Somehow I managed to go nearly the whole month without an escape. So when Keith pointed out that this weekend would likely be the last dam release (1200 cfs) onto the Lower Kern for the season and that he was planning to go for the day Saturday, it seemed like a good opportunity. With any luck I would still have enough time on Sunday to throw together a semi-coherent talk to give to the department on Monday. We ended up doing the full 18 mile run on the Lower Kern with a group totaling 13 people. This seemed the best option as my first time on the Lower Kern at all, other than exploring the riverside hot springs. The top part is commonly referred to as the Jungle Run due to post-hydroscheme overgrowth or the pictograph run by the raft guides. The lower part being the more common river run from Miracle to Democrat. No surprise I was the usual odd man out in my packraft. Keith and I took care to get to the put-in early as I wanted to be sure not to slow the rest of the group down. This did not seem to be an issue and we were the first two in the water by a solid 10-15 minutes.
The jungle run was pretty cool. The rapids were pretty tame overall and there were long stretches of flatwater to paddle across, but the scenery was great- a mini bedrock gorge with some lovely water-sculpted features. The temperature was really pleasant and the company was great. I had in my mind that this would be a hard run before the trip so it was nice to just relax and enjoy getting out on the water.
We past a total of three riverside hot springs and I resisted the urge to jump in (the day would be long enough as is). I managed to flip at the largest wave on the whole run but self-rescued quickly and otherwise mostly didn't embarrass myself too much. We portaged the Class V+ Royal Flush, which also doubled as the lunch stop. I have to say I was pretty tempted to run it. Maybe I had a one in three chance of pulling it off?
The last four rapids were particularly noteworthy but still didn't give up too much of a fight. It was pretty late by the time we finally pulled up to Democrat and shuttled back to the car. I was feeling pretty tired and sore too. I must have paddled 10 miles of flatwater? We arrived back into the Inland Empire a little later than expected but I was happy to have had a chance to get out for a nice solid run. Of course what did I find on my doorstep when I returned? My new Alpacka Gnarwhal which would have been great to have taken out. Oh well. Thanks to Keith for a great outing!
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