CALIFORNIA MAGIC!

-At the put in. Day one- Californian season-15th May 07





So we have been here just over 5 days now and already been in the thick of it! Word was out that the Kaweah rivers were going to be in on monday this week so we met up with some USA guys headed down the freeway 6hours to sequoia National park area.


-B running 'Double drop'





On Tuesday morning we put on the East fork on the kaweah river. Apparently one of the top one day runs in california, the East fork of the Kaweah river was a big step up for the first run of the season. With a great crew and much anticipation we took 6hours to make our way to the take out.
The first part of the day we bombed down some classy 10-20foot drops and slides and the odd 30footer.



-Sam Sutton stepping up and running 'Triple Drop'





By mid morning we made it to 'triple drop'. A crux drop with 3 sections. A steep drop entry into a slide into a big hole, followed by a recirculating pool and down a final slide. Sam stepped up first and styled it, no worries.
Not far from there we took out and portaged our boats around a unrunnable gorge and down to a lunch site.




-Nick Wimset on 'Triple drop'











-Nick in the middle of 'Tripple Drop'








After lunch we had our first mishap of the trip. We entered a drop with sever consequences followed by a large narrow 35foot waterfall. Unfortunatly mike was stopped at the bottom of the waterfall and nick landed on him. both now being recirculated and with time swimming out into the pool. With everyone else now at the bottom of the drop i was able to stop in an eddy at the top of the drop. I now had to be directed by brendans hand signals off this drop blind of what was at the bottom.
An amazing drop! so clean.





Nick on one of the hundreds of un-named drops.







Not far from here we took out at the next crux and usually portaged drop on the river. This waterfall apparently only ever paddled once before looked good to me and brendan thought the same. With the rest of the team on safety along the bank and above a cave below the drop Brendan and I put back in our boats and paddled now named 'fugly falls'. I peeled out and hit my line that I chose, slide off a slab rock and then it was white out. Impact followed by turbulance! I was clear of the falls and i had stuck it!




Josh Neilson- 'Fugly falls'







Brendan followed suit with a similar line.




Brendan Bayly on 'Fugly falls'







A bit further on we were met with another situation where mike came down this rapid and made it sweet and looked back upstream to watch the next person come down and was swept into an unknown undercut. With a bit of time her came up and out of the undercut but it took us about 30mins of rope work and a bit of kiwi ingenuity to finally free the boat and finish the final mile of the creek down 6ofoot slides and boulder gardens.





-Another Beautiful Gorge on the East fork












-Nick in amongst it







This run definatly stepped up to its reputation and by far one of my best river runs ever!
The next day we hit the Middle fork of the Kaweah, which was a good chill day after the east fork.


-Middle fork on second day - Tim Copplestone on the drop, B in the cave running safety.





Now we are back in Coloma fixing the van and off to south silver tomorrow. Next week we might be back down to the middle Kaweah to run a multi day run on the dinky creek waterfalls section or on royal gorge of the american.
More updates soon
take care to everyone
peace
Josh