Last week, after returning from a month of guiding in Belize, I officially transitioned out to California for the winter. I was pretty stoked that on day one back in the state I not only got to go kayaking, but got to check a new run off my list- Bald Rock of the Middle Feather. Last May I was fortunate enough to get on the amazingly beautiful Devil's Canyon section of the Middle Feather, just upstream of the Bald Rock section, so I was excited to see what lay downstream.
The trip came together to celebrate the birthday of charger Will Pruett, and with a crew of nine, a shuttle driver and Will's cute new puppy (aptly named Jah Lion) we all packed into Jason Hale's truck and headed to the put in.
The ride to the top was uncomfortable to
say the least. We had four people across the front, four across the
back, Alex hanging out the sun roof and Will and Jah Lion sitting on
the boats. But hey, at least we didn't have to run shuttle!
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| The truck loaded up |
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| Alex, Will and Jah Lion getting some fresh air on the ride to the put in |
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Our crew included about half of people new to the run, including myself, but also a few that knew it well which was a nice combo. Water level was on the low side of medium with tons of fun class 4-5 rapids (and a few 5+ ones thrown in there to really keep you on your toes). With Will and Thomas Moore leading the way down, we worked our way through the big boulder choked river.
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| Getting ready to go... |
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| Will looking back upstream enjoying the scenery |
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The river starts out with a solid warm up before arriving at the portage of the Atom Bomb Gorge. Included in the portage is a ferry move above a number of sieves that at our level was pretty low stress, but I have heard that as the water gets higher this ferry gets very scary. Getting here is definitely worth it however, as once in the gorge you are surrounded by nothing but beautiful granite walls and boulders. I've been on a lot of California's classic runs and I will say that in my opinion, the scenery here is just as good as any I've seen.
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| Atom Bomb Gorge |
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| Taking a break in the gorge |
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| A look downstream |
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| Charge! |
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| The all star crew |
After a nice relaxing break in the Atom Bomb Gorge it was time to keep moving downstream. The river picks up here, and the rapids get a bit more full on, though with that they also become walkable which is a nice combo to have. There were a few class 5+ rapids in this section that were walked by some and ran by others. Everyone had nice lines either way though.
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| Seal launching in below the Atom Bomb Gorge |
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| Alex at Curtain Falls |
This river makes you feel like you really did something when you paddle it, because after 4-5 hours of solid kayaking, you have a 3 mile flat water lake paddle followed by a short but stout hike out of the lake to the road (took me about 45 min). At the end of the time, I was tired, but fully satisfied having seen another one of California's beautiful granite wonderlands.
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| Sunset on the lake |
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| Getting ready to start the hike out |
