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Rafting trips near Sacramento are long, fun days in the hot sun and whitewater. For a couple months during the summer it’s common for it to be over 100 degrees which is one thing when you’re on the river splashing … Continue reading
Not only are the meteorite hunters the talk of the town but they’re also causing a boom in business for locals who have to hire extra staff to accommodate the crowd.
Lately, the Sierra Nevada House, which is located right across Hwy 49 from our camp, has been catering to a more unique kind of crowd.
It’s all thanks to the meteorite mania that has been bringing in hundreds of scientists and volunteers searching Coloma for meteorites.
Each hunter walking side by side as they search through public areas and private property like Big Sky Ranch, where the owner says only NASA is allowed through his gates.
While so many hours go into these searches, meteorite hunters say they’re determined to find what they came here for.
“Most of these pieces don’t ever get found, but we’re hoping to come across some at least,” said NASA researcher Peter Jenniskens.
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Day 4 of the Whitewater Connection 2012 Guide School takes our new recruits back to the South Form American River. Yesterday they spent all day on the Middle Fork American, where they practiced some rescue scenarios, re-righting upside-down rafts, throwing rescue ropes, and lots of paddling.
It needs to be said that rafting is about lots more than just rafting. There is lots of time spent off the river: preparing gear, cooking, carrying heavy rafts, cooking some more, and driving around in vans. Our guides-in-training will learn about all these and spend lots of time practicing all the safety and rescue scenarios their trainers put them through.
Today, on Day 4, they are going over steering a raft through whitewater again. This, after all, is at the core of what rafting is. They’re learning to look far downstream and make a plan to steer their raft safely through each rapid. They are also learning to think about the ‘big picture”: to look back upstream and check on other rafts around them, be alert of other rafts, make sure everyone is safe. They’ll spend another day practicing everything they’ve learned and then head off to the North Fork American River to get immersed into Class 5, where everything they’ve learned will be put to the test! 
Here they are: the Class of 2012! Today is Day 1 of the week-long intensive course that will see these brave souls on many miles of river. They will spend lots of time on the South Fork and the Middle Fork
, practicing flips, catching eddies, throwing ropes, learning knots, and paddling paddling paddling.
Day 1 of the Whitewater Connection Guide School started early, in the kitchen (where much of a guide’s time is spent), then to learn about river currents, rafting gear, and river safety. Once they’re on the water, it’s time to learn the basics of paddling and steering a raft, how to sit in a raft, how to work with a paddle-crew, river signals, river etiquette, and safety. Lots of safety.
School will see them into the evening, back into the kitchen, where they’ll learn about our delicious menu!
A full day for these new students. Tonight they will sleep like babies.
The Middle Fork American River is known for its awesome canyon, awesome scenery, and its Class 4 rapids. Most notable is the Tunnel Chute rapid, which descends 40 ft along a 130 ft, narrow slot and into an actual tunnel through the mountain-side. There are, however, dozens of other rapids in the 18 miles- and they are all memorable, fun, exciting, and adrenalin-pumpin’.
Case in point: Chunder Rapid.
A long, calm pool disappears over the horizonline that makes the 6ft vertical drop at Chunder. It’s a simple move in a raft: be in the right place, hold on, and don’t fall off! Chunder is right above the Class 6 portage, Ruck-a-Chucky, and we already know what that looks like!
You’ll find yourself grinning as you watch this video. If you are wanting to learn to paddle in a raft, this is a great example of how important timing is; long, controlled paddle-strokes and putting your body into it are what it’s all about. Often, you can spend most of the trip learning to paddle as a team, all together. It’s a fun challenge and something the guides are constantly working on, too!
A 14ft raft, filled with paddlers, punching through Satan’s Cesspool rapid on the South Fork American River.
This is what a “day in the office” at Whitewater Connection looks like! It is a tough, tough job.
With the arrival of warmer days, our guides are flocking back to Whitewater Connection in time to do our Kaweah River trips.
This is why: The Kaweah River – Video
In his recent book, “Imagine“, Jonah Leherer writes about the importance of sharing experiences, ideas, problems and solutions with other people. These exchanges and interactions are at the base of creative epiphanies. Pixar Studios, Apple, Google and many other companies have long seen the benefits of having employees mix, mingle, and learn from each other- even those in completely different departments or fields.
One of the best places to put these ideas into practice? A raft.
An exciting river is a great place to come together with a common goal. Stories are shared, jokes are exchanged, and challenges are accomplished. Whitewater Connection has been doing team-building rafting trips for decades, always with great feedback from companies that brought their staff out for the day. Needless to say, the employees/rafters also had great things to say about their day on the river! They had a chance to spend the day with a group of co-workers, learning, paddling, sharing, paddling, and interacting as a team (and paddling). In a raft, all paddlers are equal!
Whitewater rafting in California starts off with a bang. Come to think of it, that bang lasts all the way through the season. You can raft Class 4&5 rivers right through September. April is a unique month to be on the river though: the flowers are in full bloom, the sun is warm, and the guides are still un-tanned. The striking blue skies and the lush hillsides, green and purple and yellow with flowers, create an amazing backdrop to raft in.
California rivers are incredible because of the great whitewater in them, and because of the landscape that surrounds them, the crystal-clear water, and the history that lies along their banks. The rapids will “raise your hair” and soak you through and through. Rivers like the Kaweah, the North Fork American, and the Middle Fork American start off with big rapids and finish with big rapids. There is plenty of time to relax, apply more sunscreen, and water-fight in the pools though!
Early spring brings on the snow-melt, brings the guides “home”, and brings you face to face with hydraulics and wave-trains!
