It was the Kern River Festival weekend so plenty of boaters around and activities on offer (like a whitewater slalom course), but none that really added up to justifying the drive in my opinion. Keith and I were contemplating running the entire 19 miles of the Upper Kern from the Johnsondale Bridge to the Kernville Bridge ("bridge to bridge") but had concerns about the shuttle logistics and the 600cfs in the half of the run where the river was being diverted not being enough. At the park Keith got some feedback from other boaters who thought the 600cfs would be fine and so we packed up and drove on back up to the Johnsondale Bridge. About 80% of this full run was new to me (everything except Cables & Lickity) so I was excited to see it for the first time as one full trip rather than separate sections like most people seem to experience it.
So the full Upper Kern run: Limestone Run (III-IV), Fairview Run (III), Chamise Gorge (IV-V), Salmon Falls/Ant Canyon (III-IV), Thunder Run (IV-V), Cables Run (IV), Lickity Split (III)
The sections blended together a bit as the day wore on but I think Limestone was probably my favorite section with interesting rapids and higher flows since it is above the diversion. My only flips were in Bombs Away (IV-V; legit flip, wish I gave the rapid a second lap) and some little rock and hydraulic that caught me funny just above The Flume (IV-V). At the start of the Chamise Gorge we ran into a group of !30! paddlers and ended up running that section with a few of them, which was a nice break in the pace. Thunder Run also had a few fun little drops in it. Keith and I made pretty good time reaching Kernville, but completing the shuttle proved to take much longer than we hoped (2hrs?). Then the long drive back. It was probably the best thing we could have done with the day and I was grateful we didn't spend it only paddling a couple 3 mile stretches of the river like many others did.
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