Tom and Leo, Brush Creek

California

The definitive creek boating destination, now conquered by Devonians. In April and May, local boaters Tom Bailey, Tim Denson, Andy Iley and Leo Nathan hopped across the pond in search of smooth granite rapids. Below is a brief account of what they found (words and images courtesy of Leo Nathan).

"With the Sierra Nevada snow pack at 250% of normal, and an unusually wet and cold spring, California in late April seemed not as good an idea as it had on a dark October night in the bar at the River Dart Country Park . Still, we arrived in San Francisco hopeful, and after securing Rent-a-Wreck’s most unsuitable car headed inland in search of the goods.  After a frustrating first few days trying to glean local knowledge, find a copy of the Bible*, and get our heads around the logistics of long shuttles with only one car, we began to get into the swing of things, with several good sections on the North and South Forks of the Yuba river and two classic steep creeks around the small town of Downieville.  The torture of carrying our boats two miles down endless switch-backs to put on the Giant Gap section of the North Fork of the American left our legs burning, but was more than worth it, when we were rewarded with 15 miles of classic wilderness Class IV-V whitewater, and post paddling entertainment provided by the local hillbillies... (continued below)

* The Best Whitewater in California by Chuck Stanley & Lars Holbeck.

Leo Brush Creek

Andy on Brush Creek

Tom showing of on the Tuolomne

Tom and Andy (boofing) on the Tuolomne

Tom dropping on Dry Meadow Creek

Leo on the famous Dry Meadow Creek

Bad weather put a dampener on things for a few days on the South Fork of the American, especially when we found the road up to the classic Silver Creek run was closed due to snow, so we decided to head south, stopping first at the Kaweah for two excellent days on the North Fork and Hospital Rock sections.  A morning was spent admiring the giant trees in Sequoia National Park , before heading further south to Kernville where we had an exhausting day on the infamous Dry Meadow Creek.  It was hard to decide which was safer; running the waterfalls or walking on the polished 45 degree granite of the banks, but it is definitely a unique run in a truly alien landscape.  Brush Creek was almost certainly the highlight of the trip; Two miles of smooth granite slides falling over 360ft/mile, with no portages and an easy shuttle meaning multiple laps were the order of the day.  Pleasure is not entirely without pain though, and the creek wouldn’t let us go without the odd dented boat and skinned knuckle. 

  After a quick trip to the breathtaking scenery of Yosemite National Park and a surprisingly good run on the South Fork of the Tuolumne, there was just enough time to spend our last few dollars in the cheap kit stores of San Francisco before heading home, all of us vowing to return better armed in the future to tackle some of the, literally, hundreds of runs we didn’t get a chance to do."

Leo - "The Pinch", Dry Meadow Creek

Andy on the Kaweah

Tom, Kaweah

Tim on the Kaweah

Andy trying to explain himself...