Lake Tahoe
After a great trip to Mexico I headed north to Lake Tahoe for a few months. Being that the economy is down and all, the ski/tourism industry is really hurting. Thus I was only about to find work for a few weeks. So what do you do in Tahoe with no job?.......Well yes, you do ski in tahoe with no job, but you also kayak.
S. Fork Yuba
After some great skiing with lots of snow, I met up with Josh Hill for some California kayaking. I was able to get a few runs on Shirttail creek (a tributary of the American River). Shirttail is east coast style paddling. Its steep, low volume, and full of scary looking rocks...but being for the east I thought it was great. Unfortunately I forgot my camera that day, so I don't have any photos to share.
Upper Middle Consumnes, CA
The next river in California I checked out was the Yuba. I was able to get on both the Purdons to 49 and the 49 to Bridgeport sections of the Yuba. The two are pretty different in characteristics, but both are of high quality.
S. Fork of the Yuba, CA
Purdons to 49 in my mind is the harder of the two. It seems to have longer, more complex rapids with higher consequences for a missed line. But that in my mind is what made this section better than the 49 to Bridgeport, it is just more demanding.
Upper Middle Consumnes, CA
The 49 to Bridgeport section may not have been my first pick, but it is an amazing stretch of river. Beautiful scenery, cool bed rock, and a great variety of rapids. It started off with similar characteristics to the Purdons section, but after the portage rapid it changed in characteristics and became more of a river than a creek.
Upper Middle Consumnes, CA
Next on the list was the Upper Middle Consumnes. The hike to the put took about 45 minutes and gave me some poison oak, or atleast I found out a few days later that it did. But the oak was worth it to get on this run. There were a few portages to be had, but it had some amazing rapids and was one beautiful canyon.
Josh Hill on the Upper Middle Consumnes
Well, like always, my time in California has come and gone. After a stop in Eugene Oregon to get my Wilderness First Responder, I am now back in the Pacific Northwest working again for Wet Planet as a kayak instructor and raft guide. Stay tuned for updates from the PNW as well as the Mexico video. Until then, enjoy a parting shot of the night skies in the Northwest.
