me running the main drop of the rapid with the bear sighting

California Trip Report: The South Merced

Doing the touristy thing in Yosemite National Park

From the Kaweah drainage we headed North to Yosemite National Park and the South Merced river. The South Merced was a river that we thought had dropped out on us, but a few thunderstorms put a little extra water back in it so we decided to go for it.

The South Merced is a 23 mile run, with over 15 miles of those being class five. We put on Tuesday afternoon in Yosemite National Park and began our two day trip down the river. The water turned out to be a bit low, but for those of us from the Southeast used to paddling in low water conditions, it seemed like a fine amount of water. Day one involved paddling for only about six miles but it seemed to take a lot longer than expected. There were lots of great rapids, some manky ones and a few sieves to keep us on our toes. We camped just below super slide, the biggest rapid on the river, which was a series of slides culminating in a big 30 foot slide to finish off the day.

Gareth packing his boat for the trip

Me at the beginning of Super Slide

Me in the middle of Super Slide

The final big drop of Super Slide

Dinnertime on the river

Hanging out by the fire

We decided to get an early start on day two because we had 18 miles left to paddle, half of those being class five. We were a bit worried about how long the day was going to take, so we all made an effort to keep moving downstream and not waste too much unnecessary time. That said, there were unfortunately really no pictures taken from this day. It actually worked out to not take as long as we had expected, and the day was filled with lots of amazing rapids and even a bear sighting. We were off the river by 4:30pm and celebrated with some cold beers at the takeout.

Gareth at a random South Merced rapid

California Trip Report: The Kaweah and Sequoia National Park

The put-in slide on Hospital Rock of the Kaweah

After our epic overnight mission on Dinkey Creek we were ready for a bit mellower single day run and decided to head a bit more South to the Kaweah drainage in Sequoia National Park. Upon arrival we found the water to a bit high. Unfortunatley that meant that we would not be able to get on the East Kaweah anytime soon, but it did make the Hospital Rock section of the Kaweah on the high side of good which made for an awesome day.

Brooks Saucier getting ready to go

Brooks hitting his boof

Scouting the 4-20 gorge

Me at the bottom of the 4-20 gorge

Beautiful Kaweah rapids

The following day we decided to head out of town because it was looking like it would take the East Kaweah a while to come in, but decided to head back into the Sequoia National Park to check out the big trees and beautiful scenery.

The scene from the top of our hike in the Sequoia National Park

Hanging out on the hike

The big brown bear we ran into in the park

California Trip Report: The Dinkey Creek

After driving all day from Vegas, we finally made it to the takeout of Dinkey Creek Wednesday night and spent the evening preparing our boats for the two day journey down the Waterfalls section. It was there that we met up with our team for the the expedition- Josh Bruckner, Matias Nunez, Josh Workman and Adam Hunter.

Thursday morning we were up early loading up the vehicle and starting the 2.5 hour drive to the put in. Finding the put in was an adventure of its own, but making it down the river was even more exciting. The trail was unmarked, about two feet wide and covered in thick brush and poison oak. It eventually opened up to steep, exposed, slabbed rock that made your calves and thighs burn the whole way down.

Gearing up at the start of the hike

Me after finishing the hike

While the name "Dinkey Creek" might lead be to believe that this river is not too full on, trust me when I say that this river is far from dinky. It is 6.5 miles of class V-V+ creeking filled with beautiful clean waterfalls, many of which are mandatory. It is far from any form of civilization and help could be days away. All that said, I think it is probably one of, if not the best, section of whitewater in California.

There's not much warm up on this creek- the section starts off with a rowdy 40 foot slide that sets the tone for the trip.

Me at the put-in slide

Gareth at the put-in slide

Fairly quickly into the run you reach the Willie Kern Rapid- a 15 foot drop into a low angle slide into 40 foot steep slide. It is big and it is mandatory.

Gareth running the entrance drop of Willie's Rapid

Josh Workman on the low angle slide part of Willie's rapid

Josh Bruckner firing off the final 40 foot drop at Willie's

That's me at the bottom of the drop

Following Willie Kern's rapid there is a series of waterfalls and big rapids back to back. It would be impossible to capture every rapid that we ran considering there were just so many of them, but I've tried my best to show the best ones.

Adam Hunter in one of the 25 footers

Me running the sieve waterfall (if you go right of the flow here you end up in a death sieve)

Gareth in the same waterfall

The rattlesnake I almost stepped on

Josh Workman doing the big 40 foot jump in portage

Gareth dropping into the meat

Gareth admiring the amazing Dinkey Creek scenery

Me hanging out below one of the steep sections

Gareth dropping into one of the biggest rapids on the run- Spike

Josh Bruckner showing the group how its done at Spike

After a very full on first day on the river we were all excited to make it to camp all in one piece. The camp spot was on a big slab of rock right next to river and in between two steep sections of whitewater. Upstream you had a beautiful view of the Spike rapid and lurking downstream was the Good Morning slide, a huge slide that immediately starts off day two.

Our camp spot

Gareth doing some fishing at camp

Waking up on the river

Matias strutting his stuff and scouting the "Good Morning Slide" seen just behind him

Literally the first rapid you run on day two, and the entrance drop to the Good Morning Slide

Gareth running the Good Morning slide

Josh Bruckner once again showing us the perfect line in one of the big drops

Josh Workman at a random drop

Gareth coming through a tight spot

Josh Bruckner boofing big

Another Josh Bruckner shot

Gareth coming through one of my favorite rapids of the run

Me entering one of the bigger drops of day two

Josh at the bottom of the same drop

Gareth boofing over the next hole

Me hitting a big boof

Gareth at one of day two's many waterfalls

Gareth doing the still very full on sneak of the Niki Kelly slide

Josh Workman at another waterfall

Adam Hunter at one of the slides on day two

Gareth styling one of the final big drops on the Dinkey Creek Waterfalls section