Keith had his first run down the short and sweet Class IV-V Mouth of the Kern the previous weekend and was keen for another go given stable dam-release flows (320 cfs). Being a new run for me too, I was interested. As a bonus Keith met me at my place which saved some driving and allowed a much appreciated sleep in. Keith, Heather, and I stopped to pick up Eric in Santa Clara, which rounded out a full car. We met Dennis at the orange orchards near the canyon mouth and drove the short distance to the put-in. We could see almost the whole 1.5mi run from the road and it looked quick! With all the eddying and some portaging it took about 1.5 hours.
Dennis had been down the run perhaps a hundred times from the sound of it and so spouted out incredibly detailed beta; I typically followed him closely to follow his line with the hope of minimizing the mayhem. The rapids were bouldery, complex, and fun. There was probably a total of about 20 notable rapids.
I managed to style most of the drops but did have one upset. A tight maneuver boulder garden required a precision move to ramp up a rock (which to my surprise I nailed perfectly) but then some funky water on the final drop was able to flip me. I was able to easily self-rescue. We had one long portage we all did and soon after reached the standout rapid, Even I Can Boof. This was a tall double tiered rapid (frontispiece) that required a powerful launch over a lateral wave, a stable ride down an uneven whitewater slide, and then lining up for the tall boof drop with perfect rock ledge. The second half of the rapid looked excellent but given my previous experience I thought my packraft was more likely to get pummeled by the lateral wave at the top rather than slice through it like the hardshells. I thought there was a non-zero chance of riding the rest of the rapid on my face and so opted to give it a portage as well. It was a nice looking rapid!
Below were a few more rapids, a bit lower in intensity. This lower section just upstream from the Central Valley was really unique with palm groves, granite, and clear water. Very scenic. Soon we reached the take out just above the water diversion. I made quick time of the steep hike up to the cars with my light boat while the other three suffered.
The boys opted for another lap on the mouth while Heather and I chose to do a few short laps on the more mild Class III section above Rancheria Bridge. Dennis kindly dropped us off at the ideal spot through the orange groves and even pointed out a neat pictograph boulder. The run went by quick and so we ended up running it 2.5 times, mostly practicing skills. The air temperature was great and it was great to get out in spite of the strange times.
It was great to try out a couple new Kern runs. Thanks to everyone for a fun day out.
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