Whitewater Voyages River Journal

Epic Snowpack for 2011!!!!

Whitewater Voyages — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 21:57:37 +0000

2011 is shaping up to be one of the epic years in California rafting history. With many river drainages having some of the best snowpacks since 1983, this will surely be a year to remember. The KINGS is reporting 172%, the KERN an incredible 196%, and the KAWEAH could be anywhere from 185-200%!!! All of our northern rivers are doing just as well! This means that 2011 is no year to miss for anyone considering themselves a whitewater enthusiast. It will also be an incredible year for newcomers to see what its all about. Looking forward to pandemonium and a rafting season we will remember the rest of our lives. HIGH WATER 2011!

Back on the Kern

Whitewater Voyages — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 14:36:48 +0000

Hi Folks,
Just back from the second run of the season. Some of the guides and new trainees showed up this morning for run down the upper Kern. We took two boats down doing the Calkin’s Flat run, the Chamise Gorge run, and the Cables run. Pretty cold water, but a fine sunny day with river flow above 2000 CFS. This photo was made up high on the river at put in, not far below the Fairview Dam, with snow on the mountains downstream of us. Two of the guides are topping of one of the boats before we push off. A great day on the water. There is going to be big water this year.
Regards,
Fox sends.

13 people in 1 raft, raging it down MAYTAG!!

midsierra — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 23:27:03 +0000

The last weekend of June saw yet another awesome group of adventurers journeying to the Yuba River to try their hands at the mighty Maytag Rapid. 12 of our 14 guests hailed from San Francisco, and were out have a blast while bonding as a close group of friends! Our other 2 guests came to us all the way from Las Vegas to brave the mighty waters of the Yuba! What a day they had! Sunshine, perfect temperatures, and a beautiful river to take them downstream all culminated in a very unique running of Maytag rapid. Our group of 12 rafting enthusiats were so pumped up that Erick offered the ultimate group bonding experience… So, 13 adults saddled up in a 16ft raft to try their hand at Maytag, check out the video to see an example of how our guides go the extra mile for your experience, or to entertain yourself with this unique line!

Thanks to our amazing 14 guests for a memorable day on the river! We look forward to taking ya’ll down the river again soon! For more information on river trips near you, or to book your next river adventure with us. Give us a call at 1-800-400-RAFT, or check us out at our award-winning website at www.whitewatervoyages.com !

Guide School: Day 3 ACTION!!

midsierra — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 21:39:05 +0000

The guide school isn’t even over yet, but they have been having such an awesome time, that I couldn’t help but update you all on their journey to the Yuba on Wednesday! Day 3 saw the students going up to the Yuba River, near Downieville, CA to run the classic class IV section called Goodyear’s Bar. And yes… this is the section with MAYTAG!!! They had a blast all day, with few swimmers, kudos to all you guide schoolers out there on an awesome school! Here is some video of the paddle rafts in Maytag, and another video of the oar boats running it… ENJOY!!

If you are interested in joining us in wild places like the Yuba River for an adventure of a lifetime, or in becoming a whitewater rafting guide yourself, give us a call at 1-800-400-RAFT, or check out our website at www.whitewatervoyages.com and book your trip today!!

South Fork American River Rafting Was Great

Whitewater Voyages — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:10:40 +0000

We got a great email with photos from Kostya A. about the great time they had white water rafting on the American River, and we wanted to share them with you, along with a few of his comments:

“We want to thank our guide Tony who was very professional and made the trip a lot of fun. And the sunset on the American River was truly a beautiful site! It was a Great opportunity to spend a couple of days with grown-up kids who are usually so-o-o busy.

Thank you White Water Voyages!”

Click to view slideshow.

A Rockin’ YUBA 2 day!!

midsierra — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:41:02 +0000

Hello again all you river rats! We just had an energetic group come visit us all the way from Las Vegas! A group of friends that all work together at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas, NV made the trek to the Yuba River for a 2 day combo trip with the Whitewater Voyages Mid Sierra crew. These 10 brave commerades had a blast on day 1 taking on the challenges of our class IV section, Goodyear’s Bar, home of the impressive MAYTAG!! The crews preformed with excellent teamwork getting through the day unscathed with no swimmers! Here is the video of the Hard Rock crew raging it through Maytag:

After a delicious spread for dinner, the trip had a blast into the evening around the campfire making smores, looking for shooting stars, and enjoying the great company! Day 2 brought on the rigors of Moss Canyon, a class IV+ – V section involving tight boulder slaloms, frothy holes, and a lot of vertical drop, definitely an adventure seekers dream! Here is footage of the crews dropping in proud through the most technical portion of Moss Canyon, culminating in the ever exciting, steep drop, aptly named Boss Moss:

Teamwork was the name of the game, and the Hard Rock crew showed up to play! Kudos guys, we can’t wait to see you on one of our next California multi-day adventures!

Get a group of your friends, family, or co-workers, and come test your mettle on any of our California rivers. From more mellow family friendly rivers, to the heart-pounding runs like on the Yuba River, and everything in between! Give us a call at 1-800-400-RAFT, for more information on whitewater rafting trips near you in CA, or to book your trip today! You can also check us out at our award winning website at www.whitewatervoyages.com

Hope to see you soon!!

California Whitewater Rafting Adventure Trips California Vacations Whitewater Rafting Downieville Yuba River

Yuba River Gushing With Fun!!

midsierra — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:37:11 +0000

Hello from Coloma, CA river friends! The amazing spring of 2010 is upon us at all of our California whitewater rivers! One of the gems of Northern CA, the Yuba River (a short jaunt from the Bay, Sacramento, and the Reno/Truckee area) is filled to the brim with splashy fun! Come check out this amazing river with a class IV section offering one the challenge of plunging into rapids such as Two Pair, Rams Horn, and the infamous Maytag Rapid! We also offer an experience for the more adventurous on the Yuba’s intrepid class V section! Navigating through rapids like The Flake, Boss Moss: Little Dummy: , and Parallel Parking! We recently took 24 adventurous souls down the Goodyear’s Bar section at 8.2 ft on the gauge, which is a wild ride for you Yuba novices. Everyone had a blast and enjoyed the adrenaline surge from boating on some BIG WATER!! Here is a video of what Maytag looks like at a little bit higher flow, 9.5-10ft: . The Yuba has peaked and now is slowly dropping in level, call us at 1-800-400-RAFT to book your trip today!! Don’t miss this opportunity to see the beautiful Yuba River in the middle of summer! We are running trips on the Yuba until July 10th, so get on the phone and call up our helpful reservations staff, or check us out and book online today at www.whitewatervoyages.com . See you all on the river soon!

We’ve Got Water–Longer

Whitewater Voyages — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:48:16 +0000

This year’s huge snowpack and cool spring, which slowed the snowmelt runoff, have extended the rafting season on California rivers!!! The length of season on many rivers will be extraordinary!!

Thrill and delight in great boating flows on:
–Lower Kern through September 6th !
– The Upper Kern and Forks of Kern through late July!
– Thunder Run through July 4th!
– Kaweah through late July!!!
–The Kings through August 8th!
–The Tuolumne through September 7th!
– Merced through July 4th!
–The South and Middle Forks of the American through September 30th !
–The North Fork American through June 20th
–The Yuba through July 4th

Extended flows like these may not occur again for years to come!
Carpe Diem!
Call us at 800 400 RAFT or book online soon to take full advantage of this year’s bountiful whitewater. These are the flows we live for!

Spring Guideschool on the Kern River

midsierra — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:28:06 +0000

Warm weather and sunshine provided a fabulous backdrop for our spring guide school on the Kern River near Bakersfield, CA. A mix of great personalities and highly skillful students attended this years school and many are looking at starting thier guiding career with Whitewater Voyages this season! Some eventful boating lead to a few unexpected swims and wraps which provided wonderful opportunities for hands on learning. After this 2 and a half day course we were deeply impressed by the students abilities both on and off the water and look forward to many more days on the water with them!

If you are interested in becoming a whitewater rafting guide, or in enhancing your whitewater skills, check out our 5 and a half day guideschool in June, held on the American Rivers in Northern California here at www.whitewatervoyages.com , or call our main office at 1-800-400-RAFT for more info or to reserve your spot!

Springtime in the Mid-Sierra

midsierra — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:26:47 +0000

Greetings from Coloma, CA!! We are getting things going here at the Mid-Sierra operation and are excited to see storms continuing to add to an already great snowpack (http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/snow/PLOT_SWC)! Our rivers up here are running at the perfect flows so make sure to check out our website here at www.whitewatervoyages.com or call our main office at 1-800-400-RAFT, for more information and to book your next whitewater rafting adventure with us! Look especially into the Yuba and North Fork American runs, as they are prime spring runs only offered for a limited time, as they are free flowing rivers. Here are a few photos from a recent guide trip down the North Fork of the American!

If you live in the San Francisco, Sacramento, or Tahoe areas, these are excellent, close to home options for a quick getaway.

See you on the river soon!