I managed to pull together interest in a Lower Jump Trip (N.F. Kings River), the classic Sierra waterpark canyon. This would be my second time visiting the canyon, first time getting to lead it. Dropping down the Grapevine into a thick smoke layer was a forbidding start to the trip as much of northern California was on fire. I met Keith and Maia past dark at Kirch Flat, dropped my car at Balch Powerhouse to set the shuttle, then drive up the hill to the cool temperatures at Black Rock Campground. Keith's kayaking friend Gavin joined us to camp. I slept very well in the cool temperatures and thankfully minimal smoke.
Jameson met us at the put-in at 8am the next morning and off we went down the old road to the river. The 11cfs flow looked like it would make for a nice day, probably slightly more flow than I had on my previous trip. Not feeling as loose or limber as I would like, I opted for the rappel instead of the 52 foot Entrance Exam jump. Gavin and Jameson enthusiastically went for it though.
The canyon features were all largely as I remembered them. The water temperature was great in my 4/3 wetsuit though I soon noticed some of the others were getting cold and craving sun in their thinner suits. Happily everyone was pretty enthusiastic about the bigger jumps and so we made good time working our way through.
The Black Hole jump and the big waterfall below were certainly a highlight- the enclosed canyon walls and horizon line pour-overs in this section are great. Everyone seemed to be impressed by the big waterfall rappel and the full force of the water as they rappelled through.
The niceties continued, especially as we turned a corner into the sun. A couple nice jumps were found. The 80ft Big Kahuna rappel looked like a lot cleaner jump than I remembered. Shortly on was one of the bigger jumps in the canyon into a massive pothole pool. Rigging the Rainbow Room rappel took some time given the slippery slope and difficulty communicating but eventually we got everyone down and through. This is still easily my favorite part of this canyon. The rappel drops you in the back of a watery slot with several waterfalls surrounding which you have to swim through. A short jump brought us to some nice slabs for a lunch stop.
Next we had the long slog of about 2 miles of boulders and long pools broken up periodically by more interesting jumps and small slides. Once again I was glad to have my PFD for the long pools.
At the end of the slog was the very fun tobaggan, a steep slide that plunges into a 12 foot drop. I was most excited about the 300 foot multi-stage waterfall section towards the end but found the main bolt missing its hanger and nut and the description for the hanging pool bolt suggested it had some movement. So we opted for the bypass trail instead.
More slogging and boulder scrambling put us in view of the powerhouse and final waterfall. Feeling slightly exhausted (dehydration probably) I rigged the last drop only to find that everyone had enthusiasm for jumping it. 9.5 hours car to car. The final insult was when the powerhouse bypass trail had some protruding chain links that snagged and tore my wetsuit- super annoying!
All in all everyone seemed to have an excellent day and were thoroughly impressed by the canyon. The plan was to drive on to Shaver Lake area to check out Big Creek tomorrow which meant much more driving. Everyone was desperately hungry but we decided it was best to drive over the dirt road pass to McKinley Grove Road before it got dark. I drank warm sparkling water and ate popcorn as I drove, slowly feeling a little better. We ended up camping at a crowded forest service pullout with many semi-permanently situated motor homes. A good day out, thanks to everyone for a fun, social trip.
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