Lower East Fork Kaweah River Aug 24

My family used to take a vacation yearly to stay in cabins at Silver City and go hiking in Mineral King valley. This would be the first family vacation in about five years where everyone was able to attend. Water in the rivers was too low to kayak unfortunately but at a sporting level for canyoning. My brother and I were both interested in doing something other than the same old hiking trails and so I easily talked him into going down the Lower East Fork of the Kaweah River. I had done this stretch once before a couple years earlier in low flow and so thought it would be a fun and straightforward adventure. As a bonus our mother volunteered to shuttle us, taking care of the biggest logistical concern. We hiked to the river in less than 15 minutes, dodging cowpies and poison oak, and suited up on the polished granite slabs. Despite wetsuits the initial shock of the water temperature caught us off guard but within minutes we had acclimatized and found the temperature perfect.

We swam and ambled along the shore until the river took its bend to the left where it plunged into the gorge. We found several places where we had to avoid hydraulics and choose our routes with care. Fortunately I remembered all the best locations to jump and slide and so we had a great time, taking multiple laps on the best features where possible. It was really nice to see my brother enjoying himself. At one point just before the big waterfall bypass my brother spotted a very healthy looking rattlesnake. In the pool below the waterfall he apparently spotted the biggest trout he had ever seen. I missed it.

We continued on. The slides were in good shape with the high water and were much more fun than I remember them being the last time. There were however two that I wished I passed on. One pinch snagged my leg and another rapid pushed my into an overhanging rock. I was thoroughly bruised and limping after the second mishap.

We took our time lapping the best slides but the high water also meant we had to choose our routes around some of the boulder gardens very carefully. It took us about 4 hours to reach Three Rivers where mom was waiting at the bridge for us. It was a hot midsummer's day and we were both glad to spend over two hours of it in the water. Thanks to mom and Michael.