Lower Kern Rafting - First Trip!
For the first time I went River Rafting down the Lower Kern River with Whitewater Voyages. The river is off of Lake Isabella north-east of Bakersfield.
It was AWESOME! The adventure began when I went up to Riverside Saturday night with Larry & Angie. The three of us met up with other friends, and the whole group were on the road Sunday morning at 3:30a. Including a 1hr stop for breakfast the drive from Riverside to the Lake was about 4 hours. Our party consisted of 17 people: Larry, Angie, Shane, Ron, Elena, Jay, Matt, Kevin, Trish, Michelle, Paul, Randy, Alex, Ivan, a couple of others, and myself.
We arrived early and had plenty of time to load our gear into the trailer that would meet us halfway down the river for camping Sunday night. By around 11a we were on the water. I was in the Last, or Sweep, Boat with Ron & Jay in front, Shane & I in center, Lelena & Michelle in third, with our guide Justin in back. The rest of our party was divided up with Larry & Angie in the Lead Boat with the head guide, Mark. Boat 2 was piloted by Bret (with another guide-in-training, Jill).
You start out learning the various commands for paddling as given by your guide. The first day consists of gradually increasing rapids, classes I-III, with two stops for Jump Rock and lunch. The rock was about 20' off the water. We climbed up and jumped in. A real hoot! And lunch, WOW!!! They "spare no expense" - Such wonderful lunch meats, bread, fruit, veggies, cookies, chips, candy - YUM! After these stops you proceed with more rafting.
The river was fast so we got to camp early. There was plenty of time to set up tents, have "happy hour" (chips, salsa, and drinks) and rest before dinner. Also, we had time to Adventure Swim and Surf. To Swim we went up-river about 100' and jumped in the river going through a class 3 rapid with just a life jacket. Exciting! I did it three times. :) Then to Surf, the guides tied up a board (sort of like a boogie board) up-river and one would "ride" it into the river attempting to stand with the water rushing over you. I could not, though I tried three times. The only people who could stand were Jill and Elena. The women rocked! After the water play came dinner, and again it was amazing: I had steak, corn of the cob, salad, pasta, and more. We then played volleyball until it was too dark to see the ball, sat around the campfire eating smores, and partying.
Come morning the guides treated us to a wonderful breakfast (eggs, pancakes, bacon, OJ, bagles, granola, cheese, tortillas, etc.). The water level had risen overnight to the highest it'd been in four years. Another guide, Fillipe, and some other people with a fourth boat joined our expedition (though my boat remained Sweep). We got on the river around 10a, this time another guide (Wade) in a kayak went on ahead to video us. That was cool.
The second day has even better rapids, class III & IVs, even a class V (though you portage around it). Because of the water level, some of the guides were calling them class III+ & IV+. My boat also rescued Paul who got stuck standing on a rock in the middle of a Pinball, a class 4 rapid (ask me about Paul's Island sometime). It was such a rush! Again, two stops, a higher Jump Rock and another scrumptious lunch. Eventually it was over, the loaded us up, we drove back up-river to our cars, loaded those and drove home. I didn't want to leave. Hee hee...
Rafting Photo Album
Anyone who's ever interested in rafting in California should try Whitewater Voyages. Their guides are amazing and take such great care of you. They serve you the best food and are just a lot of fun. We all had such a great time we're going back next year!
It was AWESOME! The adventure began when I went up to Riverside Saturday night with Larry & Angie. The three of us met up with other friends, and the whole group were on the road Sunday morning at 3:30a. Including a 1hr stop for breakfast the drive from Riverside to the Lake was about 4 hours. Our party consisted of 17 people: Larry, Angie, Shane, Ron, Elena, Jay, Matt, Kevin, Trish, Michelle, Paul, Randy, Alex, Ivan, a couple of others, and myself.
We arrived early and had plenty of time to load our gear into the trailer that would meet us halfway down the river for camping Sunday night. By around 11a we were on the water. I was in the Last, or Sweep, Boat with Ron & Jay in front, Shane & I in center, Lelena & Michelle in third, with our guide Justin in back. The rest of our party was divided up with Larry & Angie in the Lead Boat with the head guide, Mark. Boat 2 was piloted by Bret (with another guide-in-training, Jill).
You start out learning the various commands for paddling as given by your guide. The first day consists of gradually increasing rapids, classes I-III, with two stops for Jump Rock and lunch. The rock was about 20' off the water. We climbed up and jumped in. A real hoot! And lunch, WOW!!! They "spare no expense" - Such wonderful lunch meats, bread, fruit, veggies, cookies, chips, candy - YUM! After these stops you proceed with more rafting.
The river was fast so we got to camp early. There was plenty of time to set up tents, have "happy hour" (chips, salsa, and drinks) and rest before dinner. Also, we had time to Adventure Swim and Surf. To Swim we went up-river about 100' and jumped in the river going through a class 3 rapid with just a life jacket. Exciting! I did it three times. :) Then to Surf, the guides tied up a board (sort of like a boogie board) up-river and one would "ride" it into the river attempting to stand with the water rushing over you. I could not, though I tried three times. The only people who could stand were Jill and Elena. The women rocked! After the water play came dinner, and again it was amazing: I had steak, corn of the cob, salad, pasta, and more. We then played volleyball until it was too dark to see the ball, sat around the campfire eating smores, and partying.
Come morning the guides treated us to a wonderful breakfast (eggs, pancakes, bacon, OJ, bagles, granola, cheese, tortillas, etc.). The water level had risen overnight to the highest it'd been in four years. Another guide, Fillipe, and some other people with a fourth boat joined our expedition (though my boat remained Sweep). We got on the river around 10a, this time another guide (Wade) in a kayak went on ahead to video us. That was cool.
The second day has even better rapids, class III & IVs, even a class V (though you portage around it). Because of the water level, some of the guides were calling them class III+ & IV+. My boat also rescued Paul who got stuck standing on a rock in the middle of a Pinball, a class 4 rapid (ask me about Paul's Island sometime). It was such a rush! Again, two stops, a higher Jump Rock and another scrumptious lunch. Eventually it was over, the loaded us up, we drove back up-river to our cars, loaded those and drove home. I didn't want to leave. Hee hee...
Rafting Photo Album
Anyone who's ever interested in rafting in California should try Whitewater Voyages. Their guides are amazing and take such great care of you. They serve you the best food and are just a lot of fun. We all had such a great time we're going back next year!
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