An unusually rainy Thanksgiving Day boosted the Santa Margarita River to a 1200cfs peak with a second unforecast peak delaying its decay just long enough for a morning Black Friday run. And cold! There was snow on the San Gabriels, Santa Anas, and San Jacinto like I had never seen. Like my previous run I was unable to find anyone to join me and so ran the 10 mile Temecula Gorge Class IV run solo yet again. It was just after 9a by the time I finally inflated and suited up in the Jack-In-The-Box parking lot in the lingering rain and walked past homeless tents and through dense willows to the river's edge. The Temecula gauge would say 350cfs nearby when I started and 270cfs when I finished, though the flow was noticeably higher than the last time I ran it when the gauge also said 350. The two other times I ran Temecula Gorge were late season February-ish runs where the native cacti and succulents were green, swollen, and happy. This was the first major rain after summer so instead I saw a much less vibrant landscape with plants holding on for dear life. Relatedly, there was considerably more foam in places and I don't think I was imagining that the water appeared extra gross. Also the first waterfall was at a trickle and the second was bone dry, which was new. The left gasket of my drysuit failed spectacularly when I stopped at the first waterfall and so I had a trickle of water working its way into my suit for the rest of the run.
The rapids filled in very nicely at this higher flow and I was able to read-and-run everything from memory. The only quick scout was at the rock ledge rapid near the prominent house sized boulder which previous times I had portaged or sneaked. This time and at this flow I was confident in a line down the center and this turned out to be one of the more enjoyable rapids. I made good work of the major rapids, only getting beached on a rock and flipping in a minor rapid towards the end of the gorge (self rescue was instant). I made it through the 6 mile gorge in an hour and a half, very analogous to my run last time when I was paddling hard to beat sundown. The remaining 4 miles of willows seemed more challenging at this flow and I had a couple near misses and one surprise sweeper that sent me for a swim. I was on high alert after that. I made it to the Sandia Creek parking lot at about 12:15p, only a few minutes after 3 hours. I chatted to a few friendly hikers seeking a ride but they were all headed the other direction so I summoned an Uber and was whisked away after 15 minutes. I was thrilled to get outside and be the only one on the river. I realized the wind was favorable and almost tried to hike up the Box Springs to fit in a paraglide flight but the day was just a little too short by the time I would have been able to mobilize. What an epic Black Friday that would have been: 10 mile Class IV packraft and paragliding in the same day within 45 minutes of my house!
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