East Fork Kaweah

Got a chance to get on one of my favorite runs this week at pretty much the perfect level. It was Rebecca's first time down and she nailed pretty much every line; Jason, another Kernvillian, joined in for his maiden voyage and did super as well. We shared the river with a crew from up North, Nocetti et al., many thanks to them for hanging out in a few spots to make sure we made it through! If you guys want me to e-mail the pics and vids I have of you guys, drop me a line. As always, click on photos to enlarge them and click on the videos to start them. Enjoy

For those who have not been, the East Fork of the Kaweah is a classic Sierra one day run; only about 4 miles long, but stacked with lots of drops including some epic drops if you really want to go big. It starts out with some fun read and run drops, some of which are shown below Then you get to Sky Hook, which is an inescapable gorge that terminates in a burly drop that slams boaters against the river left wall. It is best summed up by a kiwi I spoke with that ran it last year: "I don't recommend it bro". The portage is long with a healthy poison oak forrest, but a fun cliff jump at the end.

After that, there is a dicey seal launch - not pictured since I was busy face planting on the landing. Then things get real fun...

This section culminates in Dead Man's Alley; a pretty intimidating triple-drop with a super sweet boof into a boiling cauldron at the start. I fired it up (video from Jason pending) while Jason and Rebecca took a more leasurely approach

After that we found some river booty; a boat that had been pinned in a drop above Dead Man's about a week earlier had finally washed out into a more accessable pin. Here is Jarred with his new trophy After that, it was back to more action



With all of the great whitewater, sometimes it is hard to soak in the amazing scenery on this trip Even though it is only 4 miles, the East Fork is a long and difficult day on the river, especially on your first time down. When you finally get to the confluence of the East Fork and Middle Fork, it is all smiles. What a great day on the river!

Now the video

Fools with Tule(s)

Just got off a great weekend on the Tule (OK so it's pronounced TULEE - still punny stuff); probably the last good weekend of the season on this great drainage. Here are a few pics to share the joy:

Trevor making the move below the "corner pocket"


Rebecca dropping into "wallstreet"


Jake making an appointment with "the chiropractor"


Kevin making the second drop on "two good"


Eric trying to avert "the chiropractor"


Jason probes the "corner pocket" with the blunt


Eric slides the "off ramp" above the "speed trap"


The Tule is almost an amazing section of river. I say almost because as remote as you think you are most of the time, you constantly get reminders that there are some people that have a different opinion of how to enjoy a river. Boulder art, freestyle litter and drunken meditation are how the common river user occupies their time. One of our crew even got a full beer can thrown at them (after politely returning the empty one they tossed in the river). Thanks to the CLM for taking my $5 parking fee (despite my interagency pass) and then locking me in the parking lot at coffee camp a full 3 1/2 hours before the day use area closed. If you are out there CLM, I'm still awaiting an apology... Despite all that, it was a great couple of days on the river. Looking forward to heading back again next year. Cheers!

Hello World

Eric and Rebeeca here; adding our two cents to the vast blogging world. Hopefully you'll find some of what we have to say interesting and fun. Most of it will be centered around outdoor activities since that is what we do for fun; the rest of it will be probably be centered around beer, since that is what we do for work.

We live in in the middle of the Southern Sierra in a town called Kernville; sometimes it's a sleepy mountain town, sometimes it's overrun with rafters, fishermen and campers. No matter when, though, it is a great place to live with a plethora of kayaking, moutain biking, hiking, climbing and back country skiing options.

After a big day out, the next stop is the Brewery; a couple of pints and good friends is always a great way to end the day.